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WWII vet celebrates 100th birthday high in the sky

Centenarian Jerry Burner celebrates his birthday high above Issaquah. #k5evening

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Issaquah's Tiger Mountain is where humans take flight on the wind beneath sails of fabric. And where Jerry Burner is celebrating his 100th birthday. 

He's in a joke-telling kind of mood.

"What's a Honeymoon Salad?" asked Burner with a laugh, "It's lettuce alone with no dressing."

Pretty relaxed for a guy about to launch himself off a mountain.

"It's an experience everybody should try to do," he said.

The Arlington centenarian has never shied away from adventure.

"It's the outlook on life," Burner said.

He fought in the South Pacific during World War II.

"My buddy went into the Marine Corps," said the navy veteran. "He never got off Iwo Jima. He died there."

Burner climbs aboard a bus to Poo Poo Point for the thrill of a century. The former farm boy is in remarkably good shape, both body and mind.

"I'm blessed with a good memory," Burner said, "I can remember my childhood and I know what I had for breakfast. I work out with weights every day. I get on the treadmill. And I like life. I really do. I like people. I'm a people person."

RELATED: 2 western Washington women celebrate 105th birthdays on same day

Burner will be flying in a specially adapted wheeled rig, with Seattle Paragliding pilot Richard Pethigal, a world champion, controlling the paraglider while strapped in just behind him.

"Ya got a license?" Burner joked with Pethigal just before takeoff.

Then Burner crosses himself in a jestful prayer.

"Thank you, Lord, for my long life," he said with a laugh.

"Wow!" he shouts as the craft takes flight. "This is wonderful! Oh, my goodness sakes! Look at that view!"

Burner enjoys the breathtaking view for about ten minutes, before Pethigal brings the craft in for a very smooth landing.

"It's a different world up there when you're paragliding than sitting on the ground. It's worth going up for," said Burner.

Washington's oldest paraglider can't stop smiling. 

"I hope you learned a little bit about how to get old," he said. 

"I've been blessed."

RELATED: Flyover marks World War II veteran’s 100th birthday in Chehalis

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