The National World War II Museum plans to celebrate a veteran's 108th birthday this week. The museum says Lawrence Brooks' birthday is Tuesday, and he'll be at the museum for cupcakes and a ceremony featuring the Victory Belles close-harmony trio.
The New Orleans man served in the predominantly African-American 91st Engineer Battalion, which was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II. He was a servant to three white officers.
In a museum oral history , Brooks describes his feelings when an engine died on a C-47 carrying barbed wire from Australia to New Guinea — and only the pilot and copilot had parachutes.