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Frank Levingston
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Frank Levingston | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Levingston at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, 2015 | |
| Birth name | Frank Levingston Jr. |
| Born | November 13, 1905 Cotton Valley, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 2016 (aged 110 years, 172 days) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Private |
| Conflicts | |
Frank Levingston Jr. (November 13, 1905 – May 3, 2016) was an American soldier and supercentenarian. At the time of his death, he was the second-oldest verified military veteran in the United States, the oldest living man in the United States, and the oldest verified American veteran of World War II.
Biography
[edit]Levingston was born on November 13, 1905, in Cotton Valley, Louisiana, to Frank and Ida Levingston, and was raised a Methodism. He was the fourth of seven children. As a child, he helped operate his family's 200-acre farm. He received little formal education and his parents died when he was young.[1] Levingston enlisted in the United States Army on October 6, 1942.[2] A private, he served as a truck technician in the Allied invasion of Italy and the North African campaign.[1][3][4] After receiving an honorable discharge in 1945, he became a cement finisher for a labor union in San Diego.[1][4]
In the 1950s, Levingston converted to Islam, though still held ties to Methodism and visited both churches and mosques.[1]
In 2015, on his 110th birthday, Levingston received a congratulatory letter from the White House. On December 7, 2015 – the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor – he and other veterans visited Washington, D.C. with the Honor Flight non-profit, with him laying a wreath on the World War II Memorial.[3][2][4]
On August 16, 2015, Levingston became the oldest recognized living military veteran in the United States, following the death of Emma Didlake.[5] He called himself "one of the blessed ones" to be the oldest.[6] By then, according to his nephew, he was healthy and required no medication.[7] He became the oldest living American man on April 19, 2016, following the death of fellow Louisiana resident Felix Simoneaux Jr. (born May 24, 1905).[8]
Levingston never married and has no children, though he helped his extended family. He retired c. 1981 and lived alone, in his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana,[1][6][5][9] until about April 2016, when his family moved him into a nursing home.[4] He died on May 3, 2016, aged 110, in a hospital in Shreveport.[10][1] His funeral was held in Cotton Grove.[2] His death was consoled in a session of the Louisiana House of Representatives.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Hagerty, James R. (May 14, 2016). "Frank Levingston Was Celebrated as a U.S. Army Hero". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Oldest US World War II Vet Passes Away at 110". ABC News. May 5, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c "HLS 16RS-3883". Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Man Believed to Be Oldest U.S. Veteran Dies at 110". NBC News. May 7, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ a b "110-year-old World War II vet gets Washington D.C. trip". CBS News. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ a b Schuppe, Jon (November 11, 2015). "Frank Levingston, America's Oldest Veteran, 109, Says He's 'Blessed'". NBC News. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ Dyer, Brandon (December 17, 2015). "Oldest known living World War II vet visits Tomb of the Unknowns". United States Army. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ "The Nation's Oldest Man Dies A Month Shy Of 111th Birthday". The Huffington Post. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ^ "Veteran Frank Levingston, oldest man in the United States, dies at age 110". New York Daily News. May 4, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ Bowerman, Mary (May 6, 2016). "America's oldest WWII vet dies at 110". USA Today. Retrieved September 29, 2025.