Talk:Richard Arvin Overton

Not the oldest WW2 veteran
Józef Kowalski: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Kowalski There are also dozens of people of military age on the supercentenarian list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_supercentenarians — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.241.202.165 (talk) 22:49, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I think it's clear that the article should be corrected to reflect that. He *might* be "the oldest American WWII veteran", or "the oldest veteran of the US military".  I'd be interested in other editors' opinions about which sounds better. Bricology (talk) 08:00, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I changed it, I think it is very misleading otherwise as it was. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.241.202.165 (talk) 07:00, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

He is the second oldest verified veteran now that Phyllis Josephine Thompson died.

Problems and doubts
Amongst all of the accolades, I find myself dubious about Mr. Overton's claims. First, the article says almost nothing about his actual service, other than to say that he served with the U.S. Army (no references provided), and that "He served in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945". That in itself is problematic, since the Army had limited involvement in the South Pacific; that was primarily the theater of the Navy and the Marines and, to a lesser degree, the Army Air Corps. Second, he supposedly "was at Pearl Harbor". Again, the US Army wasn't really involved in the attacks on Pearl; the closest any Army personnel were on the day of the attack was at Opana Radar Station and a few air bases and anti-aircraft batteries. Third, the US Army didn't serve in the Battle for Iwo Jima; the US Navy, Marines and Seabees were the only services involved there. Fourth, in the Battle for Okinawa, four divisions of the 10th Army (not Army Air Forces) were the only US Army divisions to fight. Was Mr. Overton in one of those four? If so, which one? Any input or clarification would be appreciated. Bricology (talk) 21:06, 12 November 2013 (UTC) More information: I was able to find a photograph from WWII of a man purported to be Overton here. It shows him wearing a uniform that bears just one recognizable element: the "Hap Arnold" shoulder patch of the US Army Air Forces. That emblem was phased in in late Feb. of 1942. Photos of soldiers in uniforms without any rank or other insignia are typically taken when they're new recruits; as soon as a soldier is assigned a rank, it is immediately added to their uniforms. Of course, the attack on Pearl Harbor was some months earlier, on 7 Dec., 1941. There were 4 Army Air Forces bases on Hawaii that were attacked that day (Wheeler, Hickam, Bellows and Ford), but as near as I can tell, the total forces there would've only been around 1,000 (and all of the squadrons are identified). At that time, there were a total of about 4,000 African-Americans serving in all branches of the US military, which makes Mr. Overton being one of those 1,000 USAAF soldiers in Hawaii almost impossible. The 5th, 7th and 8th Air Forces participated in the Battle for Okinawa, but only providing bombardment; if Mr. Overton was not a member of a flight crew, he would not have "been at Okinawa" (during the Battle). (Also, most units were segregated at the time.) The USAAF did not participate at all in the Battle for Iwo Jima. That leads me to suspect one of three scenarios: either Mr. Overton "was there" at the locations of those battles at some time (but not during the battles in question), or he was in some support role at a safe distance from those locations, or he (or the media) is embroidering his experiences. I can find no other explanation. Bricology (talk) 08:44, 13 November 2013 (UTC)


 * The first claim that needs to be examined is that of being the oldest veteran. Here is an article on Frank Levingston, Jr, who is said to have been born the year before Overton:
 * Lake Charles man celebrates 109th birthday
 * Quote: "Frank was born in 1905 and may be the oldest living World War II veteran in the country."
 * --Vybr8 (talk) 21:05, 7 May 2015 (UTC)


 * sketchiness: okay, I found his enlistment documents, which I added in citation to the article.  It says he enlisted in September 1942.  I cannot find a discharge, and not one that says he was a sergeant.  His enlistment only shows  that he came in as a private.  The unit to which he was (apparently) assigned may have been used to build airfields. But I don't have the book and cannot verify that.  Additional information on Mr. Overton shows that he was a porter (city directories), and his enlistment papers say he had 1 year of high school, with civil occupation as semiskilled chauffeur/driver/bus/taxi/ tractor.  auntieruth (talk) 18:50, 1 September 2015 (UTC)

