Smile

What makes 97-year-old World War II veteran Dale Wyatt smile? Watching his great-granddaughter, Kate Lantzer, being awarded a Good Citizen Award. He was found Sunday afternoon watching Kate, a Hamilton Southeastern High School senior, be honored as the 2023 Good Citizen winner by the Horseshoe Prairie Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Noblesville. He celebrated his 97th birthday on Feb. 10. “I don’t feel 97. I feel more like 75.” He was born in Saint Bernice, Ind., and moved to Paris, Ill., where he was raised, and later lived in South Carolina, where his wife was from. He served 30 months, from 1943-45, in the U.S. Navy in Iwo Jima, Japan, and his training camp was in Hawaii, “which was not all bad.” He became a purchasing manager for Reliance Electric and retired in 1988. He has two children, Jeff, in Washington, D.C., area, and Susan Hebert, in Fishers. “My daughter invited me to come to Fishers,” he said. He has six grandchildren, including three in Fishers. He enjoys living in Northridge independent living community in Fishers. “We have a very good, outstanding actually, activities director, who has all kinds of things going on for retirees … There is always something to do in the afternoon.” He is enjoying his retirement. “I got a three-wheel bicycle that I ride frequently, plus all of the activities there that keep me busy.”