Richard Overton is the oldest living US veteran at 107 years old, according to the General Land Office. He served in the US Army in the South Pacific during World War II, which makes him the oldest living representative of what Tom Brokaw has indelibly labeled The Greatest Generation. Overton was in his thirties when he volunteered to serve.
Overton lives in Texas and, as the Houston Chronicle reports, still drives a car. President Obama spoke of Overton as a repository of history in remarks at Arlington National Cemetery: “He was there at Pearl Harbor when the battle ships were still smoldering. He was there at Okinawa. He was there at Iwo Jima, where he said. ‘I only got out of there by the grace of God,’ ” the president said.
