Loran Murdock is a World War II veteran and a retired air traffic controller, who controlled Air Force One for four presidents. Murdock also recently celebrated his 101st birthday.
Loran Murdock is a World War II veteran and a retired air traffic controller, who controlled Air Force One for four presidents.
Murdock also recently celebrated his 101st birthday.
While his daughter, Sharon Duff, had a huge celebration planned, the coronavirus pandemic forced her to cancel.
“It was sad we couldn’t do it how we planned, but at least he was surprised,” Duff said.
Family and friends of Murdock got together for a surprise car parade at the Grand Prairie home he shares with his daughter.
“I told him that we were going for a drive to go see the bluebonnets. That’s how I got him out of the house. When he was headed to the car and saw all the balloons and cars, he knew we weren’t going to see bluebonnets,” Duff said.
Murdock sat in the driveway as people in cars waved balloons, signs and banners to Murdock. They all honked and sang happy birthday. A 15-minute mini-parade fit for an American hero.
Duff said her father may be frail, but he is keeping his mind sharp.
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“He watches politics. He keeps up with all of that all day long. He reads the paper from front to back every day and he even does the crossword puzzle inside,” Duff said.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Murdock and thank you for your service!
