CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A World War II veteran was recognized for his 100th birthday at the capitol Thursday morning. West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore presented Julian Sockman with an official proclamation to honor the milestone.
Treasurer Moore said that it meant a lot to him to present the honor, as Sockman and his grandfather former three-time governor of West Virginia, the late Arch Moore shared a similar story.
“It’s really emotional, obviously I lost my grandfather a number of years back now, but sometimes I’m able to reconnect with people that were so close to him such as Mr. Sockman, and obviously their paths being so similar, it’s just a very special generation of people that we have here in the state of West Virginia,” Moore said.
The two men attended high school together in Moundsville. In addition, they both served in WWII and were both wounded in combat fighting in the European theater.
Sockman recalled his time in service Thursday after he received the honor, along with his departure to Europe with thousands of other U.S Army soldiers when the war broke out.
“The big thing was back then, I traveled on the Queen Elizabeth. At the time, it was the largest electric boat with almost 10,000 GI’s on the boat at that time,” Sockman recalled.
Sockman was born on March 3, 1923 in Moundsville. Upon graduating from high school in 1941 and joining the army in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he accomplished many achievements throughout his military career.
He was stationed in Germany during the war and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 where he was injured in combat. He received the Purple Heart award the following year for his honorable service.
After the war, Sockman attended Marshall University and graduated in 1949. Upon meeting his wife, Rose Ellen Sockman at college, the two were married for 50 years. They had two sons, Roger and Dean, and three grandchildren, Ellen Ann, Drew, and Chloe.
He devoted 33 years to the Division of Highways and has been a longtime resident of Charleston since 1949.
When asked Thursday what his secret was to living such a long life, Sockman said it’s important to never stop being a public servant.
“Stay busy, get involved in community activities, like I did Meals on Wheels for about 25 years,” said Sockman.
Along with volunteering with the Meals on Wheels non-profit, Sockman was a member of the local Lions Club and a charter member of Village Chapel Presbyterian.
Moore said that a major inspiration for many people goes beyond Sockman’s military service but also his life of giving back to his community.
“There was a tremendous amount of service throughout his life, Meals on Wheels, starting a church, the Lions Club. I think service is the underlining important and most salient take-away from this event,” Moore said.
Having such a similar path as his grandfather, Moore added that reaching out to Sockman to recognize him on his 100th birthday was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“Obviously he’s originally from Moundsville, my family is originally from Moundsville, Glendale, same kind of area, and they thought it wouldn’t be nice to do. It didn’t take me a nano-second to say, ‘yes, let’s do this, I think this would be tremendous,'” said Moore.
Sockman is also a dedicated fan of Marshall sports and cheers on the football and basketball teams in his spare time.