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If you see Frank Buckles today, wish him a happy 110th birthday.
Of the 4,734,991 US armed force members that served in WWI, he is the last survivor.

"He's the last known American veteran from World War I, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and one of only three survivors worldwide recognized for direct service during the war."

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/flai ... ar-809531/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I wonder what he thinks about what has become of the Constitution since he was a young adult.

And captured as a civilian shipyard worker in the Philippines during WWII.
Spent 3 years in captivity.

Born 1901... Wow..

Happy Birthday....

So at what age he was fighting in WW1, 15-16 That was a child soldier.

Beiruty wrote:So at what age he was fighting in WW1, 15-16 That was a child soldier.

Frank Buckles lied about his age and enlisted in the Army at age 16. It was not uncommon in WWI and WWII for young men to lie about their age so that they could enlist in the armed services. Back then they didn't keep good records, and there were no computer data-bases.

The Annoyed Man wrote:I wonder what he thinks about what has become of the Constitution since he was a young adult.

The Federal Government -- specifically but not limited to Woodrow Wilson -- at the time Mr. Buckles fought in WWI was as fascistic and disrespectful of constitutional limits as any time in our history, including now. It just wasn't quite as big yet. It took an economic crisis and FDR to really kickstart its growth.

A shameful fact about WW 1 is that an amazing number of Allied soldiers
died in the last 48 hours before the Armistice took place on the 11th day of
the 11th month. The number of dead may have been in the thousands, or
tens of thousands.

Why?

Because Allied generals forced their men to attack, even though the Armistice
had already been negotiated and everyone knew when it would take effect.
All they really needed to do was to sit tight in their positions, and they could
have gone home to their families.

When asked why he ordered his troops to launch a suicide mission within hours
of peace, one General said that he knew that the war was scheduled to end, but
no one had told him to stop taking offensive actions.

Think of all the men whose lives were thrown away just so some generals could
watch them make a suicide run. Sheesh.

SIA

WildBill wrote:Frank Buckles lied about his age and enlisted in the Army at age 16. It was not uncommon in WWI and WWII for young men to lie about their age so that they could enlist in the armed services. Back then they didn't keep good records, and there were no computer data-bases.

Yep. My father enlisted in the Army for WWI just before he turned 17.

Not a typo, and I'm not 85 years old. Long generations on that side of the family. His father, my grandfather, was born at the beginning of the Civil War. And his father in the early 1820s.

I'll say a prayer for Frank Buckles tonight. Once he passes, an entire era of American warriors will be gone.

Bless you Frank; our country continues to owe you our support and thanks!!

"Frank Buckles, the last living U.S. World War I veteran, has died, a
spokesman for his family said Sunday. He was 110.

Buckles "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" early Sunday morning, the family said in a statement sent to CNN late Sunday by spokesman David DeJonge.

Buckles marked his 110th birthday on February 1, but his family had
earlier told CNN he had slowed considerably since last fall, according his
daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan, who lives at the family home near Charles Town, West Virginia."

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/27/la ... eran-dies/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well....saw on Yahoo today, that this gentleman passed away today at 110.
Rest well and thank you from all of us for your service to this country!