WWII vet and riveter wife mark 80 years of marriage at 100

Jennifer and Mel McMullen, both 100, are celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary — a union that began just after World War II, in which he flew bombing missions with the Flying Tigers over occupied Asia and she built aircraft wings on the home front.

The McMullens are among the last living Americans who can speak from direct experience of the wartime years and the postwar boom, making their story a rare first-person account of a generation fast disappearing from the Southern California landscape.

Jennifer and Mel McMullen met in the months after World War II ended, when Jennifer rented a room from Mel's mother. "I was living in the front bedroom when he came home from China and we were engaged six weeks later," Jennifer told ABC7 Los Angeles. The pair married in 1946, beginning what would become an eight-decade partnership.

During the war, Mel served as a nose turret gunner with the Flying Tigers, flying over enemy-held territory. "Most of our missions were bombing missions in occupied parts of China and Burma," he said. He was barely an adult when he joined. "I was proud of being a nose turret gunner right up in the front of the airplane so it was an exciting thing for a 17-18 year old boy," Mel said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

On the home front, Jennifer joined the wartime workforce building aircraft. "Some women worked on really heavy machines but I was fortunate that I was interviewed and became a riveter," she said. She specialized in wings, working her way along each aircraft. She was in Los Angeles the day Japan surrendered. "I was right in the middle of all the hugging, grabbing, kissing. I was there for all of that and it was great," she said, recalling the VJ Day celebrations in the city.

Now both 100, the couple reflects on a marriage that outlasted the century. Asked what first drew him to Jennifer, Mel gave a sweeping answer. "Everything about her. Her beautiful looks. Her jobs that she had. She was just a great person," he said. Jennifer measured their life together in family. "I think we've held it together pretty well and had a wonderful family so I'm most proud of my children and also our lasting love," she said.

Mel, who flew combat missions at 17 and 18, said the passage of time has only reinforced the meaning of that service. "I'm over 100 years old but what was doing when I was 18 is still a part of history, so that is worthwhile," he said.

Eighty years after their 1946 wedding, Mel McMullen needed just five words to sum up what had kept them going. "Aging together is the best part," he said.