SURPRISE, Ariz. — Thousands of miles away from his family, Tom Copeland had no reason to celebrate his 21st birthday. German troops were trying to kill him.
It was April 17, 1945. The 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion he was assigned to had just crossed the Rhine River into Germany. “It was a mean and uncomfortable time,” Copeland said. “We went through almost one year and never had any fresh fruits or vegetables.”
Germany would surrender less than a month later. By then, many soldiers were sick with scurvy and their teeth were falling out.
“There were no fat soldiers,” Copeland said. “Everyone was emaciated.”
Copeland has a lot of stories and jokes only he can tell. Holding a microphone and zipping around a banquet room on an electric scooter at his Surprise senior living home, he got through several of them Wednesday during his 100th birthday party.
“This is a much better birthday,” he said.
Valarie O’Ryan was one of the youngest guests. Her father served in the Navy, and when he died, the war stories went with him. O’Ryan has always been drawn to WWII, so when she saw Copeland wearing a veteran hat inside a Panera Bread several years ago, she thanked him for his service and struck up a conversation.
“I do believe he is a big representation of the greatest generation that we have experienced,” O’Ryan said.
A man like Copeland is rare these days. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, fewer than 100,000 of the 16.1 million American veterans who served in World War II are still alive. The VA estimates that number will shrink to 18,000 by 2028.
The war in Europe may have ended in 1945, but Copeland’s service to his country did not. The Walla Walla native served in the Washington State House of Representatives for 16 years. Copeland worked three terms as Speaker Pro Tempore and one period as Acting Speaker from 1970 to 1971. He met his second wife, Donna, while working at the state capitol and was heavily involved with the introduction of computers into the legislative environment.
“I had so many of my contemporaries that would say to me, ‘Oh Copeland, we don’t need all of these computers, I have a secretary and an IBM Selectric. I don’t need all of that stuff and I don’t want to study and find out how it works.’ I said you are going to be 20 years behind in two years if you don’t keep up,” Copeland said.
The centenarian continues to live by those words. Copeland has a smartphone and uses the internet daily to keep up with current events and state government — in Washington and Arizona. “I’m on my 10th computer,” Copeland said.
He and Donna sold their properties in Washington and moved to Arizona in 2004. Copeland said taking care of three homes and eight toilets was too much.
“You guys here in Arizona have a real piece of artwork,” Copeland said, referring to the Phoenix metro highway system.
His ears now require hearing aids, and his legs get help from an electric scooter. His body may be old, but his mind is still as sharp as a tack. Copeland said diet and exercise are important, but if you want to live to 100, the attitude you have is the biggest factor.
O’Ryan lives by the advice of her friend.
“If you tell yourself you are forgetful, then you’ll be forgetful,” O’Ryan said. “If you tell yourself you are young and smart, then that is what you will be.”
She and Copeland still meet at Panera Bread every Sunday. The WWII veteran has not run out of new stories to tell, and he likely never will.
“It’s been wonderful,” Copeland said. I have just accomplished a hell of a lot of things.”
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