GLADSTONE, Mo. — Vernon Crow, a veteran who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, celebrated his 100th birthday with a special visit from the Don Bosco Senior Center staff and hundreds of handmade birthday cards from the community.
The staff at the Don Bosco Senior Center brings Crow a hot meal every day. However, this visit was extra special as they gathered to celebrate his centennial.
"He's just a remarkable person," said Anne Miller, Don Bosco Senior Center director. "We all knew his 100th birthday was coming."
The celebration took place at Crow's Gladstone home, where people piled in to honor not just a milestone birthday but a lifetime of service.
Crow has become well-known in the community through a video that shares his military experiences.
The community responded with hundreds of birthday cards, made by local students.
"A whole basket full of birthday cards from students around the city that heard about you," said Mo Orpin, Don Bosco staff.
Crow was just 17 when he joined the Navy. During his military career, he helped map Alaska and Newfoundland. In retirement, he taught new naval officers.
His legacy of service continues through his children and grandchildren, who also served in the military.
"These are the people who went through the great depression, the dust storm and think about the things you read in the history book, they lived that," said Kelvin Crow, Vernon's son.
Kelvin knows the importance of hearing his father's stories firsthand.
"The blessing for us is not only do we have a trailblazer to say, 'Hey, you can do this,' but at the same time we are learning a lot as well, and get that extra time to ask those questions and hear some of those stories and that's something you can't ever replace when the time has left," Kelvin said.
Vernon attributes his longevity to healthy habits.
"I've enjoyed living, and sometimes some things weren't the best, but I hung in there all the time," Vernon said. "I never have smoked and never had a drink of alcohol."
Kelvin believes veterans like his father deserve recognition.
"They are all, in a way, heroes; they are all people to emulate, and if you get a chance to hear the stories like we did in there, that's a good thing to hear," Kelvin said.
Miller emphasized the importance of honoring seniors, especially those who served.
"We need to do more for older adults, and they worked hard all their lives, and we need to show them the respect," Miller said. "Anyone in the military is well worth celebrating, someone who survived this many years and served in WWII."
Vernon offered some wisdom to those celebrating with him: "Don't forget you may get this old, too."
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