Georgia WWII veteran Charlie Duncan celebrates 106th birthday with honors, memories
The Brief
Charlie Duncan will be 106 on May 27, but his friends and family held a party for him on Sunday.
On the night of his birthday, he'll be honored with a special proclamation at the Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Duncan was sworn into the US Army 81 years ago on his 25th birthday. He recently attended a veteran's luncheon where there were four other World War II veterans. He said he was the oldest.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A Georgia World War II veteran is celebrating a major birthday.
Charlie Duncan is turning 106 years old on May 27.
What they're saying
"Nobody in my family lived past 84. Here I am 106," said Charlie Duncan.
Friends and family held a birthday party for him at Rally Point Grille in Woodstock on Sunday.
"There were 62 people there. We had a good lunch and had a sit-down lunch," said Charlie.
Inside the restaurant there's a photo of Charlie on the wall. He's a World War II veteran. He was sworn into the US Army on his 25th birthday.
After the military, Charlie came home to the Cobb County and Cherokee County areas. He says over the last 100-plus years there have been a lot of changes.
"This was all farm land. Highway 5 was a little two-lane road," said Charlie.
He says he wouldn't want to step back in time.
"It was a hard life on the farm back then, especially during the depression. You couldn't get a job making 50 cents a day," said Charlie.
Charlie spent 37 years in the mill work industry. He retired when he was 62 and kept busy.
"I had a big garden and I had a workshop in my basement," said Charlie.
He has two children, grandchildren, and was married a total of 83 years.
"Thirty-nine years to my first wife and 44 years to my second wife," he said.
These days, he spends time with family and occasionally attends veteran luncheons.
"There was five of us sitting around a table. World War II veterans," said Charlie.
He says he was the oldest; The others were just in their 90s.
It's also very likely he was the most active. He says he square danced for decades.
"We square danced for 37 years. My wife and I did. Square dancers came up here when I was 103, and they wanted me to get up and dance, and I did. Then they came back this year and wanted me to dance, and I said no, I'm too clumsy," said Charlie with a laugh.
He was also a water aerobics fanatic, all the way up until last fall.
Charlie says that's what's kept him going all these years.
"Stay active, that's all I got to say: stay active and eat well, eat fruits and vegetables," said Charlie.
What's next
Tuesday evening, on Charlie's 106th birthday, he will be honored with a proclamation at the Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting.
The Source
FOX 5's Denise Dillon spoke with Georgia WWII veteran Charlie Duncan, who is turning 106 this week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
13 minutes ago
- New York Times
Cubs aren't waiting until the trade deadline to make more moves for pitching
CHICAGO — Drew Pomeranz already had Craig Counsell's contact information stored in his phone when the Chicago Cubs manager reached out to welcome the 36-year-old left-handed pitcher to his new team. Pomeranz had just used the upward mobility clause in his minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners, leveraging an April transfer from Triple-A Tacoma and appreciating an unexpected opportunity. Advertisement 'It's always good when (the manager) calls and the name pops up on your caller ID,' Pomeranz said. 'This is my 11th organization in 15 years, so there's a lot of those names that keep popping up. I'm just glad they're still calling, to be honest.' The sudden emergence of Pomeranz (0.00 ERA) as a key member of the pitching staff explains why the Cubs are continuing to monitor pitchers who have June opt-out clauses in their minor-league contracts, as well as relievers such as Jorge López, who was recently designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals. The small moves can add up throughout a 162-game season, and those types of transactions would not preclude Jed Hoyer's front office from making a big summer splash. If the first two months of a Major League Baseball season are figuring out what you have, the Cubs already know they possess the talent, depth and experience to compete with anybody. With two months to go until the July 31 trade deadline, what this first-place team needs is clear. 'To quote our manager, 'We just need to get outs,'' Hoyer said when asked whether the rotation or the bullpen would be a higher priority at the trade deadline. Counsell managed the Milwaukee Brewers when they acquired Pomeranz at the 2019 trade deadline. Though the baseball industry primarily viewed Pomeranz as a struggling starter at that time — he was 2-9 with a 5.68 ERA for the San Francisco Giants — the Brewers used the lefty almost exclusively out of the bullpen and watched him dominate (45 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings) in shorter bursts. 'I loved playing for Counsell,' Pomeranz said. 'I was with him for 2 1/2 months. And probably the best 2 1/2 months I've ever pitched, to be honest. That's what I told him: 'I was pretty good for you last time, so hopefully I can give you something like that again.'' Advertisement That history factored into the decision to bring Pomeranz to Chicago. Though far from an unknown — Pomeranz was a first-round pick in 2010 and an All-Star in 2016 — he also had not pitched in a major-league game since 2021. In his debut as a Cub, Pomeranz struck out Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, beginning this run of 15 consecutive scoreless appearances. The Cubs have also successfully incorporated Brad Keller (2.22 ERA in 26 appearances) and Chris Flexen (0.00 ERA in 14 1/3 innings), two pitchers who were signed to minor-league deals after being part of the historically bad Chicago White Sox team that lost 121 games last year. Internally, the Cubs stuck with Daniel Palencia, who did not make the Opening Day roster but continues to earn Counsell's trust. Since getting promoted from Triple-A Iowa in the middle of April, Palencia has notched five holds and five saves and taken over as the closer. 'It's almost hard to keep up with,' Counsell said of the bullpen turnover. 'But it just highlights the difficulty of the job, as much as anything. So you try to just embrace that it's a harder job. And how you find the answers is to say, 'I don't know the answers.' 