Sky Eclat
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- Oct 17, 2012
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Lawrence Brooks is now America’s oldest living WWII veteran as he celebrates his 110th birthday! Brooks was born on September 12th, 1909. He was also recently honored at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Brooks would serve in the 91st Engineer Battalion stationed in New Guinea and then the Philippines.
Brooks was also part of a primarily African-American unit in the army. He was spotted with a bright lipstick kiss mark on his cheek at the event. We wonder from who
The now 110-year-old WWII veteran served between 1940 and 1945. He was a servant, at the time, to three white officers. Brooks’s daily duties included cleaning their sheets and uniforms and shining their shoes. He would attain the rank of Private 1st Class while serving in the war.
The new title that Brooks now holds as America’s oldest living WWII veteran was originally held by Mr. Richard Overton. He was previously America’s oldest living WWII veteran as a former member of the U.S. army. He sadly passed away last year at the sharp age of 112!
National World War II Museum in New Orleans has been celebrating Brooks’s birthdays since he turned 105 in 2014. They absolutely love him there! The museum’s vice president, Peter Crean, speaks on the experience of having Brooks around to celebrate birthday milestones like this one.
“We absolutely love Mr. Brooks,” he says. “We’ve told him, ‘As long as you keep having birthdays, we are going to keep having birthday parties for you here.'” He adds, “We consider him ‘our veteran.'”
Brooks uses a walker, is blind in one eye and poor vision in the other, suffers from low blood pressure and dehydration. However, his hearing is sharp and he has never had to deal with any major diseases or cancers.
“I’ve started to think about not having many birthdays left. But I’m not worried about it, because God has let me live this long already,” Brooks says. “I think it’s because I’ve always liked people so much. Oh yes, I do.”
