Dearborn County WWII veteran celebrates 100th birthday

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(LAWRENCEBURG, Ind.) – Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate a Dearborn County World War II veteran on Sunday. 

George Klopp, Sr. will turn 100-years-old on Monday, April 13. 

A birthday party was held at the Lawrenceburg Eagles and Klopp didn’t just meet a lot of people, he was also presented with hundreds of birthday cards that were mailed in.

Visitors of all ages stopped by to see him. One of those was Rising Sun third grader Duke Perfect who is a big fan of the military. You can watch a recent story about Perfect by clicking here. 

Another visitor happened to be JC Lewis, who is the only other surviving World War II veteran in Dearborn County. He will turn 99 on June 1.

Klopp was 18-years-old when he set sail with the Navy and served 22 months in the South Pacific. 

He remembers passing through the Panama Canal and hasn't forgot those rough sea experiences in the Pacific Ocean. 

George eventually received his orders to return to the USA and was put on an LST to Pearl Harbor. 

“I was put on a very large ship to return home and remember passing under the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco. It was a long train ride back to home in Indiana,” Klopp said.

He came back to Dearborn County and worked for Anchor Glass for many years.

George has been a member of the Lawrenceburg American Legion Post 239 Color Guard and the Southeastern Indiana Honor Guard for over 70 years. 

He was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal and Navy Good Conduct Medal.

George has also been a Bengals season ticket holder for more than 54 years. The team sent him and his son to the Super Bowl for free a few years ago.