America's Oldest Veteran Celebrates 110th Birthday

After Frank Levingston of New Orleans, Louisiana passed away at 110 in early May, Richard Overton of Austin, Texas became America’s oldest veteran, according to NBC News.

Overton turned 110 on Wednesday, making him the oldest living World War II veteran. But he says age isn’t slowing him down, writes the television news outlet:

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“I feel good. A little old, but I’m getting around like everybody else,” Overton told NBC News on Wednesday by phone from the same Austin house he’s lived in since he returned from the war. He paid $4,000 for it.

His tips for longevity are far from traditional: He chain-smokes cigars, insists on a splash of whiskey in his morning coffee, and enjoys a steady diet of fried catfish and butter pecan ice cream, he told TODAY two years ago.

Overton joined his all-black military unit in 1942, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president, and became a skilled sharpshooter. In the years since the war, he’s outlived two wives and has been the recipient of numerous honors — including meeting President Obama, who he had breakfast with at the White House when he turned 107.

As for dying, he told TODAY when he turned 108: “I don’t think about (dying). You can’t do anything about that. It’s going to come, whether you want it or not. I just think about living.”

How about that for good advice? Happy belated birthday, Mr. Overton!

SOURCE: NBC News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter | VIDEO SOURCE: NBC

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America’s Oldest Veteran Celebrates 110th Birthday  was originally published on newsone.com