Family and friends of a New Orleans man who was the oldest world-war-two” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>World War II<
Brooks was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940. After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to the mostly Black 91st Engineer General Service Regiment stationed in Australia. The 91st was a unit that built bridges, roads and airstrips for planes. Brooks was assigned as a caretaker to three white officers — cooking, driving and taking care of their clothes.
World War II veteran Lawrence Brooks sports a lipstick kiss on his cheek, planted by a member of the singing group Victory Belles, during his 110th birthday celebration.
(AP/Gerald Herbert)
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He was discharged from the Army in August 1945 as a private first class.
The ceremony will be held at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. (Google Maps)
When he returned from service, he worked as a forklift driver until retiring in his 60s. He has five children, five stepchildren, and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his wife, Leona, shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
