A 101-year-old who served his country during World War II will be recognized at the Handley Meadowbrook Community Center in Fort Worth on Wednesday.
The ceremony for U.S. Army veteran Vester Owens is being organized by the Best Years Club and Camp Fort Worth participants.
Owens was drafted in 1942 and was part of the Allied forces that stormed the beach at Normandy, France on D-Day.
"I'd like to got drowned on Normandy," Owens said. "I was a country boy - and couldn't swim! I had a rifle in one hand and I was holding on to everything I owned in that bag that was water-proof...and that current was pulling me. If it wasn't for some other boys, I wouldn't be here today."
After that day on the beach, Owens’ deployment took him throughout Europe. He faced more danger outside of Stuttgart, Germany.
"I got pinned down in an apple orchard," he said. "They were shooting when I went to sleep, and when I woke up the next morning they were shooting. Next morning when a tank came by - that's when I got out of that apple orchard."
When Owens returned to his hometown in South Carolina after the war, he says there were no parades honoring African-American veterans.
"The neighbors were glad to see me, and the family - but I didn't get recognized by any whites," he said.
Owens later enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Fort Worth. He's made that city his home. Today, his friends in a program for senior citizens will hold a ceremony to honor his service.
His daughter, Dolores Owens, is glad her father's accomplishments are being recognized.
"I'm also grateful for the generosity of the Best Years Club at the community center," she said. "He's been going since about 2010 and he's made a number of friends there. I'm just so glad they think enough of him to try to celebrate him...and include the children of the day camp there."
The ceremony honoring Vester Owens will be at 12:00 p.m. at the Handley Meadowbrook Community Center at 6201 Beaty Street in Fort Worth.
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