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100-year-old Coast Guard vet keeps ‘ticking’ along

Posted at 7:05 PM, Mar 26, 2015
and last updated 2015-03-26 19:05:57-04

Portsmouth, Va. - Linwood 'Tick' Thumm celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday.

Thumm captained an 83-foot cutter boat during and after World War Two.

During his time in the service, he and his crew had many adventures including sinking a German U-Boat off the North Carolina coast and rescuing the crew of a burning civilian oil tanker ship. Thumm also met and rode along with the famous World War II Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey while his cutter was stationed in Japan.

On Thursday, Thumm was honored with an official Cutterman pin and ceremonial Coast Guard paddle. He was joined by his wife and daughters at the ceremony.