Herb at 101: I’d Love One More Day with Edith

World War II veteran Herb Neff has crossed paths with legendary figures J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Douglas MacArthur. But at 101, Neff just wishes he could spend a little more time with his wife Edith, who was with him for nearly 70 of those years. “I’d love one more day with Edith,” Herb Neff said when asked by his granddaughter Laura what he would do if he could live a day over again. “I’d relive my wedding day. I married the right girl."

“Herb and Edith were happily married for just two months short of 70 years,” said daughter-in-law Terry Neff. “She died in April 2021. She was 97.”

At 101, Neff remains mentally sharp.

“Herb is still very sharp,” Terry Neff said, “His memory has not failed him in the least - and his health is just as good.”

Neff credits "eating the right food, having a good, loving wife, good kids, and enjoying yourself and believing in God” as the reasons why he’s lasted so long.

"I believe in very holistic natural remedies and vitamins,” Neff said, “not pharmaceuticals."

Neff was exposed to Oppenheimer, who was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is among those credited with being the father of the atomic bomb. Neff was sent to Los Alamos after receiving training at Ohio State University. He said he feels the atomic bomb was the best invention in his lifetime.

“It ended the war and I got out of the Army,” Neff said, “I worked on it, not realizing what I was working on.”

Neff encountered General MacArthur when he made his famous return to the Philippines.

“It was raining,” Neff recalls, “There was a big circle that was like a race track that MacArthur drove around. We had to go into our tents. We had to be off the circle. He promised he’d return. He returned."