A Logan County World War II veteran who worked for decades as a coal miner observed a landmark birthday on Tuesday.

Gilbert Lee Johnson of Omar turned 107, family members said.

Born in Wytheville, Va., in 1915, Johnson moved to Nolan in Mingo County as a young boy with his older sister and her husband.

Johnson attended Aracoma High School in Logan and got his first job in the coal mines at age 16. He retired as a foreman in the mid-1970s. He was a secretary of his local United Mine Workers of America and was a member of the union for more than 70 years.

During World War II from 1942-1945, he served in the U.S. Army, where he was a member of the Quartermaster Corps.

He married his wife of more than 40 years, Jessie Frances Layne Johnson, during his time in the military. They had six children, three boys and three girls. He has a host of grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A resident of Omar since 1968, he continues to live there with his daughter, Andrea.