Richard Overton

Richard Overton. Born in the Pleasant Valley community in Bastrop County to Gentry Overton Sr. (1877-1920) and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Franklin) Overton Waters (1876-1939), Richard Arvin Overton gained notoriety as the oldest World War II veteran and living man in the United States. Richard moved to Travis County in early adulthood. He married his first wife, Novella Prince, on December 21, 1926, but soon after moved to East Austin., On September 3, 1942, at Fort Sam Houston, Richard enlisted in the United States Army. He served in the all-Black unit of the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion, serving in the South Pacific, including in Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The 1887th Battalion was notable for clearing land to build "North Field," a strategic airstrip on the island of Guam, which later became Andersen Air Force Base. Overton left the Army in 1945 as a Technician Fifth Grade. Eventually, he earned the rank of Corporal and received an expert rife marksmanship badge, along with other military awards., He later married Wilma Galloway (1910-1988). The couple had no children. In 1948, they built a home in the College Heights subdivision in East Austin. Overton worked in a warehouse, and later, for the Texas Treasury Department as a courier. He retired in the 1970s. Overton continued to be a staple in his community. In the early twenty-first century, he was honored in the White House by the President as the oldest living World War II veteran. He died at the age of 112 and is buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.