Nation’s oldest military veteran dead at 112
America’s oldest veteran, Richard Overton — credited God, whiskey and cigars for his longevity — died Thursday in Texas at the age of 112. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
By Frank Miles | Fox News
America’s oldest veteran, Richard Overton, who served in the Army during World War II, died Thursday in Texas at the age of 112, reports say.
He had been hospitalized for the last week with pneumonia, his family said.
Shirley Overton, whose husband was Richard’s cousin, said the vet died Thursday evening at a rehab facility in Austin.
Overton, who was also thought to be the oldest living American, was born in 1906 in Bastrop County, just outside Austin, Texas.
Overton was in his 30s when he volunteered for the Army, and was at Pearl Harbor just after the Japanese surprise attack in 1941.
The WWII veteran served in the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion from 1942 to 1945, a period that included stops in Angaur, Palau; Peleliu, Micronesia; and Iwo Jima, Japan.
Let’s take a moment to thank and celebrate the life of Richard Overton the nation’s oldest living veteran whose passed away this evening at age 112.
Thank you for your service, sir.
Fair winds and following seas, Mr. Overton. I’ll hoist a glass and have a cigar in your honor. The rest of the article may be viewed here: Fox News
Category: Army, Real Soldiers, Veterans in the news
RIP, young man.
Cigars will be smoked in your honor.
Rest In Peace, Sir…
RIP
I’m gonna take up cigars.
RIP Mr. Overton
Very sad news. This fine gentleman has been much discussed around here and will remain a role model for many of us.
Rest now in peace, sir. You have earned it.
Smoking lamp is lit, Sir. Godspeed.
Sad day. Never met the man, but always enjoyed reading and seeing stories about him. Looked like a genuine great man. I will hoist one and smoke one in his honor tonight.
Rest easy Mr. Overton. You earned it.
May the road rise to meet you,
may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
And for as long as I breathe air
You shall be bright and good and fair….
See you next time around, Mr. Overton.
R.I.P. brave Sir
A truly great man gone on to his well-earned reward in Heaven. Everything I ever read about him was inspirational.
Yes
Rest easy, sir.
Thank you for your service, Sir. May you rest in peace.
Rest In Peace Mr. Overton, you’ve earned your place in History and Valhalla.
Jonn always shared with us Mr. Overton’s Birthdays.
Rest In Peace, Mr. Overton, Sir.
Salute to him and Comfort to his Family and Caregivers. He will be missed.
He was an inspiration to all.
I believe I’ll head down to the cigar shop here, a d fire up a Camacho Coyolar, the strongest they’ve got, in Mr Overton’s memory
Rest in Peace.
Just finished a Sobramesa and three fingers of Glenfidich 15 yo in T/5 Overton’s honor. Fiddlers Green will be rocking tonight
Drew Estates Tabak Especial and Maker’s Mark.
If the bug that has bugged me for some time is gone for real by suppertime, quiche w/radishes and onions on the side, and a nice Spanish red Vina Fuerte.
I met him when I stopped by his house last year around his birthday.
A lot of people took pics of them together so they could say that they supported the troops, “look at me, I support the troops”…
I took pics of his house but none of him. I figger that there are enough pics of him to pave a runway. He was a good man and a great soldier. He could still field strip an M-1 up to last year.
Ya just gotta love a guy that can field strip one of those things at 111 years old !!!
An Army volunteer in his 30s during WW II! That alone is testament to Mr. Overton’s courage and patriotism. My maternal grandfather was in his early 30s, with a wife and nine year old child, when he was drafted. Unfortunately, he was KIA in 1944 several weeks after arriving in the European Theater and is buried in France. If memory, serves men could be drafted up to age 36 during that war. Whether, a volunteer or a draftee, both types made it our “greatest generation.” I’m gonna miss reading and seeing news coverage of Mr. Overton. What a truly remarkable and inspirational life story.
We are definitely poorer without him.
See you in a while, Brother.
Saw the news headline on this Thursday. SnL (former bubble head) and I raised a toast of Marker’s Mark to T5 Overton.
Godspeed and Fare Well Soldier. Jis Peace be unto the Family.
I can only hope that today we can still produce men such as he. The world’s a better place for him having been in it.