'Always be on the lookout. It's a 365-day job, trying to get bullpen help. Some areas of the team, you can't go get a third baseman on April 1, right? But with relievers, that's how it works.' López, for example, was released by the New York Mets last June after he threw his glove into the Citi Field stands. López, a one-time All-Star who previously worked with Counsell in Milwaukee, latched on with the Cubs and became one of their better relievers after that change of scenery. López, who signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Nationals, is expected to clear waivers. The Cubs would not be in a position to offer López a guaranteed major-league spot or automatically put him at the top of a Triple-A depth chart that includes Nate Pearson, Gavin Hollowell, Tom Cosgrove and Riley Martin. But all that roster churn represents a chance to be opportunistic. Advertisement 'You got to take shots,' Counsell said. 'You never get satisfied. You never stop looking for those opportunities, and that's something else that the organization is doing well. The quest for opportunities in pitching, it's 365 days (a year). It doesn't matter if it's the offseason, May 28, June 28, August 28 — you're trying to add pitching and develop pitching.' Right now, that focus is particularly heightened. Between Justin Steele (season-ending elbow surgery) and Shota Imanaga (strained hamstring), the Cubs have two All-Star starters on the injured list, and their pitching depth is about to get tested even further. Beginning Tuesday night at Nationals Park, the Cubs are scheduled to play 26 games in 27 days. Imanaga was scheduled to travel to Arizona this week and begin the next phase of his rehab program, which will progress from live batting practice to multiple outings in controlled game situations. (Counsell said it doesn't really matter if Imanaga got those reps at the Mesa complex or a minor-league affiliate.) If there are no setbacks, Imanaga would rejoin the rotation later in June. By that point, the Cubs might have clarity on whether disappointing clubs such as the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks will become sellers at the trade deadline. Though the Cubs are still dependent on the health of their own players, many of their preseason needs have been crossed off the list. After years of wondering where the star power would come from, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki are performing at that level. Third base, the one big question mark among an established group of position players, appears to be resolved after Matt Shaw's mental reset and mechanical adjustments at Triple A. The bench is also noticeably improved. It is, and always will be, about pitching. When a team is already 15 games above .500, the goal becomes maximizing a tight-knit group and adding someone who can start a playoff game at Wrigley Field and help seize a World Series trophy. (Top photo of Drew Pomeranz: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
Forbes
14 minutes ago
- Forbes
Belmont 2025: Post Positions, Odds, And Journalism's Tough Second Shot
Will The Re-Match Look Like This: Sovereignty #18, ridden by jockey Junior Alvarado crosses the finish line to win the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 03, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by) In a fine, sporting turn of the Triple Crown season, the 2025 Belmont Stakes favorite Journalism, at 8-5 in the Saratoga morning line, will face both the horse that blazed by him to win the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty (2-1), and the show horse that was within strides of passing him in that race, Baeza (4-1), all pictured above in the middle of that wet battle on May 3. Talk about racing kismet. The 'Big Sandy,' as the brawny Belmont track has been nicknamed by the racing community, is still under renovation, and thus has added this other seemingly small, but deceptively big, similarity to the Derby. For the second year in a row, the Belmont's $2-million Belmont Stakes, will be a fair imitation of the Kentucky Derby at one-and-a-quarter miles. What's a quarter-mile? Another to put that would be to say, if Baeza had had another quarter-mile in front of him in the Kentucky Derby, Journalism would be the show horse. And another way to put that would be to say, although Saratoga has drawn a modestly-sized field, it's jam-packed with athletic talent. But before we get into what Bob Baffert and his onrushing front-runner Rodriguez have in mind for the top three, here are the freshly drawn post positions and the Saratoga morning line. (Source: NYRA, 6/3/2025) Piquant in the Saratoga draw is the fact that Journalism will be breaking just a stall to the outside of the horse that nearly beat him in the Derby, and both of them have a fair shot at settling in the early going. But the fact that matters more is that Journalism ran back in the Preakness, and did it quite well, just two weeks back. Sovereignty's Derby victory in the last furlong over Journalism was quite decisive, and the horse came out of the race well, but trainer Bill Mott and the Sovereignty connections decided with fair dispatch that Sovereignty would sit out the Preakness to return now. John Shirreffs and the Baeza team decided the same. Rodriguez missed both the Derby and the Preakness with his foot injury, which has been given a sterling stamp of full recovery. The point, which we'll be hearing about ad infinitum this week, is that the four most dangerous horses to Journalism in the Belmont are spanking fresh. And he's not.
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
Vista Grande grass fire in Fairfield forces evacuations
FAIRFIELD — Crews were battling multiple grass fires around the city of Fairfield on Monday. One fire has burned more than 15 acres along Vista Grande, north of Waterman Boulevard, and has prompted an evacuation order. The City of Fairfield said shortly after 4:30 p.m. that a mandatory evacuation order was in place for Palmer Circle and Bear Creek Drive. An evacuation warning was in place for Cherry Valley Circle. Cal Fire said it also deployed crews to assist with the firefight. Southeast of that scene, Fairfield firefighters were also working a grass fire in the area of East Travis Boulevard and Sunset Avenue. The size of this fire was not yet clear. No injuries have been reported in either fire. It is not known how each fire started.
