Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Roger Pilcher celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday, June 27, and people from all over North Georgia attended the birthday bash held at The View Grill inside the Union County Community Center.
Pilcher enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17. The Corps recognized his leadership and abilities early on, and he rose through the ranks to become an officer quickly.
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Over the course of his 28-year career, Pilcher received numerous medals, highlighted by the Meritorious Service Medal. He had several tours overseas, including Vietnam, Japan and Okinawa. He was even once stationed at Quantico.
Crystal Gaylord, Events and Marketing Director for the Community Center, hosted the event.
“I happened to meet Mr. Roger Pilcher through the Marine Corps League Unicoi Detachment, where I became an associate member,” Gaylord said. “The Corps are frequent visitors here. They come in to socialize a lot. We’ve done some fundraisers for them.
“Because of all the ways they help the community and the time we spend together, you start to become family. Mr. Roger came in several months ago and told me he wanted to hold his birthday here. When we found out it was his 90th birthday, I knew we had to make it special.”
His guest list was extensive, including family, members of the American Legion Ira Weaver Post 121, the Rotary Club of Union County, the Marine Corps League, and many of his friends.
“He was president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, and several of them are here,” Gaylord added. “I think he even invited the lady at the Post Office. He really wanted this party to be a big one.
“He picked out the menu he wanted to serve his guests. We have hamburger steaks and gravy, baked chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean almondine, and his favorite dessert, peach cobbler and ice cream. And we made him a custom-shaped 90 birthday cake.”
As for the “birthday boy,” Pilcher said he never thought he’d live to be 90 years old.
“I never thought about age as I went along, and I never really retired,” Pilcher said. “I quit working for money, but if I was still physically able, I’d still be working. I was always taking classes and furthering my education because the Corps offered it. That went a long way toward becoming an officer.”
Pilcher’s daughter Chris, up from Florida, described herself as “his girl,” saying how she is “always there” for her father.
“We are the closest in the family,” Chris said. “When we were growing up, his being in the service and doing three tours in Vietnam, he was away a lot. So, there was a lot of separation in my younger years, and it makes you long for the times together. It’s so great to be here celebrating a momentous 90th birthday.
“Several years ago, dad moved here from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I think he was seeking a less busy life and a little serenity. He’s originally from Georgia, so this was a natural place for him to gravitate to. My favorite memory of my dad was him teaching me how to do the Jitterbug to a Christmas song!”
One of his other daughters, Donna, came down from Nebraska to attend the party, and she shared a memory, too, saying she remembers being little and getting so excited when he came home from trips in the service.
“I would drop everything, no matter what I was doing, and run to him,” Donna said. “I was always so excited to see him. And I remember him putting me on the back of his bicycle and riding around. It’s amazing that he’s 90 years old. He is a force of nature.
“I’m so grateful for this veteran’s community and the people who check in on him and help him. They are so wonderful. We are so far away, and he couldn’t still be living on his own without the support they provide. We couldn’t do it any other way.”
Jim Yohe, friend and Air Force veteran, said that “Roger has always been special to us.”
“He has done an awful lot for the community,” Yohe said. “When Hurricane Helene hit, he went out and started collecting items for the Blairsville Veterans Association to send up there. He’s a dynamite activator. Whatever needs to be done, he does. There are an awful lot of people who would rather just sit and watch.”
Remarking on the recent natural disaster relief efforts, Pilcher said people wouldn’t believe how they got the backpacks full of supplies up to the devastated areas of Western North Carolina.
“We put them on mule trains,” Pilcher said. “There was no other way to get those items to the people who needed them.”
The birthday party served as a lovely celebration for a very special soldier, husband and father. Pilcher is a resident of Young Harris and is active in multiple North Georgia communities.
