John Newcomb was decades older than just about all of his comrades, but that didn’t stop him from joining the fight during World War I.

The Augusta, Ill., nursery owner was born March 29, 1861 – 160 years ago. Newcomb turned 56 just days before America formally entered World War I in April 1917. He had already fought in the Spanish American War, but still had plenty of patriotic gusto.

No one is exactly sure why the military allowed an older man appropriately nicknamed “Dad” to serve. But, conversely, there were some signees who were legally too young to register.

In any event, Newcomb would become the oldest enlisted man in the Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Division. Officers marveled that he was in better shape than men half his age.

The expert marksman served as a guide for American troops in Europe. He was honorably discharged on July 15, 1919, and was involved in veterans’ affairs at the national and local levels the rest of his life.

Marriage was the one adventure Newcomb hadn’t experienced, but he finally renounced bachelorhood at age 63.  He and Maggie Stuart of Augusta tied the knot on Jan. 26, 1924, at the home of her brother in Quincy.

Age finally caught up with Newcomb in August 1956, when he died at 95. He and Maggie are buried at Woodlawn Cemetery south of Augusta.

In a tribute, The Augusta Eagle newspaper said “Dad is a true patriot at all times and in the instances requiring the exercise of true Americanism.”