William “Mick” MacMullin served in the U.S. Army and is now retired, enjoying time with his four children, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
By KRYSTAL NURSE
The Sun
For the first time in his life, Sgt. William “Mick” MacMullin I will be celebrated at Mantua Township’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11. The lifelong Mantua resident served in the U.S. Army from 1950 until 1956, when he was honorably discharged. One of his grandchildren stated that with his birthday on Mischief Night (Oct. 30), he’s a jokester himself.
MacMullin, 94, was born in a Chestnut Street home in 1924 and was the baby brother to James, Margaret, Thornton and Gertrude. He attended the Mantua Methodist Church and received the Primary and Senior certificates from attendance, and also attended school in what is now known as the Mantua Township Historical building.
He met his wife Carol at a diner where she waited tables, and they were married from 1956 until 1989, when she passed away.
MacMullin was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1950, then transferred to the reserves in 1952.
Kim Tillman, MacMullin’s granddaughter, said he always wanted to serve the country and went to a recruiter to enlist. As of right now, no one else in the MacMullin family enlisted because of him.
“He has never talked with our family about being in the service,” said Tillman. “We do not know how many countries he visited. It was a different generation back then and what he experienced in the service he kept to himself over the years.”
She added it was an honor to the entire family to hear that he’s being recognized by the township. MacMullin is a member of the VFW Post 7679 in Mantua.
“He has never had a celebration in the past honoring him,” said Tillman. “This is the first and only one. It’s a great way to bring our family together to celebrate a man we all admire and love.”
He, she said, is the type of family man who loved to make everyone laugh as much as possible.
“He likes to play games on people and tease,” said Tillman. “There’s been so many jokes he’s done. He would always try to scare people and I remember when I was 3 years old and we were walking down the boardwalk at a haunted house, and they’d use to have painted faces, and he picked me up from behind, and they had KISS faces, and acted like he was going to toss me at them to have them scare me.”
Tillman went on to remember a time when he plastic wrapped a toilet bowl and paid her sister $10 to paint their dad’s, William MacMullin II’s, toenails as he slept.
She added that throughout his jokes, he taught his family to always be kind and to treat everyone the same.
“He’s a sweet, genuine, down-to-earth man that would give you the shirt off of his back,” said Tillman.
MacMullin, she added, also took care of daughter Sandy, who has Down syndrome, with his wife and would take Sandy to Mantua’s VFW to see old faces or to make new friends.
“They’ve been so wonderful there,” said Tillman of the VFW. “We can’t say enough good things about them. I talked to Mike Andreas and he has been so accommodating and has taken care of us. He thinks a lot of people will be there to celebrate my pop-pop. They’re just wonderful and everyone in there has been really amazing.”
MacMullin’s family continues to grow with his four children, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. His grandson, William MacMullin III, is expecting a baby girl in December.
“As a family we have fond memories of going camping with him to Lake and Shore campground,” said Tillman. “He enjoyed fishing and crabbing.”
Family members consider him to be the patriarch and the backbone to their ever-growing list of family members.
“We love taking the kids over to see him,” said Tillman. “He’s so sweet and kind.”
With him being honored by the township, Tillman said that he’s not one to look or expect a reward for what he does, that he’d be the type to hand it off to someone else. He has, however, been given the honor to receive awards for the Army of Occupation medal with a Japan clasp, Korean service medal with two bronze service stars and the United Nations Service Medal.
The sergeant went back to obtain his GED at the age of 43, served in the Mantua Fire Department and worked for companies such as Hinde and Dauch Paper Mill and Monsanto.
People can see MacMullin be honored by Mantua Township on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Municipal Building for Veterans Day.
