Oldest WWII vet

Killing and dying, just like everyone else.

With a few exceptions (332nd FG) I thought they were mostly given support roles like cooks and whatnot.

Discrimination in the Air Force and Navy was way more prevalent than the Army. Army took in everyone (native american, foreigners, hispanics, whites, blacks, etc...). Asians, in particular Japanese, got the short end of the stick in all the Armed Forces, for obvious reasons.