100 motorcycles were needed to show appreciation for Bill Field, an area World War II vet who celebrated his 100th birthday. The gathering was held on Purple Heart Day on Saturday August 7 where bikers would arrive at the Old Carrs Mall in Kenai just before 12 noon as they drove to Nikiski. Some reports indicated that over 150 bikers showed support for the celebration on Saturday.
Field spoke to Merrill Sikorski on how Saturday’s event went:
“Oh that feels great, but I’m sorry they had to go through all that trouble but I really appreciate it.”
Field talks about where he served in WWII:
“Saipan and Okinawa both.”
Field on what he recalls from the war:
“All bad and you can’t forget it. It just stays in your head.”
Field told Sikorski what he remembers most about his life:
“Well most about the life is working in Pearl Harbor on some of the ships that were sunk by the Japanese and being on Saipan and then on Okinawa and then also occupation in Japan for five months. That was a good experience.”
The question on everyone’s mind were secrets to living to see 100:
“I guess it must some kind of longevity or something, I don’t know what else. I’m not going to say smoking and drinking because that wasn’t it, ha ha.”
A legislative citation was presented to Bill Field from Sen. Peter Micciche and Rep. Ben Carpenter. Field served in the 106th Infantry in the Pacific and received a Purple Heart for injuries suffered in the Battle of Okinawa. He moved to Alaska in 1952.
