Stanley A. Mullins

  
Yesterday was a very special day for me. I traveled to the Henri-Chapelle American cemetery to visit the grave of my great great uncle, Private Stanley A. Mullins. The cemetery is ran by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and is extremely well kept. When I arrived Bobby O. Bell, the superintendent of the cemetery, greeted me with a friendly smile. Mr. Bell was happy, and a little impressed, that I had come all the way from Austin, Texas to visit my great great uncle’s grave. He was eager to share with me all of the information that he had in regards to Stanley. From the beginning I felt welcome and honored to be there – almost like a celebrity. Mr. Bell pulled Stanley’s file, which unfortunately was pretty empty. Basic information – his service number, rank at time of death, division and regiment, and his date of death – was included and can be found here; however, there was not much about his personal history or how he died. My dad and I have done some preliminary online research (more information can be found on his website here), but we continue to dig for more information about Stanley and his time in the service. We do know that he was wounded in action in the Battle of the Bulge and later died of his wounds on December 26, 1944 – most likely at a field hospital. He was survived by his wife, Lois, and three children, Ronald “Ronnie”, Dolores, and Neta. Ronnie and Neta still live in Brownwood, Texas, while Dolores sadly passed away in 2013.

  

After discussing the specific movements and operations of Stanley’s regiment another cemetery employee walked me out to his grave. She provided me with sand from Omaha beach, a Belgian flag, and an American flag. I was able to rub the sand into the etchings of his grave marker and place the flags on either side of the cross. After taking about 1000 pictures I just sat there. I was the only one in the graveyard and it was serene, peaceful, quiet, and solemn. The sun decide to shine and I was blessed with perfect weather. As I sat there I just thought about how proud I was of Stanley. He was my age when he died (26) and that kind of puts my life into perspective. Being plucked from his small hometown of Brownwood and dropped into a foreign country must have been a frightening and unsettling feeling, to say the very least. Private Mullins fought in one of the bloodiest battles of WWII and unfortunately succumbed to the injuries he sustained while doing so. As I looked upon his grave my eyes began to water and I was reminded how precious life is, and how truly thankful I am to those who have served our country. I am where I am at today because of the courageous men who are buried in the Henri-Chapelle cemetery, among many others. I am blessed to have the means to be able to visit Stanley’s grave – something 99% of my family members will never get the chance or opportunity to do. Seeing his grave was a humbling, serene, and emotional experience. One that I will always remember.

   
 
Stanley Mullins was a brave, courageous, and honorable man who fought for his loved ones and served his country. I am unbelievably proud to say that I am his kin, or relative for you non-Texan speakers. My pictures and memories, along with my father’s when he visited the grave site in 2003, will continue to keep Stanley’s memory alive. He will always be in my heart and his sacrifice will never be forgotten.