Birthday Surprise
Uppermost on World War II veteran John Mahler's mind is making new friends to replace the old ones he's lost and having a fun, albeit quiet, time.
And on Thursday, the centenarian got to do both of those things when friends and family ambushed him in front of the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Center for a surprise birthday party to mark his 102nd year.
Mahler was born in Butler on Nov. 12, 1918, a day after World War I ended. He gave his service to the nation in the Air Force as a pilot.
To mark his birthday, Mahler was tricked into thinking he was going to the VA center for an appointment, but as his youngest daughter, Marianne Kern, 66, of Florida, drove up to the building, he was greeted by a dozen people holding up birthday signs for him.
“I was 100 percent surprised,” Mahler said. “I didn't know what these people were doing here. I couldn't believe it, all my friends visiting. I can't say how grateful I am.”
Mahler, who piloted B-17 bombers, was invited by the surprise party to sit on seats set up outside as friends and family sang “Happy Birthday” through their masks.
State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, also passed by to present him with a certificate from the Pennsylvania State House for “his awesome 102nd birthday and thanking him for his service,” Mustello said.
The quiet celebration turned up a few notches with the arrival of dozens of vehicles in a cavalcade to wish Mahler a happy birthday. The idea for the visiting cars came about as a way to observe virus precautions.John Eric Mahler, 49, of Butler watched as various fire departments and police stations paid their respects to his grandfather.“He's sharp as a tack, has a better memory than me,” John Eric Mahler said. “This is a heck of a milestone. At his age, I don't want to miss anything. There aren't too many like him left.”Among the cavalcade were the Slippery Rock University police, the Butler County Sheriff's Office, armored Humvees with service members, and the Veterans Administration's fire engines and police departments. These vehicles were followed by many more driven by friends.“This was a total shock to him,” Kern said, praising the Veterans Administration for planning the event. “It couldn't have been smoother.”Mahler piloted B-17s from 1942 to 1945. He said that he was with the 15th Air Force, 97th bomb group in the 342nd squadron. And to mark that period of his life, members of the Air Force presented Mahler with a photograph of the kind of airplane he would have flown.Mahler marveled at all of the people who drove by to greet him.“Most of my old friends are gone, so I have all new friends,” Mahler said. “For them to do all this, it's unbelievable.”Mahler noted that people often ask him if he has a secret to reaching his age.“There's no secret; just be mean and contemptible and it will work out,” Mahler joked.But even for someone with more than a century's worth of experience, there are always surprises and new things to experience.He said the coronavirus has taken him completely by surprise.“I don't want to believe this pandemic,” he said. “Different from anything I've ever experienced.”
