East Texas WWII veteran casts ballot at 100 years old

TYLER, Texas — Jessie Caldwell Jr. is a World War II veteran and a lifetime voter — and at 100 years old, he cast his ballot for the 2024 presidential election.
Caldwell has voted since he turned 18 years old, when he voted in the 1942 midterm elections. He previously served in the military as a laundry mechanic during WWII. 

"I started at an early age, and this whole time I have had the privilege to vote, so I still want to vote," Caldwell said, adding that he plans to vote again in the next upcoming election if he's still able to get to the polls.

Caldwell's daughter, Janet Tatum Cobb, said her parents have instilled in her the importance of voting in all elections — especially presidential elections.

"We have discussed the differ presidents of their era and we agree we are slowly changing but still have a long way to go," Cobb said. "They lived in depression, wars and inflation timeframe and are still living."