Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/REX/Shutterstock
The U.S. lost its oldest man — who was also the nation’s oldest World War II veteran — on Thursday.
Richard Overton died at age 112 after a recent hospitalization for pneumonia,multiple outlets have confirmed.
Overton was released on Christmas Eve after it became clear that he wasn’t going to beat the illness, according to theAssociated Press. He died at a rehab facility in Austin, Texas.
“They had done all they could,” Shirley Overton, who was married to the veteran’s cousin and longtime caretaker, told the AP.
Richard Overton.REX/Shutterstock
Early Friday, the U.S. Army honored him in a touching tweet.
“Today we mourn not just a hero, but a legend,” read the tweet. “The oldest American#WWIIVeteran, Richard Overton, died at the age of 112. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Overton family. He was a hero to us all. May you rest in peace Sir.”
CNN reportsthat Overton began volunteering for the Army in 1942 and became a member of the all-black 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion, serving on several islands across the Pacific Ocean.
In 2013, PresidentBarack Obamahonored Overton at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Richard Overton.Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty
At the time, the Austin resident told CNN that he tried to block the war from his memory, explaining that he “forgot all that stuff.”
That year, at the age of 107, he famously said that heenjoyed drinking and smokingand didn’t take medicine.
“I drink whiskey in my coffee. Sometimes I drink it straight,” he told CNN. “I smoke my cigars, blow the smoke out; I don’t swallow it.”
“I smoke at least 12 cigars a day on my front porch,” Overton explained to PEOPLE. “And most of my whiskey is from Tennessee.”
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In a statement released on Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recognized Overton as “an American icon and a Texas legend,” adding, “With his quick wit and kind spirit he touched the lives of so many, and I am deeply honored to have known him.”
“Richard Overton made us proud to be Texans and proud to be Americans,” Abbott continued. “We can never repay Richard Overton for his service to our nation and for his lasting impact on the Lone Star State.”
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Despite needing around-the-clock care near the end of his life, Overton maintained plenty of hobbies.
Other favorite foods included soup, corn, fish and milk. He also liked to sing and drive widows in his neighborhood to church.
Born in 1906, Overton would have turned 113 on May 11, 2019.
source: people.com
