GARDNER, Kan. (AP) — The 100th birthday of a one-of-a-kind World War II veteran lasted for days.

The Joplin Globe  reports that the festivities started last Thursday for retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole. That’s when the Texas man, who flew with Doolittle’s Raiders, the Himalayan Hump Route pilots and the 1st Air Commandos, received a standing ovation at the Kansas City Royals game.

 

Celebrating a milestone w/a real HERO & MEMBER @usaa – Happy Bday Col. Cole -100 #Doolittle – http://t.co/I7IA74MyeT pic.twitter.com/swwGX3aXRm

— Carl Liebert (@c3hoosier) September 15, 2015

Friday night at New Century Airport in Gardner, Kansas, people purchased copies of a Park University professor’s new biography about Cole.

On Saturday, he climbed into a PT-19 for a flight. He was given a print of his famed B-25 painted superimposed on a historic front page of the Globe.

Then Sunday, he tucked the key to the city of Olathe into his suitcase and headed home with “wonderful memories.”