WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — To hear him tell it, Sgt. Francis M. Hooper is still in the prime of his life.
The 95-year-old retired marine tells jokes at every opportunity, and it’s part of his recipe for aging happily, and well.
“The doctor examined me and said, ‘Mr. Hooper, you know what? You’re going to live to the ripe old age of 110’…and I said, ‘Is that all?”, he laughed.
Sgt. Hooper says his nickname is “Buddy”, and it’s his preferred name.
He was born August 17, 1928 in Brooklyn NY, and he knew at an early age that he wanted a career in military service.
“My father worked at the Navy yard during WWII,” he said, “and I observed marines doing guard duty and they were wearing dress blues.”
“I said, when I’m old enough, I’m gonna join the United States Marine Corps.”
He enlisted in 1948 at the age of 19, and was sent to train at Montford Point in Jacksonville, NC, the only training facility at the time for African-American marine recruits.
It was a formative experience for Hooper, and once the US integrated all branches of the military in 1949, he had a 20-plus year career with the Marine Corps.
He’s a decorated war veteran, having served in Viet Nam during the Tet Offensive.
He’s received a Congressional Gold Medal, National Montford Point Marine Hall of Fame medal, The Greatest Generation Gold Medal, The Marine Medal of Honor and has been inducted into North Carolina’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
A job with the US Postal Service brought him to Wilmington, NC where he ended up retiring from his second career.
Through it all, he never slowed down, and never stopped supporting his beloved Montford Point Marines.
“I still stay active; I’m the Chapter 25 financial secretary of the Montford Point Marine Association. I served as secretary of my Scottish Rite Organization for 25 years. Secretary of my church,” he added.
He loves to share his story with younger people, and to tell them his recipe for staying happy and healthy well into his 90’s.
“Everybody asks me, ‘What’s the secret?’, because they don’t believe my age,” he explained.
“And I told them from the get-go: I married the best lady in America, she’s an outstanding cook, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, and I don’t mess with crazy women,” he chuckled.
Hooper has no plans to slow down anytime soon, and good luck to anyone who tries to stop him!
Sgt. Francis M. Hooper, truly one of the Extraordinary People of the Cape Fear.