Arkansas’s oldest WWII vet feels great on 105th birthday

Arkansas’s longest-living World War II veteran said he still feels good Saturday while celebrating his 105th birthday surrounded by friends and family.

Claude Bell Sr. was born June 3, 1918, in Gillett, Arkansas, and has dedicated his life to his family and his nation.

NASA TARGETING MONDAY LAUNCH FOR ISS RESUPPLY MISSION

“I tell people Papa was active all his life, and he’s 105, now,” Shawn Bell, grandson of Bell Sr., said. “So, hopefully, I got those genes.”

Bell is a father of three, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of seven, according to a report.

“He was a good father. He took care of his family. He was a gentleman,” Claude Bell Jr. said. “He didn’t talk a whole lot, but, when he did, there was command in the voice.”

Service has been a significant part of Bell Sr.’s life, and he always worked to help others, his family said.

“He was an Army medic during World War II. He did not really talk about that, but he was stationed in England, France, and Belgium,” Shawn Bell, grandson of Bell Sr., said. “I think that is really cool just to imagine what he saw on the battlefield. We cannot comprehend that today.”

Bell entered the Army in 1942 and completed basic training at the Army’s Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, becoming a surgical technician.

“Anytime we all had stitches, or anything like that, my mom would say, ‘Well, your daddy can take those out for you,’” Shirley Bell-Thrash, daughter of Bell Sr., said.

During his time in the service, Bell Sr. was awarded the Victory Ribbon, American Theatre Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, and two Overseas Service Bars, the report noted.

Bell Sr.’s family credits his longevity to a healthy lifestyle.

“When he was in his 90s, he got locked out of his car out at the farm, which is about 10 minutes from Gillett. He walked back in the summer,” Shawn Bell said. “I would have just sat down.”

Nurses asked Bell Sr. if he felt good, according to the report.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“I always feel good,” he said.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) sent a letter to Bell Sr., and he was awarded a certificate of recognition from the Arkansas Veterans Affairs Office.