WWII veteran celebrates 102nd birthday at GWVH

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Robert Rakestraw has done a lot of things in his life.

One of those things was serving our country during World War II.

“It was an honor,” recalled Rakestraw who served at Sugar Loaf Hill during one of the most fierce battles of the war in Okinawa, Japan.

Rakestraw was celebrating his 100th birthday at the time he made that comment in an interview with The Union-Recorder.

At that time, Rakestraw, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps recalled that even though it was a Navy campaign, the Marines were heavily involved in helping capture many Japanese military bases.

“The Marines were the best part,” Rakestraw said with a big smile.

The Rome, Ga. native, who served in the Marine Corps for three years, also remembered digging countless foxholes.

“We had a ring of foxholes in our headquarters’ company,” Rakestraw said. “Me and my partner would take turns working every two hours. When one of us worked, the other one slept. It was back and forth.”

His partner was a pipe smoker, a habit Rakestraw took up too, but not until after the Marines secured the island of Guam.

It became a ritual for him every morning.

“I smoked my pipe every morning for decades,” Rakestraw said with a chuckle.

In fact, it was something he was still doing when he celebrated his 100th birthday at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville. He has lived there for the past several years.

While serving during war times, Rakestraw also served as a member of the 23rd Regiment Band, something he dearly loved doing because music has always been such a special part of his life.

His love for music started way back when he played the trombone in the high school band. He later learned to play the piano and bass violin.

Rakestraw even played several songs during his 100th birthday party at the local war veterans home.

He danced, too.

Rakestraw celebrated his 102nd birthday last week, but he wasn’t physically able to do the kinds of things he did just two short years ago.

Despite his physical limitations today, he still smiled a little and whispered that he was glad to have lived to be 102 years old during a surprise birthday party last Friday.

Rakestraw even donned a pair of funny glasses and posed for a photo with two local women from two different American Legion Posts, Carroll Griffin and Barbara Wade.

The party was arranged for him and other veterans who are celebrating birthdays during the month of June at the Georgia War Veterans Home by members of the Morris-Little American Legion Post No. 6 in Milledgeville and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 233 in Loganville.