A birthday salute to Pvt. Browning ©

Last week my wife and I were on our annual anniversary celebration at our little cabin in the PA mountains. Long time readers may remember a few columns about the place (no running water except the stream next to it!). I mention it only to let you know why there wasn’t an AAS column last week.

That’s also the reason I’m a week late in saluting Pvt. Browning on his 100th birthday. Would you join me in saluting him today to express our thanks for his service as I share with you a little bit about his life?

“SC” Browning, as Stewart like to be called, was born in Lumber City, Ga. on Oct. 13, 1921, into a hard working farm family and was one of seven children. He was drafted into the Army where he served in the 9th Infantry Division of the 1st Army before he was even able to graduate from high school. The 9th arrived on the shores of Normandy on “D-Day plus 4” on June 10 partly because they were one of two infantry divisions with prior combat experience. During the war, the 9th served in Normandy, Northern France, The Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.

After the war, SC returned to his hometown of Lumber City where he met and married his beloved wife who stayed at home to look after their family because Stewart was able to provide for his family as a meat cutter working for Piggly Wiggly and later for Lumber City Meat. He also used the GI bill to complete his education and get his HS diploma.

Pvt. Browning was, and still is, a member of the Lumber City Baptist Church where he loved to serve as the groundskeeper. In fact, after SC had to give up the keys to his car, he still used his lawnmower to get around town where he was known for rigging his mower to carry his own walker. Never underestimate the ingenuity of our Vets, especially our WWII Vets!

A few years ago, The Coastal Georgia Honor Flight group, whose mission it is to

“Help veterans realize a dream of seeing their national memorials- and so much more,” honored SC along with 75 other vets (only five were WWII vets), go to Washington with a family member or guardian to visit their monuments and be recognized for their service. His daughter, Cheryl, accompanied him on that trip. Cheryl had nothing but praise for how they organized and underwrote the trip for her dad and other vets when I interviewed her for this column. If you have a veteran that you would like to honor in a special way, try visiting their website at www.honorflight.org.

Pvt. Browning has been a client of Visiting Angels since January 2019, and Cheryl tells me she is on a first name basis with the schedulers and caregivers that take care of her dad whom she obviously loves very much. One other thing you may want to know if you have a senior veteran in your circle of life: the VA has a wonderful (albeit not well known) benefit for qualifying veterans or their spouses, to provide in-home care for them. Contact our Visiting Angels office for more details on how to access this wonderful benefit for your veteran.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors and saluting Pvt. Browning for his service on his 100th birthday … see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/.

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