The oldest World War II veteran to ever live has made another trip around the sun: the 112th, to be exact.
Lawrence Brooks was celebrated Sunday with a birthday at his home in New Orleans, with a video showing the vet with glasses wearing a mask and Saints sweater and greeting the small crowd.
He counseled others to “serve God and be sympathetic to people,” according to WDSU.
Born September 12, 1909, Brook enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1940 to 1945 as part of the 91st Battalion of Engineers, primarily African American. He was stationed in New Guinea followed by the Philippines and rose to the rank of private first class during the war.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted Sunday with a photo with the vet thanking him for his service Sunday where he can be seen wearing a mask while standing and looking healthy.
According to WPXI, a World War II aircraft overpass was organized for Brooks ’birthday last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
After her 110th birthday, her daughter, Vanessa Brooks, told NOLA.com that her father has a blind eye in his right eye and that his vision fails him on the left, but that his hearing is remarkable and who has never had heart problems, cancer or any other important fact. disease, apart from low blood pressure and dehydration.
In this celebration, songs (and kisses) from the National Museum of World War II were given to the New Orleans vocal trio, the Victory Belles.
According to Veterans Affairs, which confirmed him to be America’s oldest living veteran, Brooks was recruited by the Army in 1940. He trained at Mississippi’s Shelby Camp and was honorably discharged in November 1941.
However, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Brooks was called back into service.
After the war, he returned home to New Orleans, where he worked operating a forklift. He married and had five children and now has 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
He was widowed in 2005 when his second wife, Leona, died shortly after the couple was evacuated in a helicopter after Hurricane Katrina.
Sunday’s anniversary event was hosted by the National Museum of World War II in New Orleans.
