Richard Overton, the oldest U.S. World War II vet and a cigar-and-whiskey folk hero, dies in Austin at 112

Richard Overton is dead at 112
(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Richard Overton, the oldest U.S. war veteran who was also believed to be the oldest living American male, died Thursday at age 112. Overton, a longtime resident of Austin, Texas, had been hospitalized with pneumonia on Dec. 12, and he was moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility on Monday. "They had done all they could," said Shirley Overton, a cousin by marriage.

Overton was born near Austin on May 11, 1906, and he volunteered to serve in the Army in his 30s. He was at Pearl Harbor just after the Japanese attacked in 1941, bringing the U.S. into World War II. "He was there at Pearl Harbor, when the battleships were still smoldering," former President Barack Obama said in 2013 while honoring Overton during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. "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.'"

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.