BERT DAY MULLINS, SENIOR: August 2, 1945—August 30, 2022
Bert Day Mullins, Sr., age 77, passed away on August 30, 2022, at McKinney TX. He was born in Jasper TX to Bert and Agatha (Day) Mullins and was a 1963 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School in Bryan TX.
Bert was preceded in death by his parents, Bert and Agatha, of Bryan. He is survived by his wife, Wynneth (Peters) Mullins, of Greenville TX; son, Bert Mullins, Jr., of Mansfield TX; brother, Brent and wife, Leisha Mullins, of College Station; sister, Lauri McCollum and partner, Tim Simon, of Lafayette LA. He is also survived by niece, Emily Mullins; nephews, Matthew Mullins, Brandon McCollum, Jeff McCollum and wife McKenzie; great-grand nieces, Aubrey and Maven McCollum, and Hadley McCollum; and great-grand-nephew Hayes McCollum, as well as numerous cousins.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1966 and served as a radio operator during the Vietnam War. He had left Texas A&M to go to Vietnam as “he was afraid the war would be over before he got there.”
Bert was Platoon 2079 Honor Man and as a result, won his dress blues uniform. Only one person out of a platoon of 80 men can win the uniform. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Presidential Unit Citation, and Navy Unit Commendation. He participated in five major operations: Defense of the Danang tactical area of responsibility, and Operations Houston, Ford, Pegasus, and Scotland II. He served in the battle of Khe Sanh, Republic of Vietnam, from January 20 to April 1, 1968. He served during Operation Trousdale, in northwestern Quang Tri Province, from August 27, 1968, to October 8, 1968.
He was in the First Battalion, Ninth Marine Division; those Marines were called “The Walking Dead.” After his service in Vietnam, Bert returned to Texas A&M to resume his studies.
Bert and Wynneth met in January, 1971, and married on May 1, 1971, a whirlwind courtship! A week, later he graduated from A&M. Bert worked for Texas Electric/Texas Utilities as financial reports manager and retired after 25 years. He enjoyed militaria and gun shows. He also discovered genealogy and worked to find as many relatives, past and present, to fill his family tree maker, which now has over 16,000 entries.
The night Bert passed away at the hospital in McKinney, the hospital staff gave him “The Walk of Honor,” and halls were lined with the staff to honor Bert for his service to his country. The staff treated him with great respect and dignity the entire time he was there. Bert will be cremated and placed in the Dallas–Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, at a later date.
Dona Goodwin
I am sorry to hear of Bert's passing. I did not know Bert in high school, but we corresponded in 2017 when I was researching Operation Pegasus and the battle for Khe Sanh. Bert helped me understand some of the military terms and structure. He shared his knowledge and some of his experiences at Khe Sanh. We last corresponded a year ago and I did not know he was ill. Thank you for your service, Bert. Thank you for your friendship. I pray all who love you find comfort and peace.
Phil Cox
Good words Dona. I remember Bert the most from his days of working at his dad's Dutch Kettle (Texas Ave near University) right after high school graduation. Bert and his dad were good friends of mine. He certainly new his genealogy and helped me with it when I really needed it. Bert was a member of our SFA band. Several years back Bert mentioned that he grew tired of all the reorganizations with Texas Utilities and just decided to retire - years ago. A decision I think he was real happy about. He is a proud serving Marine in our armed services. Bert now joins one his best friends, Bob Mousner, in heaven. Phil
Mike Burroughs
Over the past few years, Bert had helped me immensely by notifying me of classmates who had passed away by proving URLs or other refernces, so I could retrieve and edit obituaies for this web site. My most recent contact with him was in mid July after Pat Lester passed, and although he had been ill for some time, I was completely unaware of it. So this was quite a shock to me. Phil, I too remember Bert's dad at the Dutch Kettle. Along with Bob Mousner, Fred Cronk, and others, I would enjoy eating there and visiting with his Dad. And Bert, you will be greatly missed. Semper Fidelis!
Dick Barron
So sorr/happy to hear about Bert. He was a legit hero and the funny thing about heroes is that you never know they are one until something like an obit appears. And Bert never mentioned a word about his military experiences; I was shocked to read his. He was a hellova man.
We grew up in Sunday School together and I believe there might be a genealogy connection in our families .. thru his Mullins side and my Wiley side, all thru the First and College Avenue/Central Baptist days of our childhood. And the Dutch Kettle ... if you didn't find me at Shiplely's you'd find me at the DK. I believe they had a cook from Iran or Iraq, a student at AMC, whom we named 'Moose'. His stories about his homeland enlightened me to the fact there was life outside of Texas!. Fun days at the DK. Introduced me to hash-brown potatoes. We connected a few times in the recent past on the phone, always talking about lunch somewhere between Greenville and Ft. Worth, but it never happened. I wish it had.
One of God's Mighty Warriors has returned home. Praise The Lord. God bless you Bert and keep you at rest in the Palm of His Hand. Praying a "peace that passeth all underswtanding" for your family.
Fred Cronk
Sorry to hear about Bert. We had "fun" together during SFA and A&M days. Proud of Bert's military service. Quite impressive! Had some contact after college, but our careers kept us distant. Bob Mousner kept me informed of Bert for years.
Semper Fi, Bert
Charlotte Cole (Wilson)
Well, here it is almost Thanksgiving and I am just now writing about my friend Bert. I am so embarrassed. Not sure where the time has gone, but ths fall I haven't been able to do some of the things that I have wanted to do due to unexpected health issues of family members. Bert was a great guy. Very quiet and unasuming, but so willing to always help a freind anyway that he could. We had band together and shared a lot of band trips. When we were making plans for our 50th, I learned that he was in Greenville and I had intended to stop by to say hello as I have to passs through Greenville on every trip to Dallas which is often (not for fun but visiting doctors!). I regret that I never did. Shame on me. And, Dickie, you are so right, it is very sad that we often don't know the accomplishments of our friends until we read their orituatry. Gee, what an incredible hero we have had in our midst. I am honored to say that I knew him "back when"! I wish I could say to his face, "Thanks for your service and thanks for being my friend."