• So the last US doughboy passed away Sunday.  He will be missed.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022800165.html??hpid=top


  • this made me cry


  • @cminke:

    this made me cry

    I’m with you, we all knew the time was near that we would have no WWI vets.

    If you see a WWII vet on the streets make time to talk to them, they are thinning out at an alarming rate. Man, I miss my grandfther!


  • I had an uncle fight in WW2 and his brother fought at the battle of the bulge. My grandfather fought in WW1. Thank these guys while we can and remember to tell your children about what these guys did. Don’t let them be forgotten.


  • I’ve always been impressed with the numbers of WWI vets who also either served or otherwise had wartime experiences during WWII.  I don’t have any actual statistics, but anecdotally many of the WWI vet stories I have heard also included what they did (often fighting) during WWII as well.  Should not really be unexpected as someone who fought in WWI would have been in their early to mid 40’s during WWII, not the best soldier material (with age comes a loss of physical ability) but certainly capable of performing as necessary.  And this was often necessary ( for example, considering the severe shortage of manpower Germany had towards the end, all the WWI vets were recalled to duty in that country).

    Really kinda points out to me the “total war” concept that was WWII.  Makes it also personal as I’m not yet that old…it could have been me fighting in two world wars had I been born at the right time.


  • New news on Buckles.

    http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-capitol-ceremony-for-world-war-one-veteran-blocked-030311/

    On another site I read one of the problems with an Arlington ceremony is that so many groups want to honor Buckles that the facility is too small.


  • I had a neighbor who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and he’s gone too. When your troops are dying out quicker in peace-time than in war-time it’s a real sad thing  :cry:


  • Buy Things Remembered by Chester A Reece. Its an autobiography by a WW2 vet. I got to have lunch with him, a real nice man.


  • I bet the Navy Times hasn’t seen this article.

    Frank Buckles, last suriving WWI veteran, will get plot at Arlington National Cemetery

    http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2008/04/frank_buckles_last_suriving_wwi_veteran_will_get_plot_at_arlington_national_cemetery.html

    Published: Thursday, April 10, 2008, 1:48 PM    Updated: Monday, February 28, 2011, 1:50 PM

    In March, President Bush waived the requirements after years of lobbying by Ken Buckles, who also is executive director of Oregon’s Remembering America’s Heroes. The nonprofit has organized Living History Day at Milwaukie High School for 13 years to recognize veterans.

    Upon his death, Frank Buckles will be buried at Arlington, attended by a military chaplain and a casket team of six people who will carry the remains. Seven riflemen will fire shots and a bugler from the U.S. Army band will play taps.


  • Buckles will be buried Tuesday with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

    Source:

    http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/mourners-pay-respects-to-last-wwi-veteran/b843b66981c34395b6924a79cabd6db6


  • There is actually an aussie WW I vet still alive, he’s 110 and I believe the last WW I vet alive in the world. It makes me think what these guys on both sides went thru. If you haven’t read the inscription on the Turkish memorial to the battle of Galipoli, it’s very touching.

    “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”


  • There are actually two veterans remaining from WWI:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I

    Claude Choules fought in both WWI and WWII

    Last living combatant of World War I.[1] Last seaman. Last veteran who served in both World Wars. Last male veteran. Joined in 1916. Last witness to the German Naval surrender. Moved to Australia in 1926 and served with Royal Australian Navy in World War II. Lives in Perth, Western Australia.[2][3][4][5]

    Florence Green joined in 1918 and served as a waitress for the Women’s Royal Air Force.

    It is sad to me that this conflict is no longer effectively a living history. The same will happen to WWII in a few years as well.  With the loss of these veterans, I worry that the adage “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it” may well come true again.


  • All respect to those who died in these valiant wars (whether Allied or Axis) but here we go again with more Nazis. It could happen in the US though. Hate groups are on the rise.

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