On December 27th, 2018, Richard Overton, America’s oldest World War II veteran, Richard Overton, died at the age of 112. Not only was his service for the United States in the South-Pacific Theater in the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion a great contribution to the United States, but the sheer length of his lifespan was astonishing to many. 

In 2013, he met President Obama when he was 107-years old. Former President Barack Obama went to talk about Overton saying, “He was there at Pearl Harbor, when the battleships were still smoldering,” Obama said of Overton at the time. “He was there at Okinawa. He was there at Iwo Jima,” according to Today News’ article on Richard Overton’s passing. 

On November 10th, 2016, a video was published by National Geographic on the National Geographic YouTube channel documenting Overton’s day-to-day life as a 109-year-old man; as the video was documented back in 2015. In the documentary, he explained his diet, which he gained more popularity for on the internet, for its interesting and unique elements. He smoked 12 cigars a day, occasionally drank whiskey for breakfast, drank milk, and consistently ate corn, ice cream, and soup; Overton went on to say, “I love soup.” 

Overton lived a long well lived life as he was a great inspirational figure to help those in need of guidance in life. Richard Overton deserves the highest honor as the world salutes him for his services.