Arizona WWII vet shares war stories on 100th birthday [Video]

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Thousands of miles away from his family, Tom Copeland had no reason to celebrate his 21st birthday. German troops were trying to kill him.

It was April 17, 1945. The 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion he was assigned to had just crossed the Rhine River into Germany. “It was a mean and uncomfortable time,” Copeland said. “We went through almost one year and never had any fresh fruits or vegetables.”

Germany would surrender less than a month later. By then, many soldiers were sick with scurvy and their teeth were falling out.

“There were no fat soldiers,” Copeland said. “Everyone was emaciated.”

Copeland has a lot of stories and jokes only he can tell. Holding a microphone and zipping around a banquet room on an electric scooter at his Surprise senior living …