The Centenarian

Don Revert, a U.S. Army veteran from World War Two is a rare man these days. He is a Centenarian who has proudly served his country. Born in 1912, he is now 100 years old.

I interviewed this man and asked about his involvement in World War II. This man was an engineer for the Army and he was in both theaters during the war, serving first in Europe and then in the Pacific. He built bridges and repaired roads in France and Germany that the Nazi’s had destroyed to slow the advance of the Allied Forces. In doing so, he came under fire frequently and credits his long life as being under the divine hand and protection of God. There were bullets whizzing past him while his fellow engineers, near the front lines, could rebuild bridges and repair the roads that would allow the Allies to continue to pursue the retreating German forces.

After the end of his work in Europe, Don Revert and his U.S. Army engineer corps were taken to the Pacific theater, where he did the same thing as he did in Europe; repair roads, rebuilding bridges, and also fixing runways so that the vast U.S. Bomber Fleet could push back the Japanese Imperial Army.

Even though his engineering unit was not under fire, they were under attack from misquotes and sand fleas. He said that they were worse than the bullets that the Germans had been firing at him. His engineering corps in Europe and the Pacific played a vital role in the closure of the Axis Powers of Germany and Japan. If there were not runways, no roads, and no bridges, there would be little infantry movement and bomber sorties.

Today Don Revert lives at the Villa Maria, a nursing home in Mulvane, Kansas. He plans to fly to Washington D.C. this fall to be honored along with other veterans of World War II. It was such an honor to interview this man and to personally thank him for his service for our nation. He said that freedom was not free at all, but very expensive, recalling the many who died in service to make us and other nations free from German socialism and Japanese imperialism.

He credits God for keeping him out of harm’s way and for allowing him to live to be 100 years old. It is to him that I dedicate this article too. Thank you Don Revert, U.S. Army engineer, for serving our country and for fighting to keep men and women free. I wanted to wish him a long life and many happy years, but then I realized he already has 100 of them.