Don Graves made history in 2025 as the oldest person ever to sign a Nashville recording contract. A year later, he is still performing, still telling his stories, and still very much here.
In May 2025, a 100-year-old Marine walked into Starstruck Studios in Nashville and did something no one his age had ever done: he signed a recording contract. Don Graves, a World War II veteran and survivor of the Battle of Iwo Jima, became the oldest person in Nashville history to ink a record deal — and the story went viral for good reason.
Now 102 and living in Fort Worth, Texas, Graves is still active on the public stage, appearing at major events and continuing to share the stories of the men he fought alongside eight decades ago.
The Only One Who Came Back
Graves served as a flamethrower operator with the 5th Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima in early 1945. He was the only member of his unit to survive — one of the bloodiest engagements of the Pacific War, in which nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed and more than 19,000 wounded over 36 days of fighting…