World War II veteran Norman Jay Green prepares to cut a large cake during his 100th birthday celebration at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. The cake features the insignia and motto of the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment: “Aspera Juvant,” Latin for “Difficult Delight.” (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Members of the American military community, alongside family and friends, gathered recently to wish an early 100th birthday to a World War II veteran who served with the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment in France.
Norman Jay Green, born Dec. 19, 1924, in Brooklyn, N.Y., enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 3, 1943, according to a biography read at the event.
The longtime Tokyo resident deployed to France in February 1945 as part of the 13th Airborne Division, he told Stars and Stripes during his party at the Navy-run New Sanno Hotel on Nov. 22. His unit crossed the Atlantic aboard a troop ship and established itself at Camp Lucky Strike in Le Havre, a port city in the Normandy region.
“We were the reserve division for (Gen. George) Patton’s operation crossing the Rhein,” Green recalled during the celebration.
World War II veteran Norman Jay Green celebrates his 100th birthday at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
A 100th birthday celebration for World War II veteran Norman Jay Green was hosted by the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Norman Jay Green watches a video message from U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanual during his 100th birthday celebration at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
While awaiting action, he and his comrades spent their time reading Stars and Stripes and connecting with locals.
Green, who acquired a barber’s kit, took up cutting hair for his fellow soldiers.
“A lot of funny-looking guys came out of that tent,” he said with a smile.
Green’s division arrived in Europe shortly after the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive of the war. Although he missed the famous standoff at Bastogne, he later met Gen. Anthony McAuliffe — the hero of Bastogne known for his defiant “Nuts!” reply to the Germans’ demand to surrender — during a chance encounter on a train in 1957.
Dozens of guests, including active-duty soldiers, traveled from as far as France to celebrate Green’s milestone. The New Sanno ballroom was adorned with photographs from his days in uniform, and a Scottish bagpiper played as he entered in a wheelchair, greeted by cheers.
Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of I Corps, and Maj. Gen. Dave Womack, commander of U.S. Army Japan, presented Green with commemorative coins and shared their appreciation for his service.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel sent a video message, played on a big screen in the ballroom, in which he said Green embodied the values of duty, honor and loyalty.
“The legacy of sacrifice of your generation lives on in all of us today and, we never say this enough, but we owe you a great deal of gratitude,” Emanuel said.
World War II veteran Norman Jay Green celebrates his 100th birthday at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Norman Jay Green celebrates his 100th birthday at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Nov. 22, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Norman Green’s son, Jesse, recounted his father’s wartime experiences, which included time spent in Sens, a town southeast of Paris. While there, Green befriended locals, including a resistance fighter who had survived the Buchenwald concentration camp.
In 2017, Green returned to Sens, where he received a hero’s welcome.
“Norman’s military service during World War II was a testament to the courage, determination and sacrifice of the Greatest Generation,” Jesse Green told the party guests. “His experiences — from the decision to enlist after Pearl Harbor, to the grueling training, to his time in the European theater — shaped him in ways that would resonate throughout his life.”
Green narrowly missed deployment to the Pacific theater. After Germany’s defeat, his unit was preparing to fight Japan when the war ended on Aug. 15, 1945. He was honorably discharged the following year.
Green expressed admiration for the soldiers he has met in recent years.
“They seem to be good guys,” he said. “They all get training, and I think the military teaches them about discipline and friendship.”
The celebration concluded with Green cutting a large birthday cake featuring the insignia and motto of the 326th Glider Infantry Regiment: “Aspera Juvant,” Latin for “Difficult Delight.”
Green, who moved to Japan in 1980 to work for a medical publishing company, said the support of the military community in Tokyo made the occasion especially meaningful.
