WWII Veteran Beats COVID-19, Celebrates 104th Birthday: ‘I Made It’

WWII Veteran Beats COVID-19, Celebrates 104th Birthday: ‘I Made It’
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A World War II veteran from Lebanon, Oregon, has become one of the oldest known survivors of the CCP virus. Better yet, the veteran recovered just in time to celebrate his 104th birthday with family while adhering to social distancing guidelines.
According to KOIN 6, when asked how he felt on his big day, April 1, 2020, William “Bill” Lapschies replied jovially, “Pretty good. I made it,” he added. “Good for a few more.”

The veteran was assisted in a wheelchair to the patio by staff at the Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home in Lebanon. He was greeted by loved ones holding handwritten signs, balloons, a double-layered chocolate cake, and a chorus of congratulatory cheers. Lapschies wore a mask and a “WWII veteran” baseball cap, while attendees stood 6 feet apart.

Lapschies first began showing symptoms of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, on March 5, 2020. He was one of the first two residents to test positive at his residential facility. To date, 18 residents of the home have tested positive and three have sadly passed away from COVID-19, according to a Facebook post from April 5.
The Oregonian reported that Lapschies tested positive on March 10. As of the week beginning March 30, a spokesperson from the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs said Lapschies has “met the guidelines by the CDC and Oregon Health Authority to be considered recovered from COVID-19.”

Lapschies, who lived through the 1918 Spanish flu and the Great Depression, was isolated in his room after developing a high temperature and labored breathing and was cared for by trained staffers. Lapschies’s daughter, Carolee Brown, admitted that the family had discussed the possibility that her father would not make it with his doctors.

Despite being very sick, the tenacious veteran pulled through. Lapschies himself joked that the virus “just went away.”

His family believes he might be one of the oldest people to recover from the virus so far.

Lapschies’s family, including his daughter Carolee and granddaughter Jamie Yutzie, pulled out all the stops—as far as they were able—on the occasion of their family patriarch’s 104th birthday. According to Carolee, it was a far cry from her father’s 101st birthday, which hosted over 200 attendees.

“[We are] trying to keep our social distancing and do what Governor Brown has asked us to do,” Carolee told KOIN 6. “But we’re so thrilled he’s recovered from this and we just had to do something for him.”
Illustration - Pixabay | <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/birthday-cake-candles-celebration-163362/">ikon </a>
Illustration - Pixabay | ikon

Jamie praised her grandfather’s “absolutely contagious” smile, lamenting that it had to be covered by a surgical mask. The family acknowledged the excellent care that Bill had received at his residential facility.

“It seemed like he just made this wonderful recovery,” Carolee reflected. “We were, like, shocked that he was kind of sitting in his wheelchair waving at us through the window [...].We hope that this will inspire some of the other people that are going through this.”

On his 104th birthday, Lapschies did much more than wave from his bedroom window. He breathed fresh air into his lungs and enjoyed the company of a small army of devoted family members, overjoyed and inspired by his amazing recovery.

The family now looks forward to his 105th birthday.

Carolee told The Oregonian, “He is fully recovered. He is very perky, and he is very excited [...] He has such an upbeat attitude,” she added. “He’s never down.”