WWII veteran celebrates 52 years as badge holder

Seventy years after World War II, Robert White still credits President Harry S. Truman for saving his life.

“I was supposed to be involved in the invasion of Japan,” said White, looking back on his time in service. “If Truman hadn’t chosen to drop the atomic bombs, there’s little doubt I would have died in that invasion.”

White, now 91, was a P-51 fighter pilot in World War II, but was diagnosed with hepatitis in the mid-1940s.

He was admitted to the Army’s Oliver General Hospital in Augusta and was greeted one afternoon by visitors from the community.

“I looked up and someone from Augusta National Golf Club had come to check on the service members,” White said. “After he wished us well, we were all invited to play a round at the club.”

White wasn’t healthy enough to accept the invitation, but the gesture was never forgotten.

Not long after being released from Oliver General, White moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., while making an annual pledge each spring to return to Richmond County.

White’s first trip to the Masters Tournament came in the early 1950s, before he was able to get two series badges in 1964.

“I haven’t missed a year since the 1950s,” White said.

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of White becoming a badge holder, and like the previous 51, the veteran returned to Augusta for Masters Week.

White now lives in Greenville, S.C., but attended the tournament with his wife, Ruth, on Thursday and close friend, Tom Faulkner. White’s two daughters used his badges for the weekend.

According to White, he spends most of his time sitting in the stands near No. 8 green.

“He wouldn’t miss coming back to Augusta for anything,” Faulkner said. “Each time we walk into the tournament, you can tell how much this place means to him.”

Despite his age, White has no intentions of slowing down. His mother lived to be 99 – passing away three months shy of her 100th birthday. White’s father died at 94.

“If you add both their ages and divide by two, I should live to be 97,” White said. “That gives me at least five more good years at Augusta.”