Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The War Hero Richard Overton And Origin

By Eloise Hewitt


Richard was born in 1906 and is the oldest surviving world war 11 veteran and centenarian.After departure from service in the military, Richard Overton established a home in Texas where he has lived since then.

The centenarian served in the army during the Second World War 11 and vividly remembers the horrors of the war and having seen many of his comrades die in the same war.He sensationally describes the war as horrible and recalls with profound joy their excitement upon coming back home from the battlefield . It however does not skip his mind the amount of sacrifice and commitment it took them to go back. The centenarian says it took both a mental and physical preparedness to go back. He however has no regrets for joining the army.

In past few days, Overton has been a busy man, appearing in different places across the country. Meeting high profile persons has been part of his experience. He had an unique privilege to meet president Obama in the white house during the veterans day. The president lauded him for his role in the war. For him this was a dream come true since he had longed for this opportunity. Also among his encounters is with the governor of Texas.

Uncertainty however has rocked his role in the Pearl Harbor attack. Evidence that he was present during the attack still remains scanty. However information from the president and the US today suggest that Overton was present during the attack on the Harbor.

After his departure from the military, Overton took up a job at a furniture store and later on joined the department of treasury in Texas. His attention on the internet is attributed to his revelation that he would smoke cigars and drink whiskey-stiffened coffee during his memorial day. He however remains cognisant of the fact that a number of people would want to do something special for him during this day, but maintains that how he would love to spend the Memorial Day.

While receiving recognition for his great service by Austin mayor, Richard advises that people should not spend all their time sited and watching TV, they should get creative and engage in a activity so as to get moving. The mayor described him as an extraordinary gentleman. After celebrating his birthday, The centenarian was flown to visit world war 11 and Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington DC, by Honor Flight . This is an organization that transports for free, veterans to memorials as a unique way of trying to honour and express thanks to these great men and women.

Honor Flight, an organization that sponsors the trips by veterans to memorials, sponsored the transport of the centenarian in company of other veterans to the memorial of Martin Luther King as a way of appreciating the contribution of these great men and women.

But this memorial will not be like the rest for him, His only friend and member of his platoon has passed on. This centenarian wishes that at least one member of his platoon was still alive. It is for this reason, even as he celebrates his 107th birthday, that Overton a times feels so lonely. Richard has been married twice and has had no children. He has been a widower for the last twenty two years.




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