Uplifting | Trending

America's Oldest Veteran Reveals What Keeps Him Feeling Young At 111

<div><p>We've profiled some people who <a href="https://www.shared.com/worlds-oldest-person-dies-at-age-117-you-will-not-believe-the-secret-to-her-long-life/">manage to stay young at heart</a>, but they've got nothing on corporal Richard Overton, who hardly looks his age after <strong>turning 111 a few months ago</strong>. For more than 70 years, he's been a fixture of his neighborhood in Austin Texas, where he spends his days sitting on the porch of the home he built himself.</p><p>He's easy to find, because <strong>the city has renamed his street Richard Overton Avenue</strong>, and he'll probably greet you with a smile and a wave as you're walking by.</p><p>But what keeps the friendly "supercentanarian" - and <strong>the world's oldest living World War 2 veteran</strong> - fit in his old age? Thankfully it's not <a href="https://www.shared.com/youll-never-guess-the-age-of-the-worlds-fittest-great-grandfather-2/">daily exercise</a>.</p><div><figure><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/oldest-living-world-war-ii-veteran-richard-overton/story?id=30843011" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/1-2.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/1-2_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/oldest-living-world-war-ii-veteran-richard-overton/story?id=30843011" target="_blank">ABC News</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>Overton says 2 things have kept him alive for so long: <strong>enjoying his cigars</strong> (he smokes about 12 a day) <strong>and his faith in God</strong>. It may sound like a stretch, but the results speak for themselves.</p><p>Born in 1906, Overton is <strong>older than paper towels</strong>, and the same age as radio broadcasting. He was married twice and outlived all his family except a few cousins.</p><div><figure><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/obama-richard-overton_n_4260548.html" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/2-2.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/2-2_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/obama-richard-overton_n_4260548.html" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>He's seen his fair share of history too: <strong>Overton arrived at Pearl Harbor just moments after the Japanese bombing</strong>, and spent <a href="https://www.shared.com/he-dropped-out-of-high-school-to-fight-for-his-country-70-years-later-hes-finally-graduating-2/">World War 2</a> serving in the Pacific, including a stop at Iwo Jima. He even got the chance to meet <a href="https://www.shared.com/barack-obamas-farewell-address-was-noticeably-missing-someone-importan-2188666018/">President Barack Obama</a> <strong>twice</strong> at Veteran's Day ceremonies.</p><p>Unfortunately, Overton's health has been declining in recent years.</p><p><strong>Click the next page to learn about Overton's daily routine, and how you can support him!</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>Overton keeps things simple, and spends most of the day relaxing on his porch. He wakes up <strong>bright and early at 5am</strong>, drinking anywhere from 2-4 cups of coffee to help wake up. After pacing around his home to stretch his muscles, he'll sit down to a bowl of grits and a glass of whole milk for breakfast, but he likes to treat himself to fried food for dinner.</p><p>He'll sit on his porch for 10 hours if the weather is nice enough, smoking his cigars and <strong>enjoying a glass of whiskey and coke</strong>.</p><p>But lately the veteran's age has been catching up with him. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/518809290_c_570_411.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/518809290_c_570_411_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/518809290_c_570_411_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/06/518809290_c_570_411_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Aazah</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>A bout of <strong>pneumonia put him in the hospital recently</strong>, and he's had to stop taking the walks through his neighborhood that he used to enjoy.</p><p>He also needs 24/7 care from a pair of live-in nurses, and that doesn't come cheap. Thankfully, his cousins started a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/Help-Richard-Overton">GoFundMe</a> page for him, and the donations have been pouring in.</p><p>Hopefully Overton makes a full recovery soon, because we'd like to catch up with him when he turns 112.</p><p><strong>Share Overton's secrets to a long life with someone you know!</strong></p><p>[H/T: <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/life/life/2017/06/02/age-111-americas-oldest-veteran-still-smoking-cigars-drinking-whiskey-loving-life">Dallas News</a>]</p></div>

Related Articles