Montgomery County Centenarians, WWII Brethen, Celebrate June 12th Birthdays

CONROE, TX -- It was a day of celebration at The Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group, commonly known as 105, located at the Poplar Business Park off of Old Hwy 105 W in Conroe. June 12th is the birthday of both of the group’s centenarians, who turned another year older (think of the odds on that one). World War II Veterans Robert Putnam (106), and George Waters (103), were front and center, as the Veterans of 105, celebrated their birthdays. There was plenty of cake to go around and several Houston Texans cheerleaders were on hand to add some beauty to the proceedings.

Misters Putnam and Waters served Our Nation in a time of great uncertainty, when we weren’t sure if Freedom was gonna be there in our future. When NAZI Germany bullied France and England starting with the remilitarization of the Rhineland in March 1936, the wheels were beginning to come off the bus of peace so to speak. Mr. Putnam was getting ready to graduate high school, while Mr. Waters was just a Freshman at the time. Both had their own lives ahead of them, with not a care in The World, as most young men who lived with stable families had. Little did they know in just a little over five years that their whole worlds would be turned upside down.

Living in the 1930’s for Putnam and Waters was still tough, but they didn’t know it. They weren’t fighting off bandits or having to go to the river for water, but they also didn’t have the modern conveniences we have today. Many Americans still didn’t even have electricity and some even still used outhouses.

Mr. Putnam, originally from Bismark, North Dakota, where his parents were school teachers. He was already married and working at Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois, when he enlisted after December 7th, 1941, which heralded the United States entry into World War II. He went on to serve on U.S. Navy Destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea. Following the war, he moved to Corpus Christi, where he raised four children with his wife Virginia. His love of music throughout his life never faded, and even today, he still leads the 105 group in song with ‘God Bless America,’ and ‘The National Anthem,’ each week. And despite his age, there is one other WWII Veteran three months older than Mr. Putnam. Karl Schlessinger, from Austin, celebrated his 106th birthday back in March, making him the Oldest WWII Veteran in Texas.

“When I was on the destroyer I was just doing my job,” said Mr. Putnam, who was a bit older than most men who were drafted or enlisted. He was 24. “We all wanted to do our bit so we could get back home.”

Mr. Waters, who was in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the war, and flew as a Ball Turret Gunner in B-17 bombers. He married his sweetheart Mavis barely a week after Pearl Harbor, and was drafted in 1942. He gained his bomber position when he stubbed his toe during training. And as a man standing over 6 feet, Waters was placed in a ball usually reserved for a man standing maximum 5’ 8,” so he was virtually stuffed into the ball with his knees next to his shoulders. Waters was stationed in Italy in 1943, and flew his first combat mission on December 29th, flying missions until he was shot down on February 22, 1944. He spent 15 months in a prisoner of war camp in Germany, now Poland. As the Russians approached, Waters was forced on a march through the countryside, and he even walked through the outskirts of bombed out Berlin. On May 1st, his guards surrendered to him and his fellow prisoners just as they reached the Allied lines.

Waters’ recalled in his book, ‘No Thought for Tomorrow,’ after his POW group fell into the hands of the British, he was in search of a candy bar.

“I ran back to where the Englishman was. When I got to him, he looked up with such a startled look that his face just seemed to melt. Then I realized what I must have looked like to him. I weighed not much more than a hundred pounds, all of it hanging on a six foot frame, with scraggly long hair and a scruffy beard.”

“Would you like a spot of tea, Mate?” he asked.

"No, but I would like to have a candy bar.”

“Yes, sir, Mate,” the Brit said, as he reached into his truck and brought out twelve two-ounce Nestles

concentrated chocolate bars. I stuffed them into my overcoat pockets, ran, and caught up with my friend Birch.”
Both Waters and Birch soon ate all the candy bars.

The ‘HEARTS Veterans Museum Quilters,’ led by Lu Gresham, 93, a member of the former Women’s Army Corps, and leader of the museum's quilt guild, presented quilts via Hearts’ volunteer, Lisa Hackett. Also, several cheerleaders from the Houston Texans were on hand at the insistence of Mr. Waters. Ms. Julissa, and Ms. Francesca. presented the centenarians with souvenir military helmets from the team.

“Mr. Waters and Mr. Putnam are the bookends of the ‘Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group,” said Darrell May, 105 site manager. “And we are blessed to know them.”

Many of the 105 Veterans went and paid homage to the two oldest guys in their group. For many of them, Putnam and Waters are the last living vestiges to World War II, with most Veterans in the group having not been born yet, but still a small portion were young children at the time. 105 has some Veteran supporters who were young girls in Europe during the war, one Belgian, and one German. Both married Americans during the Cold War, and accompanied their husbands back to America following their service.

“They represent The Greatest Generation,” said Vietnam Vietnam Ed Holesovsky, speaking of Waters and Putnam. “Without them and the backing of Allies by the United States, World War II could have ended very differently.”

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net