Turning 11 on 11-11-11

New Berlin - Young Colin Olson will do something Friday that no other kid will get to do for 100 years.

On that day, the New Berlin youngster will turn 11. Doesn't seem unusual until you factor in the way the date is commonly abbreviated: 11-11-11.

Colin was asked what he thought about all the numbers aligning on his birthday.

"I think it'll be fun," he said.

A veteran family

Born on Veterans Day in 2000, Colin knows that Nov. 11 marked the end of a world war. While he admittedly is not quite sure which one, the youngster nonetheless feels connected to the occasion beyond his birthday.

He is descended from men who went to war to defend the country. His great-grandfather was in World War II and his grandfather served as a medic in Korea. He was in the same unit as Milwaukee Brewers sportscaster, comedian and actor Bob Uecker.

Colin's mother Jamie said her father, the medic, deemed it an honor for his grandson to be born on Veterans Day.

Colin loves hearing about the wars America has fought, especially the Civil War, she said.

The youngster used to play with toy soldiers but has graduated to the Blazing Angels video game with its war planes screaming across the screen.

Marking history

One hundred years ago on Nov. 11, 1911, the world stood on the brink of the first world war that would break out on July 28, 1914. The great struggle lasted until the 11th hour of the 11th month of 1918, when the armistice was signed by the allies and Germany that ended the war on the western front.

People in the allied nations have celebrated the day ever since. The Olsons - Colin's father and mother, Chad and Jamie, Colin and his 8-year-old sister - will celebrate with family and friends at a local waterpark.