Donnie Loftis, a member of the North Carolina House of representatives, speaks to the crowd in attendance at Ray Stewart's 100th birthday party.

Ray Stewart has been in Gaston County longer than Interstate 85.

The well-known Gaston County veteran recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and his daughter Karen Dellinger walked the crowd through a timeline of Stewart's life at his birthday party.

Life before and during the war

He was born in 1923 on Chestnut Street in Gastonia, where he grew up on his family’s farm, according to Dellinger.

Stewart’s life changed in 1943 after he entered the Army to fight in World War II.

He completed basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, then went to tanker training at Fort Knox in Kentucky, and finished his training at Fort Meade in Maryland, Dellinger said.

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After crossing the ocean with 8,000 troops on Aquitania, Stewart was stationed in Bath, England for three months before going into the “Hell on Wheels” 2nd Armored Division, 66th Regiment, Company F as a replacement.

During the war, he would find himself involved in many major events including being at Normandy on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and being present for the Potsdam Conference, according to Dellinger.

In addition to being involved those historical occurrences, Stewart also experienced some major mishaps.

These mishaps included but were not limited to nearly falling off of a ship into the English Channel, and later trying to drive a tank back up the side of a cliff after an inexperienced higher-up insisted Stewart let him drive, Dellinger said.

Efforts awarded

For his service in the war, Stewart has been awarded five Campaign Ribbons, the Presidential Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, French and Belgium Fourragere, Good Conduct Medal, and a victory medal, Dellinger said.

WWII veteran Ray Stewart, who drove a tank in the Battle of the Bulge, shows off his Order of St. George medal from the U.S. Cavalry and Armor Association in 2016.

Dellinger added that in 2016, Stewart was surprised with yet another award after being, ‘knighted,” and presented with the Order of St. George medallion by the U.S. Cavalry and Armor Association.

Life after the war

After being discharged from the service, Stewart returned to Gastonia and marries his wife Dorothy Harper Meek in 1951, according to Dellinger.

The couple would have two children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, all of whom were in attendance at his birthday party.

Ray and Dorothy “Dottie” Stewart spent much of their retirement traveling the United States and Europe, and attending many Second Armored Division reunions.

From these gatherings, the production team of Sony’s 2014 film Fury would find Stewart and fly him out to Hollywood to be a consultant for the movie, which is about World War II.

Stewart spoke directly with Brad Pitt when the team was trying to get him to join them.

According to Dellinger, neither Ray nor Dorothy Stewart knew of Pitt.

“They told me, ‘somebody named Brad,’ had called them,” Dellinger said.

According to Stewart, while he does remember the war most vividly, it was only two and half years of his life.

“That’s two and half years of my life, but that’s not my (whole) life,” Stewart said.

“My life was my kids and grandkids after I got back,” he added.

Stewart's 100th birthday party

For his birthday, each of Stewart’s great grandchildren provided him with a bag of 100 items that remind them of their great-grandfather.

Those items ranged from banana candies, because Stewart likes to eat bananas for lunch, to Lucky Charms, because, “you’re lucky to be alive,” one of the children said.

Birthday cards fill the kitchen table for 100-year-old Army veteran Ray Stewart at his home on Ann Street in Gastonia Tuesday morning, Aug. 15, 2023.

Stewart’s birthday party was hosted at VFW Post 9337 in Gastonia on Sunday, Aug. 13.

In addition to gifts from his great-grandchildren, Stewart also came home with a basket of cards and letters from long-time friends.

The letters included personal birthday wishes from state representatives Donnie Loftis, Thom Tillis, Ted Budd, Patrick McHenry and Virginia Foxx.

Representative Loftis and former Mayor of Gastonia Jennie Stultz attended the party personally and took time to speak about Stewart's accomplishments.

Current Gastonia Mayor Walker E. Reid presented Stewart with a key to the city of Gastonia.

100-year-old Army veteran Ray Stewart holds the Key to the City of Gastonia that he recently received for his birthday.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Local WWII veteran celebrates his 100th birthday