WWII veteran celebrates 99 years of life with St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office

SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — On Tuesday, a WWII veteran living in Slidell celebrated his 99th birthday with the St.Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

According to the STPSO, Anthony Balderas served in the US Army in North Africa as a teletype operator. After WWII he continued to serve in the army and worked at the Pentagon in Washington D.C as a communications specialist.

After Balderas retired from the military he returned to Lousiana, where he is originally from. The 99-year-old is now living in Slidell. The St.Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office asked the birthday boy what the secret of life is. He responded to deputies and said, “I work out every morning and I eat whatever I like. Raw oysters are my favorite.”

Here is what the St.Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on their Facebook page in honor of Mr. Balderas’s birthday:

Mr. Anthony Balderas turned 99 years 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙂 today, and members of the STPSO were happy to celebrate this day with him. 𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙋𝙔 𝘽𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙃𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙎𝙄𝙍 . Mr Balderas is a WWII veteran who served the US Army in North Africa as a teletype operator. Following WWII, he continued to serve in the Army as he worked at the Pentagon as a communications specialist. Following his retirement from the military, he returned to his home state of Louisiana, and lived in Lacombe until recently moving in with a family member in Slidell. When asked about the secret of life, he replied, “I work out every morning and I eat whatever I like. Raw oysters are my favorite.” There you have it folks… He has it all figured out . Mr. Balderas we thank you for your service to your country, and we are forever grateful. Enjoy the video…and we will see you next year for the BIG . “𝘔𝘳. 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵. 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩.” – Sheriff Randy Smith