{"id":62549,"date":"2018-04-09T06:00:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62549"},"modified":"2018-04-09T06:00:17","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T06:00:17","slug":"on-the-cusp-of-112-a-whirlwind-tour-for-world-war-iis-oldest-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/on-the-cusp-of-112-a-whirlwind-tour-for-world-war-iis-oldest-veteran.html","title":{"rendered":"On the cusp of 112, a whirlwind tour for World War II\u2019s oldest veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the cusp of 112, a whirlwind tour for World War II\u2019s oldest veteran<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Richard Overton, the grandson of a slave, worked in a furniture store and as a courier for decades until he finally retired when he was 85. That was more than 25 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Overton \u2014 the country\u2019s oldest World War II veteran \u2014 has been enjoying a bit of fame for his longevity, and has a regular stream of visitors to his home in Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, he mentioned to one of his visitors that he\u2019d like to someday see the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the District.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following morning, Overton and a few friends were on a private jet heading toward the nation\u2019s capital. They got a private tour of the museum before it opened to the public Sunday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was one in a line of stunning and unlikely happenings for Overton, who is believed to be the oldest man in America and the third-oldest man in the world. His 112th birthday is next month. His secret to a long life includes cigars, whiskey and speaking his mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed every bit of the tour,\u201d Overton said at the museum as he was lunching on soul food.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then he added, \u201cI didn\u2019t see my name up there,\u201d referring to the World War II exhibit.<\/span><\/p>\n

His friends chuckled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of these days it will be,\u201d he assured them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The whirlwind tour was put in motion after one of Overton\u2019s friends, Allen Bergeron, introduced him to billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert Smith, who donated $20 million to the museum. Bergeron knows both men through his work with the Austin Military Veterans Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bergeron said he has been trying to introduce the two men for years. Smith\u2019s father and grandfather served in the military, and Overton served as a sharpshooter in Pearl Harbor and Okinawa.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday, he was finally able to bring Smith to Overton\u2019s house for a visit.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two men talked for two hours and ate fried catfish. That was when Overton said he\u2019d like to see the museum. Smith replied, \u201cWhat are you all doing this weekend?\u201d according to Bergeron.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was settled.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the tour, retired four-star general and former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, who is on the museum board, called Overton to welcome him. The two had never met.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we do with Mr. Overton turns magical,\u201d Bergeron said, adding that a street in Austin was recently named after Overton.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overton has been to the White House several times and met President Barack Obama. When he came across the museum exhibit featuring the former president, he sat up a little taller in his wheelchair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir!\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s my friend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked whether he had been nervous to meet Obama, he shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good man,\u201d Overton said. \u201cIt was like meeting anybody.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years later, when Overton turned 109, he was still tending his own lawn and driving his own car. He celebrated that birthday with cigars, milkshakes, burgers and a big party.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although life after 100 has been exciting for Overton, there have also been frustrations, said his cousin Volma Overton, who oversees his care.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHis mind is strong, but his body is frail,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Volma Overton said he wants to keep Richard Overton in his house where he\u2019s happy and comfortable. People stop by every day to see him, many of them strangers who have read about him in the news, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHis front porch is his everything,\u201d said Volma Overton, 70, who works as a greens keeper on a golf course. \u201cIt\u2019s his throne.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Overton\u2019s veteran\u2019s benefits would pay to move him to an assisted-living facility, but Volma Overton said that would \u201ckill him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Volma Overton began round-the-clock care at his cousin\u2019s home a year and a half ago, but at $15,000 a month, he couldn\u2019t afford to maintain it. He started a GoFundMe page, which raised more than $200,000, but that money has been spent on in-home care, leaving the family in debt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Overton does not have children. He married twice; he and his first wife divorced in the 1920s, and his second wife died in the 1980s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s outlived almost everybody in his family,\u201d Volma Overton said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was born on May 11, 1906, in Texas, and served in the Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945 as part of the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion.<\/span><\/p>\n

He grew up hearing his grandfather\u2019s stories of being a slave in Tennessee. When his grandfather was freed, he moved to Texas, where his family settled.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday, Richard Overton said it was meaningful for him to see the museum and the African American story through time: from his grandfather\u2019s history as a slave to his own history as an African American fighter in World War II and then the pride of the first African American president.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of it is important,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d seen some of it before, but I\u2019ve never seen it all at once.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/inspired-life\/wp\/2018\/04\/08\/on-the-cusp-of-turning-112-a-whirlwind-life-for-the-oldest-living-world-war-ii-veteran\/?utm_term=.9e31584b4ecd<\/span><\/p>\n

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