Poplar Bluff vet turns 100

A Poplar Bluff World War II veteran turns 100 this Sunday.

Staff at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center will help Victor Hayes celebrate the milestone today.

Hayes was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, at the age of 24, and trained in vehicular operations. He received a Purple Heart after suffering injuries when a tank exploded from a land mine.

Hayes

He told staff at the VA that after the service, he returned home to start a construction business, working until he was 75.

Hayes has been a patient for seven years at the VAMC fourth floor, which is also known as Libertyville.

He grew up in the Broseley area, as one of six children. After losing his mother at the age of 9, Hayes completed the fifth grade and left school to help on the farm.

As soon as children were able, they worked in the fields, he said.

During the Great Depression, the family survived by growing their own meat, vegetables and dairy, Hayes said.

Hayes joined the Civilian Conservation Corps at the age of 18, staying with the CCC for two years.

He left the CCC, married and started a family, working on a farm for $6 a week before he was drafted.