Marvin “Bud” Murdock considers himself a lucky guy.
During World War II, he served aboard Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton’s converted yacht.
“The other guys in the Navy were sleeping in hammocks. We had mattresses with springs,” he said.
In two weeks when he takes off on Villages Honor Flight, University of Florida Navy ROTC student Sirkanya Sellers will serve as his Guardian on the trip.
“I am the kind of guy who drives into a parking lot and there are no spaces. I circle around and a spot has opened up,” Murdock said. “So it’s my luck that I have a beautiful young lady going with me on this trip.”
For her part, Sellers said she is honored to have the opportunity.
“We are both Navy and that gives us a common bond,” she said.
Fifty veterans and 50 Guardians will take flight on the April 27 trip. They will be traveling to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials.
On Sunday, Villages Honor Flight held another preflight meeting to prepare everyone for the trip.
Eighty-seven-year-old Murdock, who spent eight years in The Villages before moving to Steeple Chase Independent Living about two years ago, was a kid from Brooklyn when he signed up for the Navy two months shy of his 18th birthday. His ship was part of the North Atlantic convoy support.
When he came home, he attended a Temple dance where he met his future wife.
“She fell in love with my uniform,” he said.
She died in the mid-1990s of cancer.
Sellers and fellow UF Navy ROTC student Kaylan King are being sponsored by Village of Santo Domingo resident Norm Olson, a pioneer in the Navy SEALs.
“It’s very rewarding to see these young people take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Olson said.
To learn more about Villages Honor Flight, including sponsorship opportunities, follow the link below:
http://www.villageshonorflight.org/
