NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — On November 1, 1924, Andrew Valero was born in Manhattan, New York, and exactly 100 years later, it’s been quite the life this now-retired Army veteran has lived.

Speaking with the retired Valero, better known as Sgt. Andy, the day before his 100th birthday, he had so many stories to tell. When asked about the secret to a long and good life, Sgt. Andy immediately said “an education” and “good friends.”

He shared that he was not the best student growing up, but he worked hard to eventually get his high school diploma. He laughed in his recollection of skipping a number of his high school classes to flirt with some of the girls at his school.

Valero had a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he said his mother didn’t know about his high school hijinks until he had already been drafted by the U.S. Army in April 1943 and began basic training at Camp Stewart, Georgia.

After his training, Sgt. Andy was dispatched to Europe as a replacement soldier for the 9th Infantry Division. He fought in multiple battles, including the Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes Forest, Hurtgen Forest, and a 14-mile overnight march to the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany. It was there where Sgt. Andy and his fellow service members ran into serious trouble, ending in the brave rescue of one of their own.

“We were caught out in the open,” Valero said. “There was a bluff. …There was no cover at all and they opened fire. They were Hitler Youth. [Private] Estes was hit in the face. He was standing up. … When he turned to me, I was the closest one to him. And when he turned around, his face was distorted with blood, and you couldn’t hear my voice because of the rifle fire and the yelling. The guys were yelling, orders being given. I was a private then, and I crawled over to him, and I told him, ‘Get down, get down.’

“… I found out later he was in a coma, or in shock, and [he was] just standing there and moving very slowly, but standing. I tried to getting him down, but he was like granite. I couldn’t get him down, and finally two guys came over after I was yelling ‘medic’ and just yelling, ‘Help, I need help,’ and the three of us got him down. We got him down that bluff there because artillery started to come in, and that was another big problem, but luckily it was friendly artillery and things quieted down, not entirely, but enough that we could yell and hear each other. We got him down to a bluff and there was a jeep with two soldiers maybe 100 yards away, and one of the guys ran over, and he came back with a driver. The driver told me, ‘We’ve got to get over to the jeep.’ We ran, stumbling and running, but we were in the clear. That bluff helped us.”

Eventually, he and his fellow soldiers got Private Estes to a safe location. Sgt. Andy later learned Estes survived.

In the meantime, Sgt. Andy suffered several injuries, the last of which was trench foot and frostbite due to the extreme cold in Germany. He was treated at the American Hospital in Paris. He received the Presidential Citation and two Bronze Stars.

Following the surrender of Nazi Germany, Sgt. Andy was assigned to post war occupation in Germany as part of the 71st Infantry Division. He said they took over guarding the Dachau Concentration Camp shortly after it was liberated.

“We took over that, guarding the prisoners,” said Sgt. Andy.

He remembers being issued submachine guns to guard the prisoners.

“They were always sneering, looking at you, but we were on top of it,” he said. “I was a sergeant then. I had a detail. That was a huge camp, and that stayed with me for a long time. I wasn’t the same when I came home. I think [what I saw at the camp] was worse than combat. How could one population do that to another?”

When Sgt. Andy returned to the states, he eventually met his wife, Lola. He credits her with helping him move forward from some of the horrors he saw in Germany. The two had three children, one boy and two girls. The Valeros were married for 59 years. Sgt. Andy still lights up when he talks about his beloved wife.

He is also very proud of his time as an x-ray technician for the New York City Fire Department. He said getting the job with the NYFD was like getting a Christmas present, because he found out he got the job in December 1949. He worked in the NYFD for 31 years.

Sgt. Andy and his family moved to Norfolk in 1999. His hobbies include playing the violin, spending time with his family and attending events with other veterans.