Two friends, two centenarians, one birth date.
Manhattan residents and World War II veterans Leland Moshier and Jim Sharp are celebrating notable birthdays on Thursday. Buddies since the 1950s, Moshier turns 105 this year, while Sharp will be 100 years old.
The Mercury spoke to the pair of friends earlier this month before their shared birthday. In 2022, both men were interviewed ahead of Moshier’s 103rd celebration. Sharp said he’s still healthy enough to help burn pastures on his family farm in Morris County, however, he doesn’t get to visit his friend Moshier as much since Sharp moved into the Meadowlark Hills retirement community in Manhattan.
“I told the ladies here (at Meadowlark), ‘You don’t need to put 100 candles on my cake,’” Sharp said. “You can just put one for my age: one century.”
Moshier said his friend Sharp uses a walker now, and he himself admits to feeling a bit “wobbly” on his feet. In the 2022 interview, Moshier said he felt like he was “too old” since he could no longer dance, but in all, he is “doing fine.”
“Among my immediate family, there’s a sister and then myself left,” Moshier said. “We’re the last of 10 children.”
Moshier and Sharp became friends through work connections at the Kansas Farm Bureau office. Moshier’s wife, Kay, was a secretary in the office where Sharp worked in the billing department. The two veterans met and began talking about their war experiences.
Sharp was a combat infantryman who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and later served as a sergeant of the guard during the Nuremberg Trials in Germany from 1945 to 1946. He kept a journal of his war experiences, which he later compiled and published as “Diary of a Combat Infantryman” in 2010. He earned several medals for his service, including the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star.
Moshier, a Manhattan native, did not see direct action during WWII. He left his home on Sept. 1, 1941, and went to Fort Leavenworth for induction into military service. From there, he was sent to Arkansas for 13 weeks of basic training.
“We were there to serve our one year and get out,” Moshier said. “But then on December 7, we were in for the duration.”
Moshier said the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, was the reason why his one-year tour of service was extended to five years. He served in a supply depot, restocking other troops and driving vehicles for forces arriving in France following D-Day in 1944. After the war ended in Europe in 1945, Moshier waited three months in Germany before returning home.
“When I got back to the U.S., the quickest thing I did was get out of the Army,” Moshier said.
Both Moshier and Sharp were able to return to Europe after the war, taking tours in the 1980s and ‘90s.
“It was different, I assure you,” Moshier said. “The buildings are all restored. Had it not been for my wife, I probably wouldn’t have gone back. She planned all the tour trips. She wanted to see it.”
As far as birthday parties go, Sharp will have a public event at Meadowlark on Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. Moshier will have a private gathering with family and friends in Manhattan.
With conflicts continuing to arise around the world, Sharp said it’s important to not allow seemingly ongoing wars to cause discouragement.
“You have to reach down by your bootstraps and remind yourself of all the good things that have happened to you and your family and hope that they have a good future with no wars,” Sharp said.
Whereas Sharp is the natural storyteller, Moshier remains the realist. In 2022, Moshier told The Mercury he partially joked about not understanding how he became a centenarian.
Earlier this month, he said he still feels that way to an extent.
“That’s why I always say, ‘Don’t get old,’ because the people you’re already familiar with are already gone, and you’re too old to do anything else,” Moshier said.
