World War II vet marks 103 birthday  (index.html)  (https://www.wtva.com/2026/09/04/world-war-ii-vet-marks-103-birthday/?outputType=amp)                               (../../../../../webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/favicon.ico@d=590&mxId=00000000)  (../../../../../webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/favicon-16x16.png@d=590&mxId=00000000)  (../../../../../webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/favicon-32x32.png@d=590&mxId=00000000)  (../../../../../webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/favicon-48x48.png@d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-167x167.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)  (https://webpubcontent.gray.tv/gray/arc-fusion-assets/images/favicons/wtva/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?d=590&mxId=00000000)    (../../../../pf/dist/components/output-types/default.css@d=590&mxId=00000000.css)  (../../../../pf/dist/components/combinations/default.css@d=590&mxId=00000000.css)  (../../../../pf/resources/dist/__global/css/style.css@d=590&mxId=00000000.css)  (../../../../pf/resources/dist/wtva/css/main.css@d=590&mxId=00000000.css)  (../../../../../cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.7.2/css/all.min.css)     (index.html#main) Skip to content (https://www.wtva.com/)        (https://www.wtva.com/)     (https://www.wtva.com/livestream) Watch Live  (https://www.wtva.com/news) News  (https://www.wtva.com/weather) Weather  (https://www.wtva.com/sports) Sports  (https://www.wtva.com/video-gallery/news) Videos  (https://www.wtva.com/about-us/contact-us) Contact Us              (https://www.wtva.com/homepage) Homepage   (https://www.wtva.com/livestream/) Watch Live   (https://www.wtva.com/news) News   (https://www.wtva.com/content/news/local/) Local   (https://www.wtva.com/content/news/mississippi) Mississippi   (https://www.wtva.com/content/news/alabama/) Alabama   (https://www.wtva.com/content/news/national/) National      (https://www.wtva.com/weather) Weather   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/alerts) Alerts   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/radar) Radar   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/maproom) Forecast Maps   (https://www.wtva.com/page/list-of-local-storm-shelters/) Storm Shelters   (https://www.wtva.com/community/user-content/) Submit Weather Pictures/Videos   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/closings) Closings   (https://weathercallservices.com/wtva-nexgen) WeatherCall   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/cams) Cameras   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/junior-weather-authority) Junior Weather Authority   (https://www.wtva.com/weather/elijah-experiments) Elijah Experiments      (https://www.wtva.com/sports) Sports   (https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/high-school/) High School   (https://www.wtva.com/sports/friday-night-fever) Friday Night Fever   (https://www.wtva.com/sports/scoreboard/) Friday Night Fever Scores   (https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/college) College   (https://www.wtva.com/content/sports/national) National   (https://www.wtva.com/2026/05/14/wtva-air-several-atlanta-braves-games-throughout-regular-season/) Atlanta Braves on WTVA      (https://www.wtva.com/page/download-our-apps/) Download WTVA Apps   (https://www.wtva.com/newsletter/) Receive Email Alerts   (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/wtva/browse) Obituaries   (https://www.wtva.com/community) Community   (https://www.wtva.com/community/senior-fair) Senior Health Fair   (https://www.wtva.com/community/studio-9) Studio 9 with Tanya Carter   (https://www.wtva.com/2026/06/04/tickets-2026-tupelo-st-jude-dream-home-giveaway-go-sale-june-25/) Tupelo St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway   (https://www.wtva.com/video-gallery/community/johnny-stars) Johnny D. 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A photo of World War II veteran Ken Giles. (WTVA)    By (https://www.wtva.com/authors/alvin-ivy/) Alvin Ivy    Published: Sep. 3, 2026 at 9:49 PM EDT | Updated: 8 hours ago     Share     (https://google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.wtva.com)  Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google      TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) – A World War II veteran marked his 103 birthday. (Ken Giles and Jean Giles.)   Ken Giles and Jean Giles. (Tammy Martin)   Thursday, Ken Giles, a resident at Methodist Senior Services’ Traceway Retirement Community, celebrated his big day. Family and friends gathered last weekend to celebrate Jones’ 103 years of life.   Giles said he has been fortunate to live a long life and credits the 14 principles he tries to live by every day. “Starting off, you have to have good parents, right genes,” Giles said. “Got to have a good wife, good mate. And going through life, you got to be positive.” But his age isn’t the only thing that makes his story special. 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