Charles “Buzzy” Kehlenbeck, one of the USS Texas’s last surviving crew members, visited the historic battleship in Galveston to celebrate his 101st birthday, 83 years after serving aboard during World War II.
.png)
A veteran from the USS Texas returned to the iconic battleship this week, marking a poignant celebration of his 101st birthday. Charles "Buzzy" Kehlenbeck, a World War II veteran of the USS Texas, paid a visit to the ship in Galveston during its extensive restoration.
Kehlenbeck joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. There, he prepared shells and gunpowder for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942. After almost 83 years, the Battleship Texas Foundation organized a unique visit, offering a limo van to transport him and his family from their residence in Conroe to the Gulf Copper shipyard.
Footage shared by the foundation captures Kehlenbeck's arrival alongside family members, who warmly greet foundation officials, including Kandace Trujillo, vice president of visitation and special events. As he drove closer to the ship on a golf cart, he remarked, “It’s giving me chills, just seeing the ship again.”
Trujillo expressed that the moment deeply touched her as well. “It was genuinely uplifting,” she remarked. “I felt a surge of emotion several times, particularly when he expressed how much the ship meant to him.” This is the reason behind our actions.
The visit was arranged after Kehlenbeck’s grandson spoke with foundation representatives at an outreach event, expressing his grandfather’s desire to see the ship once more. Preparations began around his birthday, coinciding with the visit of extended family.
While some relatives had previously encountered the vessel, for others, this visit marked their inaugural experience. Kehlenbeck last visited the battleship in 2014 for a reunion celebrating the ship’s 100th commissioning anniversary and serving as the last gathering of its alum club.
There are just four surviving veterans of the USS Texas. Trujillo indicated that the foundation is placing greater emphasis on engaging the descendants of crew members in upcoming initiatives as the ship prepares to reopen. “We still want the families,” she stated. “They hold significant value in the historical narrative of Texas.”
Despite Kehlenbeck's inability to board the ship because of mobility issues, restoration workers halted sandblasting as a sign of respect. Following that, he and his family came together for a birthday celebration, complete with a cake adorned with images of him and the battleship.
Kehlenbeck subsequently served aboard the USS Lance and underwent training with the Navy’s underwater demolition team before receiving his honorable discharge in 1945. He later became a New York state trooper and subsequently worked in industrial manufacturing before relocating to Texas in 1974.
“It’s fascinating how this ship has been a topic of discussion for him for years,” daughter-in-law Suzanne Kehlenbeck remarked. “If you mention it, he’s just so proud of that period of dedication.”
.png)
