AUSTIN, Texas — Richard Overton, the nation's oldest World War II veteran who was also believed to be the oldest living man in the U.S., died Thursday in Texas, a family member said. At 112, he was still sharp mentally, but had been hospitalized seven times in 14 months for pneumonia, cousin Volma Overton Jr. told the Austin American-Statesman. And the ships, some of them were still floating, some of them still smoking," Overton said to the station. Overton always credited God as the secret to his long life along with the help of whiskey and cigars, “I been smoking cigars from when I was 18 years old, I’m still a smoking ‘em. Overton volunteered for the Army starting in 1942 and served with the 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion, an all-black unit that served on various islands in the Pacific. Richard Overton, who was believed to be America’s oldest living veteran, is acknowledged by U.S. President Barack Obama during a ceremony to honor veterans at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Veterans Day, at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, on November 11, 2013. He was there at Iwo Jima, where he said, 'I only got out of there by the grace of God.'"
Richard Arvin Overton, the oldest U.S. veteran from World War II, as well as the oldest American man, dies at age 112.