Oldest living American WWII veteran celebrates 111th birthday with military flyover

Lawrence Brooks.
(Image credit: Facebook/The National WWII Museum)

For the past five years, the National World WWII Museum has helped Lawrence Brooks celebrate his birthday, and they kept the tradition alive for 2020.

Born on Sept. 12, 1909, Brooks turned 111 years old on Saturday. The New Orleans resident is the oldest known living U.S. veteran of World War II, serving in the predominantly Black 91st Engineer Battalion, which was stationed in New Guinea and later the Philippines.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.