Richard Overton, America's oldest World War II veteran and the oldest man, died on Thursday in Texas. He was 112. The death was confirmed by Shirley Overton, a family member. Overton was born in 1906 near Austin. He served in the all-black 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion. He once said that one secret to his long life was smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, which he often was found doing on the porch of his Austin home.