SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Joe Cuba, a World War II veteran and Wichita Falls resident who turns 100 March 2, 2019, recently became a social media phenomenon after his daughter, Beverly Cuba, posted a photograph of her father holding a sign with a request for 100 birthday cards for his 100th birthday.
Sheppard Air Force Base became part of the response that has seen thousands of birthday wishes pour in from all over the world as the North Texas Air Force installation hosted a celebration in his honor Feb. 28, 2019. His story has been featured on local, national and international news broadcasts.
The party, organized by the 365th Training Squadron, was held in World War II-era Hangar 1060 on Sheppard, fittingly decorated in red, white and blue.
The celebration had the traditional pomp and circumstance of a military event including the posting of Colors by the base Honor Guard, followed by the national anthem. Even two days shy of his 100th birthday, the veteran stood for the Star Spangled Banner. Airmen then presented Cuba with gifts such as a coin, a hand-made poster, a cake and, of course, birthday cards. Airmen and civilians across the base came to meet Cuba and get a photo with him.
Cuba said seeing the more than 100 Airmen at the event reminde3d him of days gone by in his younger years.
“This is just great,” he said. “It’s amazing to see all these people here. I grew up with a lot of people around, always having a lot of fun.”
Cuba is not just any 100-year-old veteran and social media sensation. He is the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants, the second of 12 children raised during the Great Depression and a father of three children. He was also a husband to his beloved wife, Nida, for 65 years before she died in November 2008.
The native of Megargel, Texas, a small farming community south of Sheppard, had the spirt to serve in the military. He volunteered for the AAC when the United States was pulled into World War II. He worked on aircraft in California and enjoyed spending his evenings taking his wife out dancing, until his service was needed in Guam.
As quoted by the Wichita Falls Times Record News, “We had some activity, but I was fortunate and came out fine,” he said of his military service. “Of course, it was no fun to be shot at, but that was war and I tried to dodge (the gunfire) as best I could and didn’t get wounded too bad.”
After the war, Cuba returned to North Texas and became a businessman.
According to media reports, Cuba and his family will have a birthday celebration on March 3.