99-year-old Orange WWII veteran going strong
Published 12:36 am Saturday, May 20, 2023
- J.D. Dixon, 99, stopped by the Orange Leader recently to talk about his birthday and time in the military. (Stephen Hemelt/The Leader)
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J.D. Dixon celebrated his 99th birthday this month and has no plans to slow down.
When stopping by the Orange Leader offices this week, he shared a little about his time serving in the military during World War II.
Dixon said he was in Okinawa when the United States deployed use of an atomic bomb on mainland Japan.
The Orange resident also talked about narrowly avoiding serious injury or worse when a jeep he was in was damaged after driving over a land mine.
Ed McIntyre, senior vice commander of Veterans of Foreign War Post 2775 in Orange, says Dixon is extremely special.
“He is still an active member in the post,” McIntyre points out. “He comes to the meetings, comes to events. It’s an honor to have a man like him, and our other Veterans.”
The post recently hosted a party for Dixon, who celebrated his birthday May 4.
“We always want to uphold our comradeship and respect our Veterans, whether they came before or after us,” McIntyre said. “We like them to know the VFW and the community is behind them and supports them all the way.”
