Local WWII veteran prepares to celebrate 101th birthday

THOMSON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - You have a chance to celebrate the birthday of one of our local vets by sending him cards ahead of his big day.

Louis Graziano is turning 101 on February 6.

Graziano is a World War II vet who is believed to be the last living witness of the German surrender in Reims, France.

Before arriving in Reims, Graziano landed on D-Day in the third wave on Omaha Beach and was later in the Battle of the Bulge.

Last year, we had the pleasure of speaking with Graziano for the 79th anniversary of D-Day.

“The German submarines were chasing us,” Graziano said in a 2023 interview. “And the storm was so bad that we were supposed to go straight to England but we got in the storm and German submarines.

It was a trip one cannot imagine traveling on.

“I just did what I had to do,” Graziano said.