Oldest US Army Veteran Set To Hit 111 Knee-Deep In Whiskey, Cigars
Jonah Bennett
National Security/Politics Reporter
The world’s oldest U.S. Army veteran is set to hit another milestone Thursday, with plenty of whiskey and cigars to go around.
Richard Overton is America’s oldest living World War II veteran, and he’s turning 111 on Thursday to keep the record going, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Overton plans to celebrate his 111th in style, with a block party full of whiskey and cigars near his East Austin house he’s lived in for 72 years.
And he’s not picky about his whiskey.
“I like any kind you’ll bring me,” Overton told the Austin American-Statesman.
He also enjoys his cigars and said he’s been smoking since 18.
“But I don’t inhale,” he said. “I still feel the same smoking as I did when I was 18. If anything, I’m a stronger smoker now. Oh, yeah. I blow out.”
Overton was born in 1906 and served in World War II as a soldier with the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion in the Army. During that time, the battalion was all-black.
A relative of Overton’s started a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year to make sure Overton did not have to move into an assisted living facility and could instead maintain his independence. So far, the campaign has raised $169,000 of its $200,000 goal to pay for an in-home care provider.
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