At 100, Mark Hersh is looking back on a life that stretched from the battlefields of Europe to a family four generations deep.
Hersh, of Boynton Beach, was drafted into the U.S. Army at 18 and served in France and Germany during World War II. He said he remembers fighting across Europe until Germany surrendered in May 1945.
For much of his life, Hersh did not talk much about his wartime experiences. His son, David Hersh, said that changed as he got older.
“It’s only as he’s gotten older that he’s really opened up about his experiences in World War II,” David said.
After returning home from the war, Hersh met his wife, Greta. They were married for 71 years, raised two sons and built a family that now spans four generations.
Those generations came together in Boynton Beach to celebrate Hersh’s 100th birthday.
“I certainly appreciated that they would travel,” Mark said. “It’s nice to have family celebrate it together.”
Hersh has also lived with legal blindness for the past 15 years, but his family said it has not slowed him down.
“He’s definitely proud to be an American,” David said. “He’s proud to have served in the military. We’re proud to have him in our family.”
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