WWII vet John Powell, 94, is helped by members of the Greenfield Veterans Honor Guard during a special celebration for Powell at the Elks Club in Greenfield. Monday, May 15, 2023.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Ninety-four-year-old John Powell leaned back against the headrest, felt the wind on his face and grinned.
The local World War II vet had the ride of a lifetime as a police escort led a procession of motorcycles and one very snazzy vintage car to his birthday party at the Elks Club in Greenfield on Monday afternoon.
Powell rode inside the 1948 MG TC Roadster convertible owned and driven by Greenfield city councilman George Plisinski, who met Powell at one of the veteran’s previous birthday parties at a local brewery.
“He asked me if I’d come pick him up for his 95th birthday, so of course I said yes. You do what you can when someone is turning 95,” Plisinski said.
Although Powell’s birthday isn’t until May 24, a group of fellow veterans and supporters gathered at the Elks Club to celebrate the occasion on Tuesday.
The surprise party was organized by Jack Grose, who served as Powell’s guardian for an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. in 2014. Honor Flights provide veterans with a guardian and free transportation to the nation’s capital to see the memorials honoring their respective wars or branch of service.
Grose said he and Powell formed a tight bond and have kept in touch over the years.
“We’ve had many trips and adventures together,” said Grose, who led the birthday motorcade from atop his motorcycle with an American flag billowing from behind — traveling from Powell’s home in Cumberland to the Elks Club in Greenfield around 5 p.m.
Hancock County Sheriff Brad Burkhart led the police escort, with Plisinski escorting Powell in his antique convertible.
Powell spent the drive smiling at well wishers who waved and honked along the way, and talking to Plisinski about his lifelong fascination with cars, including a 30-year career working for Volkswagen.
Several members of the Circle City Volkswagen Club were waiting for Powell at the Elks Club, where the driveway was lined with American flags and a number of vintage VWs were lined up in the parking lot, including three buses and one blue Beetle.
Powell, who once owned a white 1966 VW bus, checked out the vehicles from his wheelchair and chatted with club members— inquiring about the year each vehicle was made — before heading into the Elks Club to have dinner with his guests.
The big band sounds of “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” — a 1942 song written in response to United States’ involvement in World War II — greeted guests as they walked inside, where a slideshow of pictures of Powell flashed on the television screens.
Members of the Greenfield Veterans Honor Guard presented Powell with an American flag, and Greenfield mayor Chuck Fewell presented him with the city’s Distinguished Citizen Award.
“I’m grateful,” said Powell as he shook the mayor’s hand.
Fewell commended the veteran for a life of service, first in the military, then as a firefighter.
Powell had just turned 17 when he joined the Navy in 1945, said his wife, Norma.
Her husband was the first to applaud at the conclusion of the National Anthem on Tuesday, and grinned as a steady line of well wishers stopped by his table to wish the soon-to-be 95-year-old a happy birthday.
“This is wonderful,” he said, his eyes glistening. “There are no words.”
