This WWII veteran turned up for his 109th birthday like a total boss.
East Austin, Texas, resident Richard Overton is thought to be the oldest living veteran in the U.S., and this past Sunday, he rang in his 109th year with a celebration complete with burgers, milkshakes, cake and cigars.
The event was hosted by Overton’s friend and neighbor, Helen Elliot.
"He's just the coolest neighbor on the planet,” Elliot told Fox 7 News. “He's so much fun and always has the best stories and he always has a birthday party in his front yard and a couple months ago he said, 'When you going to throw a party in your yard for me?'"
So Elliot did just that, rounding up Overton’s family and friends for a birthday bash with the theme Mighty Fine at 109 -- the party was sponsored by Austin-based burger joint, Mighty Fine Burgers. Austin mayor Steve Adler was in attendance, the Washington Post reported, and Overton, whose actual birthday is on May 11, even received a letter from President Obama, who honored him in a Veteran’s Day speech in 2013.
Overton settled in Austin after serving the Army in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima during the Second World War.
“To think I’d be older than every soldier in the Union? You believe that? I didn’t ever think that,” he told Fox 7 News. “This is a long trip and it ain’t through yet.”
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