107 Yr Old WW2 Vet, Merch Mariner Headed to D-Day 80th Anniv, France 🇫🇷 June 6, 2024; Longevity [View all]

- SEE Photo: Reynolds Tomter gets a peek at his birthday cake in an undated photo in Pigeon Falls, Wis. Tomter, 107, has been invited to attend the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.
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— The population in Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin, is 381, but there's no one in the state like Reynolds Tomter. "Here we go again, ready or not," said Tomter as he prepared to walk into a big celebration for his 107th birthday. Spend a few minutes with this World War II merchant mariner and you'll want more. He personifies gratitude. "I'm blessed. I've got friends and I'm thankful," Tomter added. "I'm experiencing a new thing. I've never been this old."

It's his favorite one-liner on this day, but with jokes like that, why wouldn't you want to be in a knotty pine bar in northwest Wisconsin at 7:30 a.m. to celebrate another milestone for Tomter? Tomter is about to reach another milestone unlike any in his long life. He was invited to the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. "I'm lucky to have a chance to go," said Tomter. "I never felt at all that I earned it. I haven't done anything more than any other GI."

Tomter is believed to be the oldest living World War II merchant mariner in the country. As the ship's baker and backup gunner, he was on five Atlantic crossings — with one mission: to get the supplies to the troops. "Ammo, tanks, canons, whatever the area needed," said Tomter. "You have been assigned a job and you better (expletive) well pitch in and do it." He did his job, but after the war was over, Reynolds and other mariners were not given veterans status and access to benefits.

"When I got home there weren't GI benefits of any kind and that hurt," Tomter recalled. Decades later, that hurt would be healed when they finally received full veteran status. Then, in 2022, Tomter and merchant mariners were given the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in World War II. Wherever he goes, people ask him about the upcoming trip to France. "I haven't earned anything to go to France," Reynolds said. He said the only thing is that he's very old.

The secret to longevity - 'I'll have to say luck," Tomter said. "Lots of luck and I've always had a positive attitude."...

https://www.ksl.com/article/51004876/107-year-old-wwii-veteran-headed-to-historic-80th-anniversary-of-d-day
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- G.I. is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army" It is mostly deeply associated with World War II, but continues to see use. *Abbrev. for 'govt. issue' or 'general issue.'...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I.#:~:text=