WWII Veteran Olin Pickens to Be Honored at Memorial Day Concert

Olin Pickens, 104, of Blue Mountain, Mississippi, will be honored Sunday during the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C., for his service in World War II and his remarkable survival story, according to concert organizers.

Pickens served in the Army as a rifleman in the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion in North Africa. He was captured after a grueling march to Tunis, where he and other prisoners endured a four-day trek with minimal food and water, and witnessed the death of a fellow soldier.

He spent more than two years as a prisoner of war in Germany, surviving forced labor, a daring escape attempt, and solitary confinement. Pickens recounted his experiences, including being recaptured after escaping a labor camp and receiving aid from local villagers, in interviews with Mississippi Today.

Pickens was liberated by Russian forces in April 1945 and returned to the United States, where he was welcomed home by neighbors and family. Despite the hardships, he expressed gratitude for his survival and the chance to reunite with loved ones.

After the war, Pickens utilized the GI Bill to start a career and later shared his story with audiences across the South. He is part of the National World War II Museum’s oral history exhibit, “Voices from the Front.” His account offers lessons of resilience and faith, he said.

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