World War II veteran Edward “Bruce” Zunner, the retired postmaster at Gasport, celebrated his 100th birthday with 100 family members and friends.
Since Zunner was an active horseman well into his 80s, his family hosted a western-themed party April 25 at The Old Tool Tavern near his current home in Randolph. Guests dressed as cowboys enjoyed music by western band The Rustic Ramblers, and joined in country line dancing after enjoying dinner and one of the 100 cupcakes decorated in cacti.
Zunner received proclamations from state Sen. George Borrello, Cattaraugus County legislators Tim Nagle and Laurie Hunt, and Assemblymember Joe Sempolinski. He received a U.S. flag flown in his honor over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., from U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy (presented by Christine Rinaldi).
During his two years in the Army, Zunner served overseas for nine months before being wounded by enemy fire near Nuremberg, Germany, five days before his 19th birthday, for which he received the Purple Heart. He also received the Good Conduct medal, Combat Infantry Badge, European Theater with three battle stars, French Theater, Occupation of Germany, French Croix de Guerre, Zone of Interior.
Prior to the party, Zunner was spotlighted on NBC’s “TODAY Celebrates Milestone Birthdays,” the long-time series sponsored by Smuckers. One of the dwindling remaining members of the “Greatest Generation,” who lived through the Depression and fought in World War II, he has been featured in newspapers, including the Jamestown Post-Journal and Salamanca Press, as well as a video interview by the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown as part of its Defenders of Freedom project.
Born April 23, 1926, and raised in the Riverside neighborhood of Buffalo, Zunner was enrolled at Canisius High School when he turned 18 and received a draft notice to serve. After World War II, he studied at Canisius College and worked in a variety of jobs before becoming a postmaster in Appleton, a post he held for many years, and then Gasport, where he retired. For many years he lived on a small family farm in Appleton and was a Niagara County 4-H club leader as well as being active in the Lions Club and St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church. He has four children (Kurt Zunner, Julia Sturdivant, Christopher Zunner and Marygrace Mead), as well as 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Today Zunner enjoys bird watching, gardening, reading, classic Western movies and sharing stories from a century of his very full life.