The Benjamin Church Senior Center was electric with excitement last Wednesday, May 10, as it came together to celebrate the birthday of one of its most beloved residents.

Arthur Medeiros, a United States Army veteran who served as a heavy weapons operator during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, was at one point dabbing away tears upon hearing the proclamation read out to him by Town Administrator Steven Contente in honor of his 103rd birthday.

“His personality and his kind ways certainly spreads, and that’s certainly something we can all use. So thank you, Mr. Medeiros, for being yourself,” Contente said, adding from the proclamation, “He continues to inspire us with his positive attitude and resilience.”

If you were to meet Arthur Medeiros at the grocery store or out on the links, where he still strives to spend as much time as possible, you’d probably never guess he was into his third year as a centenarian or that he saw the kind of action in Europe that led to him earning a Bronze Star, two Silver Stars, and three Purple Hearts. His mind sharply reflected on his service and he can move around better physically than some folks half his age.

But more than anything, it’s his jovial personality that shines through when speaking to the man — who in his own words, “came up during the horse and buggy days” and experienced such crises as the Great Depression, diphtheria and polio outbreaks and, of course, that infamously brutal war that threatened to tear the very world apart.

“I didn’t want to go, but President Roosevelt requested that I go. So I’ve been a Republican ever since,” he said, eliciting a huge laugh from the full room that had gathered to celebrate him. He added later, asked of his service, “The first thing I think of when anyone asks me about it, is remembering how cold it was. It was five or six below zero, and it happened to be the coldest winter that year in the history of Europe.”

“Just my luck.”

But gathered with so many family, friends, and fellow veterans from the Bristol Veterans’ Council — who presented Medeiros with a Challenge Coin — there was no doubt that Medeiros felt like quite the lucky guy on that sunny day.

“I just want to thank everyone. My two daughters and all my good friends right here,” he said. “It’s been a great life.”

When asked what his secret was to his continuing vitality and love for life, he provided some sound insight.

“I just live one day at a time. Every time I get up, it’s a bonus. And that’s the way I look at it,” he said. “I don’t read labels. I eat what I feel like eating. I never get mad at anybody. We only go this way once, and I make the best of it.”