When This Heroic WWII Veteran Turned 105, Her Arizona Town Arranged A Heartwarming Celebration

While just a young woman in her 20s, Athena Wright signed up to serve in one of the most brutal theaters of World War II. There, she fought to defeat the Axis powers in the South Pacific, eventually returning home a hero. Now, almost 80 years later, she has celebrated her 105th birthday – and her local community has certainly risen to the occasion.

Like many born in the early half of the 20th century, Wright lived through some of the most turbulent times in modern history. An infant during World War I, she survived the deadly pandemic that came after the horrors of the battlefield. And by the time that the next global conflict rolled around, she was ready to join the fight.

At the time, war was still considered very much a man’s game. For women like Wright, then, opportunities were limited on the front line. But she resolved to find a way to serve her country, a determination which led her to the wilds of New Guinea and beyond. And even now, five years past her 100th birthday, she looks back on the experience with pride.

So how did Wright’s hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, decide to mark the veteran’s 105th year? Of course, it was clear that no ordinary birthday party would do. So officials set about orchestrating an epic celebration in honor of the woman who has been called a “living legend.” And the people are unlikely to forget it any time soon.

Wright’s story, as it turns out, actually began more than 2,500 miles east of Scottsdale, on the other side of the United States. Born in the small town of Oxford, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1915, she came into the world a year after the outbreak of World War I. At that time, though, the conflict was mostly confined to Europe, far away from her North American home.