LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The Apple Tree Terrace is filled every Tuesday morning with one special group of guys in Dallas.
The Back Mountain Ecumenical Group has been getting together for decades. It's a tradition for many of them, including Willis Ide.
But today, the usual eggs and bacon were replaced with a birthday cake as the group celebrated Ide's 100th birthday.
The World War II veteran was surprised with a special proclamation.
Ide was born and raised in the Back Mountain before enlisting in the U.S. Army at just 18 years old. Joining three other brothers serving in World War II.
"I was lucky I got through everything okay, and we all came home okay," said Willis Ide.
Ide was part of the radio intelligence battalion.
He fought in Germany and France and was part of one of the bloodiest battles, the Battle of the Bulge, a turning point in the war.
"We copied all the code and everything, and we sent the information to General Patton. And he'd tell us whether he'd wanted us to continue," said Ide.
When Ide returned home, he met his wife, raised a family, and started a plumbing and heating business, Ide and Sons, now a generation run in the Back Mountain.
"He'll tell you when we go by, oh, I put a pump in this place in 1972, and I think, gee, I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Here he is 100 years old and still sharp," said Doug Ide, son of Willis Ide.
A weekly tradition that was anything but the usual breakfast.
One hundred years of stories, memories, and friendship were celebrated for this all-too-humble World War II veteran, "I figure what we're doing today is for my three brothers and me, not just me," he said.