Richard A. Overton served his country well, but I wish someone would provide a reference proving he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). The CIB is given to soldiers who serve in an Infantry unit during times of conflict. There is no record of Overton serving with the Infantry that I have seen. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 327th (talk • contribs) 20:45, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

Proposed merge with "Mr. Overton"
Despite over 7 months passed since page was created, the page named "Mr. Overton" is still very short. If continues this situation in the future, this page should be merged into Richard Arvine Overton. If without oppose opinion, I'll be realize this propose 10 days later.Inception2010 (talk) 12:37, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd WP:BEBOLD and just go ahead without waiting another 10 days. 7 months is more than enough time to expand or add sources. Support a merge if consensus is required. CommanderLinx (talk) 23:59, 31 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Almost ten days have passed and without oppose opinion, I'd realized my propose.Inception2010 (talk) 10:54, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

17th oldest American/77th oldest ever man!
Such statements, although factual, are surely uneccessary and not very encyclopedic. It's almost a "milestone section" contained in the introduction. MattSucci (talk) 05:45, 6 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Removed as per consensus for Longevity articles. Anyone re-adding it can expect an Arbcom notice (if they don't already have one) and can expect an Arbcom sanction if they continue. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 07:52, 6 August 2017 (UTC)
 * As well as the general BLP policy that "unreferenced material may be deleted at any time" which clearly applies here (a Wikilink to another article not counting as reference) the discussions here and here cover what is and is not appropriate for longevity biographies. DerbyCountyinNZ  (Talk Contribs) 08:44, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. Community Tech bot (talk) 13:51, 30 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Mr- Overton 2013-08-07 15-58.jpg

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 11:07, 19 August 2018 (UTC)
 * CPL Richard Arvine Overton, USA.jpg

Nominated for the main page at ITN
-Ad Orientem (talk) 02:36, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

The only item holding up this nomination is the lack of sourcing for military honors. -Ad Orientem (talk) 02:37, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

Image vandalized
The image at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Arvin_Overton#/media/File:Richard_Overton_2017.jpg has been vandalized-the history at Commons does not show the obscene addition, but clicking on the article in en.wiki brings it up. Not certain whodunnit.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 23:23, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

Last modified by AnomieBOT Image vandalized. MaureenSeiden (talk) 02:18, 30 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Do we know what happened here? TheDragonFire (talk) 03:01, 30 December 2018 (UTC)
 * no idea, but its on other wikis too. I'm filing a commons ani report, then asking that this page be protected so tha tthe 175px isn't removed --DannyS712 (talk) 03:11, 30 December 2018 (UTC)
 * can you file an AN report here so that this is protected? I have to go (irl stuff) but it should be protected or at the very least constantly watched for the image issue --DannyS712 (talk) 03:15, 30 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Nevermind, the image has been fixed --DannyS712 (talk) 03:51, 30 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Ah, so what's happened here is there was a vandalised version and an admin removed it from image history but caching didn't catch up in time. TheDragonFire (talk) 04:20, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 30 December 2018
202.156.144.73 (talk) 02:23, 30 December 2018 (UTC) URGENT REVIEW PHOTO of Richard Arvin Overton
 * Yes check.svg Done DannyS712 (talk) 02:46, 30 December 2018 (UTC)

Link to the second oldest in the USA?
Could someone link in, from his wikipedia article, to the second oldest person in the USA? Right at the ~bottom of the main page where the oldest person before him was mentioned. That way we can sort of "click through" to find out who the oldest one is right now and read their stories. 2A02:8388:1641:8380:68DE:C1D0:C270:7927 (talk) 22:48, 13 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I added List of American supercentenarians to the See also section. That should suffice. Peaceray (talk) 03:49, 14 July 2020 (UTC)