america's oldest man and cigars

[Ken Gargett]

i'm sure many might have seen this. from CA (they do have some good stuff). good on him. 

America’s Oldest Man, Age 112, Smokes A Dozen Cigars A Day

• MAY 14, 2018 |
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• By David Savona
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Photo: Ricardo B. Brazziell/AP

Richard Overton (left), smoking cigars with Donna Shorts and Martin Wilford in Austin, Texas, a few weeks before his 109th birthday.

Richard A. Overton turned 112 years old on May 11. As with birthday celebrations everywhere, there was a gathering of friends and there was food and drink. But Overton celebrated his birthday in a style befitting a Cigar Aficionado—he smoked several cigars. 

Smoking cigars is a daily ritual for Overton, who is not only the oldest living man in America, but the oldest American veteran of World War II. His typical day involves rising early (sometimes he gets up at 3 a.m.), brewing coffee and smoking cigars. He’s good for about 12 cigars a day. 

Reached on his birthday, at about 2:30 in the afternoon, he had already smoked six. 

“I’m happy every day,” he said while puffing a cigar in his home. “I don’t have no worries. I feel fine—I ain’t got no aches, pains or nothing.”

Overton was born in St. Mary's Colony, Texas, outside of Austin, on May 11, 1906, only three years after the first flight of the Wright Brothers. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served from 1942 through 1945, fighting for the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion. His service took him to the South Pacific, where the United States would fight some of its bloodiest battles, and his group built airfields to fight the Japanese as the United States hopped ever closer to the Japanese mainland. His boots hit the beaches of Guam, Hawaii, Palau and the volcanic Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where one of the fiercest battles in the history of war took place. In five weeks, more than 6,800 Americans lost their lives.

"He arrived in Iwo Jima a few days after the main battle," says his friend Allen Bergeron, chairman of Honor Flight Austin. "He was part of the body detail. He says that's where the water along the beach turned to blood."

Bergeron says Overton had 30 confirmed kills during the war, but he emerged from his service uninjured. "Bullets went behind me, above me, why they didn't hit me, I don't know," says Overton.

The war ended in September 1945, and in October Overton was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. Back in Austin, he returned to his job at a furniture store and built his own home. 

There are burdens to living such long lives. He married twice, but outlived both wives. He never had children. And there are all those soldiers who fought alongside him who didn't come home. "I lost a lot of my friends," he says.

He smokes cigars every day, and prefers them mild and rather small. His go-to smoke is a machine-made cigar called a Tampa Sweet, a bargain brand that sells for about 40 cents a cigar.

He had a doctor once who told him to drop the cigars. He ignored the advice. "I smoke 12 a day," he says, "but I don't inhale them. It's the good taste. Let your lungs stay clean."

Overton not only loves his cigars, but he has a taste for whiskey. He drank much of it as a younger man ("I used to drink a lot," he says frankly), but today puts only the occasional splash in a cup of coffee, a cocktail he claims has a beneficial effect. "You put a taste of whiskey in your coffee in the morning," he advises. "It's like medicine."

[NSXCIGAR]

This article is an abridged version of the one CA ran back when he was a young man of 109.

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-cigar-smoking-life-18245

I guess 12 cigars a day for 90 years is the secret...I need to start smoking more! Apparently, he enjoys whisky almost every day as well. 

As a side note, he is about as healthy and spry as one can possibly be at 112. I've seen 80-year-olds in similar condition. Most of the other 100+ year olds are borderline vegetables. 

[n0s4atu]

I've seen his story recently and what a character. The things he's seen in his 112 years are incredible.  At that age, he's earned his dozen cigars a day! 

[anacostiakat]

Saw this a while ago.  This guy is like George Burns.

[canadianbeaver]

Great Sunday morning read. Thanks!

[alloy]

Just another Texan! 

[BuzzArd]

2 hours ago, Weaponiz'd1 said:

 I believe @SignalJoe posted about Mr overton a year or so ago. I also remember he went and met him and brought some good smokes.

Yes, he did. 

 

 

[JR Kipling]

That gentleman has earned the right to smoke whatever the hell he likes. Bless him. - - But out of curiosity I tried one of his preferred cigars - a Tampa Sweet Perfecto. 

 

Not good.

 

I imagine he’s been gifted many cigars over the years by people who have read his story. Undoubtedly,  these included a few high end, premium cigars. He probably passed them on to others & smoked his own Tampa Sweets instead.

 

[Derboesekoenig]

Lol! At that age he probably doesn't have any taste buds left.

[SCgarman]

17 minutes ago, Derboesekoenig said:

Lol! At that age he probably doesn't have any taste buds left.

I admire the man. Served in the US military. Enjoys 12 cigars a day and whiskey in his morning coffee. Says he has no body aches nor pains. Hell, many do not even live to reach half his age, and live "clean" lives. God Bless him.

[Mossome]

I just saw some really awful news. Apparently some scumbags have stolen his identity and drained his bank account. This is so sad, and makes you wonder what the world is coming to. 

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/30/us/oldest-living-veteran-theft-trnd/index.html

[luv2fly]

2 hours ago, Mossome said:

I just saw some really awful news. Apparently some scumbags have stolen his identity and drained his bank account. This is so sad, and makes you wonder what the world is coming to. 

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/30/us/oldest-living-veteran-theft-trnd/index.html

Just saw this and posted on another thread about him.  Find this trash and he is meat!!!

[cfc1016]

Just saw it too and came here to let people know.

Let's rally boys...

https://www.gofundme.com/Help-Richard-Overton

Apparently it's been running since late 2016. Clearly he needs it now more than ever. With all the money we spend on cigars... why don't we all chip in and help out the old soldier???