For WWII vet, 100 felt like 50

I don’t remember him ever getting mad ever in his life. He has such a great personality and is a very simple person.”

Bruce Datre, John’s son

John Datre, a World War II veteran who turned 100 on Saturday, enjoyed two celebrations last weekend. One of them became quite the community affair.

“I feel as though I’m 50,” Datre said at the first party, when his family and friends gathered at Sunrise Senior Living in East Meadow, where he’s been living for the past month and a half.

“This is an absolutely remarkable occasion,” said Gabrielle Alexander, 64, Datre’s daughter. “We haven’t been able to see each other in so long and I’m so happy to be here celebrating my father.” Alexander lives in Virginia and drove up for the occasion. Datre even got to meet his great-grandkids, James, 2 1/2, and Miles, 7 months, for the first time.

The day after his birthday, Datre was honored again with a special parade of military escort riders known as the Patriot Guard Riders, American Legion Post 1082 members and military members came by to say happy birthday. Motorcycles, old Army vehicles and cars and trucks decked out in American flags rumbled down Glenn Curtiss Boulevard into the parking lot of Sunrise. Datre smiled as he watched the parade go by.

At the family event, everyone caught up, and enjoyed good food and good conversation. “I don’t remember him ever getting mad ever in his life,” Bruce Datre, 61, John’s son, said. “He has such a great personality and is a very simple person. I told him I wanted to have a party and he was like, ‘No, no, I don’t want anything big.’

“I’m just so glad he’s still around and we can all enjoy his company,” Bruce added.

John and his wife, Rita, now 92, married in 1950. They have four children, Michele Datre, 70, Richard Datre, 69, Gabrielle and Bruce.

John is a well-educated man who received his undergraduate degree in business from St. John’s University in Queens and his master’s degree in business from Pace University in Manhattan. For a short time he worked for the Internal Revenue Service in Connecticut before becoming head of the tax department at Standard Brands, now known as Nabisco. He retired 35 years ago.

Alexander reminisced about her childhood with her dad. “My whole childhood he was mild-mannered, a very easy person to get along with and not a strict authoritarian,” she said. “He taught us respect, but he didn’t have to do it with fear, that’s how good of a dad he was.”

“My dad always used to come to my baseball games when I was in Little League as a kid,” Bruce said. “He was the assistant coach of the team.”

John enlisted in the Army and served from September 1942 to January 1946 in Panama. He was a technician 4th grade, which means he was addressed as Sergeant. He received the American Service medal, World War II Victory medal and Good Conduct medal.

Pete Wenninger, commander of the East Meadow American Legion Post 1082 presented a citation to Datre from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Wenninger also gave him a special World War II pin.

“John, congratulations on your 100th birthday,” Wenninger said. “…We want to always honor and remember those who did their part.”

State Sen. Kevin Thomas, who represents the 6th Senate District in Nassau County, also stopped by to give John a citation.

“Thank you for coming here to celebrate his 100th birthday,” Thomas said, evoking cheers and claps from the crowd. “Up in the State Senate we do great work, but we wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t for veterans like yourself who went out there and risked your life for our freedoms that we enjoy today.”