To celebrate member Lamar Wallace’s 102nd birthday this Thursday, members of Hopewell United Methodist Church in Tyrone recreated a 1940s themed “USO Canteen.”

The event was held on Nov. 13.

In the tradition of the USO, church members provided home-made chili and hot dogs, and provided home-grown entertainment from the World War II era. Members scoured attics and basements and provided vintage memorabilia to use as table decorations. Old uniforms were taken out of mothballs and younger and leaner youth were recruited to wear them for the occasion.

Wallace recently flew with the Conyers Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to view the WWII memorial. Atlanta’s CBS affiliate, Channel 46, covered the event and the reporter, Jennifer Mayerle, thought so much of Wallace that she attended the church celebration.

The event was attended by approximately 120 church members, family, and friends. Wallace reminisced that the song “Sentimental Journey,” which was sung for him by Camden Day, was the first song he heard when he returned home after the war. The evening ended with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” and a cake presented by the Methodist Men’s group.