http://6abc.com/news/oldest-world-war-ii-vet-dies-at-110/1325274/
http://6abc.com/news/oldest-world-war-ii-vet-dies-at-110/1325274/
That is a pessimistic thread title. How about "second oldest ww2 vet gets promoted" 
There will always be an oldest WWII vet... until there are none...
I was fairly young during desert storm. Maybe if I stick around for ANOTHER 65 YEARS I'll earn the dubious distinction of being the oldest of my war.
But I kinda hope not. 
My uncle is still around. He was only 18 when he was drafted into the US Navy. He was one of 4 brothers in WW II. All the others were much older and now gone, including my father.
He served both in European waters (Off Omaha beach on D Day) and in the Pacific. He and my father even ran into each other on Ulithi atoll a major forward base at the time.
My uncle served in the reserves as well. When he was called up to active duty in the 60's he was the oldest sailor on board ship. Everyone including the Captain on the ship he served on treated him with great respect.
Born in 1905.. Just imagine the changes this man has seen. From cart and horse to automobile to aeroplane to the space race to civil rights.. etc. etc. I would have loved a conversation with him.
Jumper K. Balls wrote: That is a pessimistic thread title. How about "second oldest ww2 vet gets promoted"
Laughing, you're not right!
Though he got the title from Emma Didlake, and has passed it on to Richard Overton.
Still a number of the vets at the WWII weekend in Reading, PA: http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html
just think, we are just about as far removed from WW2 as WW2 was from the Civil War... i think there were vets from that war still alive at that time..
I'll never forget this old guy that worked at the Ethyl Corp. plastic films plant where I was fortunate enough to get a summer job one year home from college. He asked me how old I was. When I told him, his response was something like "Heck, when I was your age, I was shootin' down Japs!" I don't recall if he was a gunner or a fighter pilot, but I suspect he had some interesting stories to tell. Probably should have spent more time chatting with him.
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