Frank Buckles: America's last WWI Veteran passed away at age 110
I’ve been following the life of Frank Buckles for the last several years with growing amazement and respect for the remarkable life of this quiet American hero.
Mr. Buckles passed away at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday at the age of 110. And with his passing, so does the last remaining American veteran of World War I. With Mr. Buckles passing, only two known survivors of that war remain alive today: a 109-year-old Australian man and a 110-year-old British woman.
In 2008, U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) sponsored a bill to allow Mr. Buckles, upon his death, to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. His body is currently at a Washington D.C. funeral home awaiting final arrangements, which will also include a hero’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
In addition to serving in WWI, Mr. Buckles was also captured by the Japanese in WWII, and spent 3 1/2 years in a prisoner-of-war camp while working in Manila for the American President Line, a shipping company.
I’m not sure if the Patriot Guard Riders will be invited to ride and stand in honor of Mr. Buckles. If they are, I will only be able to be there in spirit, as there simply is no way for me to get out there this week or next due to a hectic schedule at work.
Rest in peace, Mr. Buckles. Might we all live as long and as remarkable a life as you, sir.
_________
OTHERS:
I happy to see that Mr. Buckles is on the front page of Mememorandum, too. Not sure I expected it to be…
Also being reported by the The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
A great comment over at Ace of Spades:
It is amazing how few WWII vets are left, as well. The people who know of real tyranny are slowly passing from the earth, leaving us with a bunch of spoiled kids who believe that having to show I.D. to vote is ‘tyranny.’ *sigh*
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[...] End of a Generation: Frank Buckles, Last Remaining US Veteran of … [...]
A great tribute to a remarkable patriot. Truly the end of an era. Unfortunately, now our WWII veterans are fading away before our eyes. If you love your freedom, thank a WWII vet before it’s too late.
My Grandfather was a WW1 veteran also.
God Bless You, Frank Buckles.
God Bless you Mr. Buckles and may he shower your grieving family with his grace.
I doubt he ever intended to be a hero, but he was. He was brave to have served in a horrible war, brave to have survived brutal captivity in another and brave to have lived so long.
My admiration for this man couldn’t be any deeper.
We are all worse off with his passing.
How heartbreaking it is to have lost the last veteran of this generation. He was a treasure to all those blessed enough to know him and his passing is a great loss to all of us who never had the privilege of meeting him. May Mr. Buckles rest in peace.
As mentioned in the post, it sad to see our WWII vets rapidly dwindling. I saw this in the news today, and it made me quite upset: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110324/us_yblog_thelookout/wwii-vet-discovers-hes-not-a-u-s-citizen
This vet deserves (at the very least) to have his citizenship recognized.
You need a reason to hate the current administration, then here you go.
But, honestly, that’s just plain disgusting.
Someone should’ve been kicked/punched/shot in the balls right here.