TURNERS FALLS — When 19-year-old Lee Evers was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps to serve in World War II, he was chosen from a few thousand men to become a pilot. He showed his commanding officer a letter from relatives, terrified he would be killed, and his superior instead made him a radio gunner with the V Bomber Command.

That concerned correspondence paid off, because not only did Evers survive the war, but he has lived to commemorate his 102nd birthday with those who love him.

“I’ve been very fortunate and my health has been excellent,” he said at his party at St. Kazimierz Society on Thursday. “The doctor says to me at the VA in Greenfield … ‘You take no medicine. You’re in perfect physical shape. I don’t think there’s another human on the planet like you.’ I said, ‘Are you calling me a freak?’”

People stopped by 197 Avenue A to celebrate with Evers, enjoy some food and sign a poster decorated for the occasion. The shindig, held the day after his Feb. 12 birthday, was put together by friend Linda Rice, who described Evers as an amazing, knowledgeable man with a great sense of humor. She has known Evers for about two years.

Although they are not related, Rice calls Evers “the best dad I’ve ever had.”

“So he calls me his daughter,” said Rice, a Greenfield resident. “He calls me ‘kitten.’ And I just melt, you know? He’s so special.”

Evers is also in the habit of making heartfelt gestures, Rice said, providing an example of how he repurposes items such as newspaper and magazine clippings to make cards for people.

“He really takes the time to make it really special,” Rice said. “That’s something I really admire about him.”

Evers was the man of the hour, mingling with friends and family members and regaling them with stories.

“My life is full of goofy stories,” he said. He chronicled some of those tales in a book titled “Bronx Boy Goes to War: I Almost Died Nine Times,” which was published last year.

Evers was born in the Bronx and raised by his father, grandparents and two aunts after his mother died when he was 1. Once he joined the service, he was sent to the Pacific Theater and flew over Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan, among other nations. He is proud to have earned five battle stars.

After the war, Evers worked for Mattel, where he befriended company co-founders Ruth and Elliot Handler. Ruth Handler’s claim to fame was inventing the Barbie doll.

“So the company went from a small firm to the world’s biggest firm. We had the biggest volume of business,” Evers recounted.

The company eventually transferred him to Los Angeles, where he lived for 25 years. He and his late wife, Lillian Evers, who died in October 2023, moved to Montague 27 years ago to be closer to family.

“This has been the most splendid part of my life. The people here … are very friendly, very inviting,” he said. “In New York and in LA, everyone was hungry for cars and money and girls, you know? And here you don’t have that.”

“Bronx Boy Goes to War” and Evers’ other book, “How to Be a Happy Husband: A Marital Wisdom-Kit,” published in 2016, are available for purchase online, including at tinyurl.com/LeeEvers.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.