Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the U.S. - and believed to be the oldest man in the country - died at the age of 112.
NEW ORLEANS -- Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the U.S. - and believed to be the oldest man in the country - died on Wednesday at the age of 112.Most African Americans serving in the segregated U.S. armed forces at the beginning of World War II were assigned to noncombat units and relegated to service duties, such as supply, maintenance and transportation, said Col. Pete Crean, vice president of education and access at the museum in New Orleans.But Brooks, born on Sept.
Brooks was passionate about the New Orleans Saints football team and never missed a game, his daughter said. His church, St. Luke's Episcopal, was also close to his heart and he never missed a Sunday service until the coronavirus pandemic hit. Later in the war, troop losses virtually forced the military to begin placing more African American troops into combat positions. In 1941, fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military. By 1945, that number increased to more than 1.2 million.
Crean, who got to know Brooks and his family through his work at the museum, said Brooks did talk about noticing how much better he was treated as a Black man in Australia compared with the U.S. But Brooks told Crean thinking about it would make him angry, so he tried not to. During his oral history interview, Brooks said the officers he cared for treated him well and he considered himself fortunate not to have to fight in combat.
After they dumped the cargo to conserve weight, he made his way to the cockpit. He told the pilot and co-pilot that since they were the only two with parachutes, if they had to jump for it, he was going to grab on to one of them. "We'd be running like crazy, trying to hide," he said. They had to dig foxholes to protect themselves.When he returned from service, he worked as a forklift driver until retiring in his 60s. He has five children, five stepchildren, and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his wife, Leona, shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
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