H/T to That's Just Peachy
Frank Buckles, who lied about his age to get into uniform during World War I and lived to be the last surviving U.S. veteran of that war, has died. He was 110.
Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died peacefully of natural causes early Sunday at his home in Charles Town, biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said in a statement. Buckles turned 110 on Feb. 1 and had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of the Great War in Washington, D.C.
When asked in February 2008 how it felt to be the last of his kind, he said simply, ``I realized that somebody had to be, and it was me.'' And he told The Associated Press he would have done it all over again, ``without a doubt.''
Before there was "The Greatest Generation", there was his generation. This serves as a reminder that this country is constantly blessed to have such fine men and women who are willing to step up and be members of the latest greatest generation. That is not meant to be a slight on those who served in WWII, it is meant to be praise for all who serve. As long as such people exist America will somehow manage to weather the bad times as well as enjoy the good times.
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