Only about 45,000 American World War II veterans are still alive today, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. One of them was 101-year-old Gilbert "Choc" Charleston, who shared his remarkable story with CBS News Texas earlier this month. That conversation turned out to be one of his final interviews.

The Choctaw Nation confirmed that Charleston, a Native American WWII veteran and the last surviving member of his unit, died Thursday night on Thanksgiving Day . He would have turned 102 on Dec. 24. Despite his age, those who met him said his memory was astonishingly sharp.

How Gilbert "Choc" Charleston earned his nickname and entered World War II

His story began with a nickname that stayed with him for life. In 1923, a visitor saw newborn Gilbert Charleston sleeping

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