--- title: "99-year-old WWII veteran honored at Grand Ole Opry’s 99th birthday celebration" date: "2024-10-26" modified: "2024-10-26" authors: - name: "Kait Hanson" job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Spouse" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/kaitlynhanson.md" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/99-year-old-wwii-veteran-honored-at-grand-ole-oprys-99th-birthday-celebration/" categories: - "Featured" - "Heroes" - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # 99-year-old WWII veteran honored at Grand Ole Opry’s 99th birthday celebration ![Bill Allen honored at the Grand Ole Opry on stage]() *Screen capture, You Tube.* A World War II veteran in Tennessee brought a Grand Ole Opry audience to their feet for a standing ovation – but not because he was performing. 99-year-old Bill Allen, a Murfreesboro, Tennessee native, was honored as part of the Grand Ole Opry’s 99th birthday celebration earlier this month. Allen was a 19-year-old medic in the Navy on D-Day. His ship was anchored off the shore of Omaha Beach when it hit a mine and was split in half. Allen was able to jump onto a raft where he pulled four others, two who were critically wounded, out of the water. Only 28 of the 145 crew members survived. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rZVtYhx4o8 As part of the Opry’s birthday celebration, Humana, along with Growing Bolder, recognized older adults with a special exhibit: [The New 65+]() and Allen served as the special guest and was recognized on stage during the Opry show, which included performances by The Gatlin Brothers and Katharine McPhee. In June 2024 – to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day – Allen was honored for his bravery at the Nashville Sounds game. "Our freedom is the highest-priced thing this nation has ever bought," Allen [said in June](). “I saw foot soldiers with those heavy packs go down that ramp, lose their footing, then drown right there at the end. I saw other foot soldiers made it down to the ramp, wade in the water, got to the beach, step on a landmine. Life was over." Despite it all, Allen remains humble and honored to have served. “He doesn’t consider himself a hero,” Allen's daughter Patti Hutchinson told News Channel 5 Nashville. “He thinks that the heroes are still back at the American Cemetery.” ## Author Kait Hanson is a Hawaii-based writer and photographer. Her work has been featured by Military Spouse Magazine, Coastal Living, Frommer's, Fodor's Travel, Jetstar Magazine, [TODAY.com]() and more. She is also the creative stylist behind her award-winning lifestyle website, CommuniKait. When she's not traveling, Kait enjoys spending time with her husband and two chocolate Labs, trying out new recipes or relaxing at the beach with a good book. ## More - [Country star Craig Morgan swore into the Army Reserve at the Grand Ole Opry]() - [6 reasons why the military community loved Dolly Parton]() - [This Green Beret spent his life fighting communists in three different armies]() - [This convoy system staffed mostly by African Americans kept the invasion of Europe rolling]() - [The unsung African-American heroes of D-Day]() - [The 10 weirdest military mysteries]() - [Airmen volunteered to repair a WWII B-29 Superfortress … and it’s going to fly again]() - [‘Masters of the Air’ Part Eight: Trying hard]()