100-year-old WWII Veteran shares key to long life: Don’t be grouchy

His laugh that followed was one listeners couldn’t help but join. “That’s not to say I’m never grouchy,” he continued, “but you have to have fun. That’s the key to life.”

Szydlowski, a WWII Army Veteran, celebrated his 100th birthday at the Oak Lawn VA Clinic June 21, followed by a small celebration with his family.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Szydlowski’s doctor, Dr. Peter Sobiech, told him. “There are not too many of your vintage left.”

Larry doesn’t just credit his longevity with humor. He also believes it’s because of “the man upstairs,” and proper eating and exercise.

“You have to keep your mind working, keep busy,” he said.

Szydlowski was drafted to the Army in 1943 at the age of 18. Although he tried joining multiple times before reaching adulthood, his parents refused their permission. 

He worked throughout the Great Depression to help his parents provide for the family. Szydlowsk believed his financial contributions, coupled with his father serving in WWI at 16 years old, may have caused his parents’ hesitation. However, Szydlowsk felt a calling to enlist. 

“I was determined to get in there and help,” Szydlowski said. “I thought I was needed.”

After five months in the service, Szydlowski was shipped off to New Guinea, where he worked in a quartermaster unit supplying troops with uniforms, food and equipment.

According to Szydlowski, his most memorable experience in the Army involved meeting the movie star John Wayne after contracting malaria and being so starstruck he could barely speak. 

“I got about three days in the hospital, but while there, I met John Wayne,” Szydlowski recalled. “He comes in and says, ‘Hey, partner,’ and I looked over and went, ‘Well, look, it’s John Wayne.’”

After the war ended, Szydlowski was given the choice of getting a promotion and staying in or returning home. He was ready to be back.

“The lieutenant came to me and said, ‘I have a staff sergeant rating for you if you stay,’” said Szydlowski. “I had a corporal rating, and I said, ‘No, I’m going back. I’m not staying here.” 

Szydlowski has kept busy since the war ended 80 years ago, working as a tool and die maker for 28 years and retiring from the public works department of the City of Burbank after 18 years. Now, he enjoys spending time with his three grown children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.