Abe Caylor, 104, a cavalry veteran of World War I
ORTING, Wash. -- Abe Caylor, an Army cavalry soldier during World War I and one of the nation's oldest military veterans, died Wednesday, relatives said. He was 104.
Enjoying the attention in his final years but tired of being asked his secret to growing old, Mr. Caylor once replied, "Work hard and mind your own damn business."
On his 100th birthday, his photograph was shown on national television and he received a congratulatory telephone call from the White House. The next spring he was honored at a concert and Memorial Day ceremonies on the Capitol lawn in Washington.
Lying about his age, Mr. Caylor enlisted in the Army in 1915 and was assigned to Troop D, 12th Horse Cavalry, with a saber, rifle, and a horse named Old Dusty. During World War I, his 120-member unit was sent to Panama to guard the canal.
Mr. Caylor later got married, worked as a truck driver and dispatcher, went to business school, and moved west to work for
After his wife died in 1974, he lived alone, did his own cooking, washing, and cleaning, and continued to drive until he was 99, when he reluctantly moved into the Washington Soldiers' Home.
