WWII veteran celebrates 104th birthday with hundreds of cards

30 January 2024 , 16:31

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Hull was delighted when he saw the huge batch of birthday cards (Image: WPTA)

A World War II veteran has reached long past his centenary year, celebrating his 104th birthday on Saturday.

Harrison Hull, from Indiana, served in the U.S. Army Air Force during the war, flying multiple different planes of the armed force’s 80,000-strong aerial fleet. Eight decades later and Hull is living a more understated life at the Kingston Resident in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The veteran celebrated his birthday with music, cake and a root beer float, which the residence says is his favourite treat. “You can’t ask for anything better than that,” he said of his Friday evening party.

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Hull received hundred's of cards after his residence put out an appeal on Facebook (WPTA)

Reflecting on his long life since he was born in 1920, Hull said he had met a large number of people over the years and believes he has been an honest and trustworthy man. “I don’t think I have an honest-to-goodness enemy in this world,” he said. “People like me.”

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Hull’s claim holds up, after he received hundreds of birthday letters from admirers appreciative of his career and his long, fulfilling life. It came after the Kingston’s Residence put out a Facebook post last week asking people to send in birthday cards to Hull - without expecting them to receive so many “I feel very appreciative,” Hull said. “It’s humbling.”

Hull would have been 19 when the second world war began, and 22 when the US entered the fold (WPTA)

Amanda Craig, the Kingston Residence’s executive director, said it is “amazing to see the community feel as much love for Harrison as we do”. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans reaching 100 or older will more than quadruple in the next 30 years.

According to research by the Population Division of the United Nations, in 2021 there were 89,739 centenarians in the US. This amounts to a prevalence of 0.027 percent of the population.

Hull said he feels "very appreciative" and that it is "humbling" (WPTA)

The highest prevalence of centenarians was found in Hawaii with 0.0413 percent, followed by Connecticut, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Iowa. At the bottom of the pile were Georgia, Texas, Nevada, Utah, and Alaska coming in last place with 0.0071 percent of the population over 100 years old. In terms of sheer numbers, New York had the most centenarians with 153,488, while Alaska had the least at 2,029. Although Alaska is one of the least populous US states, with 732,000 residents.

The US Army Air Force, the wartime Air Force for which Hull served, consisted of 2.4 million troops as of March 1944, and 80,000 aircraft as of July 1944. This formation of the Air Force was active until 18 September 1947, when it was disbanded to become the United States Air Force.

Alex Croft