Memorial Day: Volusia County Councilwoman Billie Wheeler's unusual first name honors heroic uncle who died in Battle of the Bulge

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. -- For the first time since she was elected to the Volusia County Council, Billie Wheeler took to social media to explain her unusual first name and its connection to Memorial Day.

Using a vintage photo of a man in a military uniform, Wheeler delivered her "Happy Memorial Day" message: "Thanking those who served and gave it all." She then identified the young man in the pic as "my mother's younger brother, “Bill,” who was killed at the Battle of the Bulge, where my father was critically wounded."

Then for emphasis, as if to quell any thought of her as some fuddy-duddy ready for a rocking chair," Wheeler  explained, "I wasn’t to be born until years later, however, the decision was made that I would be named Billie (or Billy) after this hero, if and when I ever was conceived."

Using a vintage photo of a man in a military uniform, Wheeler delivered her "Happy Memorial Day" message: "Thanking those who served and gave it all." She then identified the young man in the pic as "my mother's younger brother, “Bill,” who was killed at the Battle of the Bulge, where my father was critically wounded."

Then for emphasis, as if to quell any thought of her as some fuddy-duddy ready for a rocking chair," Wheeler  explained, "I wasn’t to be born until years later, however, the decision was made that I would be named Billie (or Billy) after this hero, if and when I ever was conceived."

Wheeler, born a couple years after World War II ended, will celebrate her 71st birthday on Nov. 7.