ORANGE PARK, Fla. — The United States turned 248 years young on the Fourth of July and while millions of people across the country were celebrating Independence Day, a group in Orange Park was celebrating a special birthday.
Fred Long Jr. served in the Navy for 30 years after enlisting in 1943. He served in the furthest reaches of the world and turned 100 years old on July 4. VFW Post 5968 hosted his birthday party where many people came to celebrate a life well lived.
"They put a lot of time into this, everyone around here did," said Long who qualified on every aircraft built by the Navy when he served from 1943 to 1973.
Long retired from the Navy as a master chief and served in WWII, the Korean War and even explored Antarctica as part of the Navy.
"When somebody is so close to you as a family member you tend to think of them as pop-pop, you don't realize they're an intrepid explorer or conquered frontiers in the Antarctic," said Long's daughter Janet Shuster. "It's a huge honor that everybody gets the opportunity to share this with us as a family and get to recognize some of the merits of a very special man."
Long said his secret to reaching 100 years old is to take it easy and not get too worried, which is good advice for everyone at any age.
Thank you to Fred Long Jr. for your service, and if you have a Story of Service that you would like First Coast News to profile, send us an email to storiesofservice@firstcoastnews.com