Thursday, 1 May 2014

The War Hero Richard Overton And Origin

By Eloise Hewitt


Born in 1906, Richard is one of the few surviving veterans of world war 11.Richard Overton has since lived in Texas, a home he established after the end of his service in the military.

The centenarian remembers the horrors of the war that include seeing his comrades fall in battle. Richard reveals that the horrors of the war remain permanently imprinted in his brain. The veteran also confesses their great joy when they came home temporarily and the difficulty of going back to the battle field. He says it took great courage and sacrifice on their part. However, he is still glad that he joined the military.

In past few days, Overton has been a busy man, appearing in different places across the country. Meeting high profile persons has been part of his experience. He had an unique privilege to meet president Obama in the white house during the veterans day. The president lauded him for his role in the war. For him this was a dream come true since he had longed for this opportunity. Also among his encounters is with the governor of Texas.

It however remains unclear whether this centenarian was part of the battalion attacked on that fateful day. The words of president Obama and the information by US today lead to the conclusion that he saw all that happened at the Pearl Harbor. Evidence of the same however is not sufficiently available.

The veteran came to public limelight when he announced in an interview that he would prefer to spend his memorial smoking and drinking whisky that has been stiffened with coffee. He still appreciates that people would love to do something for him on this day but is categorical that how he would love to spend it. After leaving his job at the military, Richard worked in a furniture shop before joining the state department of treasury.

His service to his country was recognized by the mayor of Austin who described him as an extraordinary man.Overton took the opportunity to advise the young generation to become active in different physical activities instead of spending all their time watching.Together with his fellow veterans Overton has had an opportunity to tour the memorial of Martin Luther King. This visit was sponsored by Honour Flight. This is an organization that has and continues to facilitate the visits of veterans to different memorials as a way appreciating their significant contribution to society.

Honor Flight, an organization that sponsors the trips by veterans to memorials, sponsored the transport of the centenarian in company of other veterans to the memorial of Martin Luther King as a way of appreciating the contribution of these great men and women.

This memorial is however not going to be business as usual for this centenarian . All the friends his friends especially those from his platoon have passed on. The veteran admits that this for a number of times been a source of loneliness since he lacks a person he can talk to like he was used to with them. Richard has had two wives the last one having passed on twenty two years ago and has no children.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment