Catonsville native, World War II veteran presented with citation of merit on 100th birthday

BALTIMORE - Walter Reynolds, a Catonsville resident and World War II veteran, celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday.

Reynolds served in Europe and Asia.

Family and friends celebrated Reynolds' centennial birthday at the Meadow Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Catonsville.

"If I make it to 100, I want a party," he had told his family as he neared the milestone, according to our media partner The Baltimore Banner.

Baltimore County District I Councilman Pat Young presented Reynolds with a citation for his military service, as well as for reaching a milestone birthday.

Reynolds was drafted at age 18 into a segregated U.S. Army in the middle of World War II, the Banner reports. He was sent to Europe, setting sail aboard the Queen Elizabeth to Plymouth, England. He was a driver for what would be known as the Red Ball Express, a truck convoy operated mostly by African American soldiers, who delivered critical supplies to troops after the D-Day invasion. Reynolds called his unit the Tuskegee Airmen of the ground.

"We would deliver food and ammunition," Reynolds told the Banner. "I had plenty of close calls, plenty."

Happy birthday, Walter Reynolds!