Retired USAF Col. Steve dePyssler dies

Posted: Jul 25, 2020 / 02:05 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 25, 2020 / 02:05 PM CDT

Retired Col. Steven L. dePyssler (right), director of military retiree affairs for Barksdale, poses for a photo with Col. Sara Ann Custer (left), 2nd Mission Support Group commander, following a building dedication ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Nov. 8, 2019. The renaming of the newly established dePyssler Mission Support Group building was announced back in July 2019 after dePyssler celebrated his 100th birthday. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tessa B. Corrick)

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Today, it was announced that the world has lost the only known American to have served in five wars.

Retired USAF Col. Steve dePyssler died early Saturday morning, according to the Bossier Press Tribune, which for many years published the retiree newspaper dePyssler established and edited that was sent to retirees and their families all over the world.

dePyssler, who turned 101 years old on Tuesday, is believed to be the only known American to have served in World War II, the Korean War, the French Indo-China War, the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Vietnam War.

After serving 38 years on active duty in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force, dePyssler retired in 1979, but went on to spend the next 40 years as a volunteer helping military retirees and their widows, widowers, parents and children work through the red tape to obtain benefits.