Nation’s oldest veteran turns 112

Someone will probably ask Richard Overton the secret to longevity today and he’ll respond with his usual answer: “Not dying.”

Overton turns 112 today. He’s America’s oldest living World War II veteran.

“I love to have a birthday,” Overton tells the Austin American-Statesman. “That’s another day. I hope I live another five years.”

He served in the Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945 as part of the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion.

Overton has been called America’s oldest World War II veteran since before he actually was. But when Frank Levingston, then 110, died in May 2016, it became official.