FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2019 file photo, World War II veteran Lawrence Brooks holds a photo of him taken in 1943, as he celebrates his 110th birthday at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Brooks celebrated his 112th birthday, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 with a drive-by party at his New Orleans home hosted by the National War War II Museum. Drafted in 1940, Brooks was a private in the Army’s mostly Black 91st Engineer Battalion. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Lawrence Brooks, a World War II soldier, displays a portrait of himself taken in 1943 as he celebrates his 110th birthday at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Sept. 12, 2019. Brooks' 112th birthday was marked with a drive-by celebration at his New Orleans home held by the National War War II Museum on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. Brooks was a private in the Army's primarily Black 91st Engineer Battalion when he was drafted in 1940. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo/File)
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) – The oldest living World War II veteran in the United States, a Louisiana man, has turned 112 years old.
The National World War II Museum threw a drive-by party at Lawrence Brooks' New Orleans house on Sunday, according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. “Mr. Brooks, the entire state of Louisiana appreciates you for your service and we all wish you a joyous birthday,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards in a tweet.
Brooks has previously thrown parties at the museum, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, such gatherings have been reduced to drive-by festivities for the past two years.
A Jeep parade, a live performance by the museum vocal trio, and entertainment by New Orleans musicians were among the highlights of this year's activities. Brooks' birthday was also commemorated with an official proclamation by the city.
Brooks, who was born in 1909 in Norwood, Louisiana, has lived in New Orleans since 1929. He was a private in the Army's 91st Engineer Battalion, which was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines and developed infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and airstrips. He was drafted in 1940.
Brooks also told how he was transporting a cargo of barbed wire to the front when one of the engines on the C-47 he was flying in went out in an oral history about his service aired on YouTube.
He made his way to the cockpit after they dropped the barbed wire to save weight. He told the pilot and co-pilot that because they were the only ones with parachutes, he would grab one of them if they had to jump for it.
He laughed as he continued, "We made it though." “That made us laugh hysterically.”
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