Americas oldest World War II veteran turns 111 [View all]

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Richard Overton, pictured in 2013, is believed to be America's oldest living veteran. He turned 111 in 2017. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

Nancy Flores, Austin American-Statesman
6:15 p.m Wednesday, May 10, 2017

AUSTIN, Texas- On most afternoons you can find Richard Overton perched on his East Austin home’s elevated porch, overlooking Hamilton Avenue, listening to R&B and smoking his beloved cigars.

Passers-by wave when they spot him outside the home he’s lived in for the past 72 years. Overton, America’s oldest living World War II veteran, enjoys being the neighborhood king from the porch chair that’s become his throne.

On Thursday, Overton will celebrate his 111th birthday with a neighborhood block party that starts at 3 p.m. Don’t forget to bring the whiskey. He likes adding a bit to his coffee in the mornings. Don’t worry, he said, “I like any kind you’ll bring me.”

The Austin City Council in April passed a resolution to give Hamilton Avenue the honorary street name Richard Overton Avenue, and party guests can check out the new street signs at the celebration. The Blackshear Neighborhood Association and Austin’s Commission on Veterans Affairs initiated the honorary naming process.

“It’s also important to the community that treasures him,” District 1 Council Member Ora Houston said.

Overton, who was born in Bastrop County in 1906, served in the Pacific Theater with the Army’s all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion from 1942 to 1945.

https://www.journal-news.com/news/national/america-oldest-world-war-veteran-turns-111/Co8aUQ9Nj72FUuoFdka7hO/