WWII veteran to celebrate 100th birthday with parade Saturday

Aug. 18--Stephenville resident and WWII veteran Douglas Mayo will be celebrating his 100th birthday on Saturday, Aug. 22, and his family is asking the public to drive by and share in the joy with a parade.

"The parade at 4 p.m. will be the Corvette Club from the Dallas area and they will have 15 decorated cars driving by. At 7 p.m., the parade will include a fire truck, police cars, a motorcycle club, antique cars and people from the community who drive by," said Mayo's daughter Rita Cook.

The family is asking the community to drive by 316 Tanglewood Circle at 7 p.m. on Saturday and honk at Mayo, who will be sitting in the front yard, to wish him a happy birthday.

Mayo's family has also asked for people across the country to send birthday cards. So far, he has already received 400 -- and he still has this week to go!

"My dad has been so surprised and honored by all the birthday cards he has received from all over the country. So many people wrote personal notes to him thanking him for his service and sharing memories of their dads and granddads who fought in WWII," Cook told the E-T.

Mayo was born and raised in the Pilot Knob area in Erath County. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 and was in combat in Guam.

As reported by WFAA, Cook says Mayo is a very outgoing person and went out dancing every night until his 70s.

Mayo told WFAA that once the pandemic is over, he is looking forward to going on a trip to Big Bend and New Mexico.

"He has really adapted," Cook told WFAA. "A lot of people live in the past. He's never been a person to do that. He lives in the now and the future."

Cook told the E-T that Mayo's three children will spend Saturday with him and join him in his favorite dessert: chocolate cake and homemade banana ice cream.

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