The winter storm didn’t stop a World War II veteran from celebrating a very special birthday of 105 years.

SCRANTON, Pa. — As the snow fell in Scranton, it called for a quiet birthday celebration just the way Joseph Anticoli wanted it.

“Just a quiet time, nothing exciting going on. Just a plain birthday,” said Anticoli.

At 105, Joe says there are no real secrets to growing old, but maybe the closest thing is here in his kitchen, where his wife still cooks dinner every night at 99.

The two have been married for 74 years, meeting after his time in the service. “Right after the war, there wasn’t much work around, and I met her on Main Avenue one day,” he said.

Joe was drafted into the army at 20 years old and served in WWII.

As a sergeant combat engineer, Joe was responsible for building bridges across Europe, including the one over the Rhine River, which played a crucial role in the war. “The first troops landed in Africa in 1942. and we went all the way to Sicily, then we went to Corsica.”

He helped move troops, supplies, and hope across the war’s toughest terrain, even crossing paths with his brother on the front lines. “He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. I met him in Germany twice. We happened to come together, which is strange, but we come together,” Joe said.

Joe never talks much about his time in service, but his family says those years defined him.

“You got more out of him than we did,” said Joe Anticoli, Joe’s son.

With more than a century of birthdays under his belt, Joe’s kids say they don’t take a single one for granted. 

Joe says he’s not searching for any secrets to getting older; he’s just simply happy to be here. 

105 years of service, sacrifice, and love is more than anyone could ask for.Â