HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Matthew Otey, a 105-year-old World War II veteran from Henrico, reflects on a long life while listening to his collection of gospel CDs every day.
Born in New Kent County on Dec. 20, 1920, Otey learned the value of hard work at an early age.
"I just took life as it came," he said. "I went to work around 16."
During the Great Depression, he found employment in a sawmill and a grocery store.
"There is always something to do," Otey said.
He found his calling with tools in hand while attending Virginia State Mechanics School in Petersburg.
When drafted during World War II, Otey left Virginia with the ability to repair anything bumper to bumper.
The U.S. Army soldier worked as a mechanic on islands across the South Pacific repairing jeeps and trucks needed for missions helped win the war.
"A company B company C company each one of them had so many vehicles," he said.
Tech Sgt. Otey always kept one eye on the sky in the war zone, where attacking enemy planes proved deadly.
"I saw the explosions. Yeah," he said.
Losing fellow soldiers hit deep, especially one soldier he remembers riding a bulldozer.
"He was one of my crane operators. He was at the airport grading the strip you know," Otey said. "All we had was his dog tags. He died. He was blown up. That’s the way it was. I mean, you know they died and we buried them."
Fighting abroad bonded soldiers from different backgrounds, but at the close of World War II, Otey returned to a segregated America.
"Overseas we were all one. Coming back on the ship we were all one color. But when we hit California coming home, everybody was two different colors," Otey said.
His experiences and know-how served the veteran well. He owned dump trucks and worked with different contractors across Richmond.
Friends and family say whenever something breaks in the house or driveway, there is only one man to call.
Most of the time, his rate to fix a car or make minor repairs on friends' homes was on the house.
"He has been a great citizen and helping his community. People that is in need," friend Drew Morriz said. "He makes people happy and makes their heart glad. He makes them joyful. But he don’t say a lot... . It is amazing. He is still spreading his joy. At 105 years old."
Well past the century mark, Otey still lives independently in Henrico.
He bakes, feeds neighborhood animals and cares for his strawberry patch.
The stoic man credits family, friends and faith for living a good life.
"He is the epitome of a real dad. Someone who is there for you when you needed him," son Matthew Otey Jr. said.
"I had it good. I really had it good," the elder Otey added. "Helping, those who needed help."
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