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Stephen Mullan (Photo courtesy of Debbie Chambers).

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Nation's Parade Honors Korea Vets

As One Honoree Waved To Cheering Crowd, His Mind Was On A Buddy Who Didn't Come Home From Korea

By Richard Weaver
Military.com Staff Writer

NEW YORK (Nov. 12, 2000) -- Fifth Avenue is a long way from Hill 717 north of Pyongyang, Korea, but no matter where Stephen Mullan is, he says he thinks of his fallen comrade, Billie Gene Kanell, and prays for him. Every day.

Mullan attended Saturday's Nation's Parade to honor the man who threw himself on two enemy grenades before they exploded, sacrificing his life to save Mullan and another soldier, F.M. Rodriguez. Kanell was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

"I'm sobbing with joy and respect," said Mullan, 70. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here today."

The Long Search for Billie

Mullan's trip to New York is also the culmination of a journey to find out more about a man he thought was named Billie Canell, who had been a mystery for close to 50 years. For decades, Mullan had been unable to find out any more information about the man.

Last November, Mullan's daughter, Debbie Mullan Chambers, surprised him with a trip to Washington, D.C. Her father had often mentioned his desire to see a reference to his friend on a wall of Korean War dead.

"I just wanted to get a picture of me pointing at his name," said Mullan.

But when he arrived, Mullan found no wall and no other mention of "Billie Canell," who he thought had been a native of Poplar Bluff, Calif.

A park ranger at the Korean War memorial suggested Mullan search an on-site database of the dead with "Kanell" after "Canell" didn't bring up any matches. Much to his surprise, he found a record of Billie Gene Kanell of Poplar Bluff -- in Missouri, not California. In March of this year, Mullan contacted Kanell's family and struck up a correspondence with the dead man's sister, Betty Kanell Pruitt.

Parading in Fallen Friend's Honor

Mullan's discovery added a new twist to the war stories Mullan had told his daughter and two sons, Steve and Dan, all their lives.

Mullan's niece, Bernadette Parks, had also been keenly interested in her uncle's wartime experiences. Several months ago, when she purchased a hat at The Duffle Bag Inc., a military supply and collectible store in Patterson, N.Y., store owner Brian Benedict had asked Parks if she had any family members who were Korean War veterans. When Parks told him about her uncle, Benedict asked her to extend an invitation to Mullan: to ride in one of several vintage military vehicles Benedict was entering in the Nation's Parade in honor of Korean War vets.

Mullan accepted and with all three of his children flew to New York for the parade weekend.

On Veterans Day morning, he took his place in the front seat of a 1943 Willys Jeep driven by its owner, Howard Wulforst. His children rode in a 1942 Dodge WC-51 weapons carrier that sports an original license plate. They took his picture and videotaped him as he waved to the assembled crowd who greeted him with applause.

Mullan said he knows exactly what he will do when he returns to his home in Santa Clara, Calif.

"I plan to call [Betty] to say her brother was in my heart and mind today," he said.