Even at 107 years old, the memories of war are still sharp.
Born in 1906, Richard Overton is now 107 years old and the oldest living WWII vet in the US. As KVUE’s Quita Culpepper reports:
There are plenty of pictures and proclamations that help tell the story of Richard Overton’s life. All kinds of pictures any kind you’d want to see. But there are no photos to show what Overton went through while serving in the US Army during World War II.
Overton, whose memories of the 4 years he spent fighting in the South Pacific are still vivid said, “You heard in Iwo Jima the water turned to blood, well it did. We’d go from this island we’d do what we’re supposed to do there. I come back and didn’t get a scratch on me, not a scratch on me.” He still remembers killing the enemy, and watching comrades die. He said:
Sometimes you ain’t got no legs no arms no heads. And the flies were as big as bees. They’ll keep your dog tags, and you’ll keep one and they’ll send the other to your family and they’ll keep the other themselves to put on the grave.
Overton hopes that on this Memorial Day we will all take the time to “remember the brave men and women who served in the armed forces and gave their lives for their country.”