Buckles was eager to join the war. He said his recruiter in the summer of 1917 told him that "the
ambulance service was the quickest way to get to France," so he trained in trench casualty retrieval.
Posted on 03/09/2008 6:30:06 AM PDT by Zakeet
Frank Woodruff Buckles was just 15 years old when he joined the U.S. Army. Soon, he was deployed to war and headed overseas on the Carpathia -- the same ship used in the rescue mission of the Titanic.
He drove ambulances in Britain and France for soldiers wounded during World War I.
A few decades later, Buckles was in the Philippines as a civilian, on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was taken as a prisoner of war for 39 months in Manila, eating his meals out of a single tin cup.
More than 60 years later, he still clings to that cup, the one that sustained his life. Weathered with age, the cup has flecks of white paint chipped off. He keeps it as a reminder of his sacrifice for the country he so loves. He also still has his dog tags.
At age 107, there's not much the war veteran, POW and West Virginia farmer hasn't seen. But this week, this quietly accomplished man was humbled.
Buckles, the last known surviving World War I U.S. veteran, met the president of the United States and received a standing ovation at the Pentagon.
"I didn't lie; nobody calls me a liar," he said with a chuckle, referring to how he became a soldier at just 15.
Speaking with a hushed, deep voice, he conceded, "I may have increased my age."
He spoke from a wheelchair, dressed in a dark blazer with his military medals pinned over his heart. Those in attendance clung to his words.
"We cherish the chance to say thank you in person to Cpl. Frank Buckles," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, before unveiling a portrait of him.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Buckles was eager to join the war. He said his recruiter in the summer of 1917 told him that "the
ambulance service was the quickest way to get to France," so he trained in trench casualty retrieval.
America’s finest! BTTT!
A god awful job for certain. A true American Patriot well deserving of recognition.
My great Uncle did battlefield body removal during the Korean War. He said they had to strap frozen bodies to tanks. Having spent three years in Korea myself along the DMZ, I can believe it.
An American hero.
Thank you for this!!! Great story.
I like this photo.
Frank Buckles is a great American. In the America of a century ago, lads of 15 were a lot more grownup than they are today.
Your absolutely right. My father-in-law who passed away two months ago took care of his family at the age of 14 when his father was struck and killed by lightning. And he was a farmer!!! How many 14 year olds do you know that can farm.
He dropped out of school and he could take a restaurant tab and divvy it up with tax, tip and total by person in his head.
He used to say that when he was growing up, they expected something out of you.
Buckles and Babcock are the last known living WWI soldiers who fought for the United States.
Babcock is Canadian and served in a Royal Canadian Regiment. After the war he joined the US Army and became a citizen, so Buckles is the last surviving American vet.
True hero and patriot. A big difference from the liberal mantra “I’m a patriot because I speak out and bash my country with impunity”
Can’t be the last one, I got a great great uncle, living in a nursing home near Corpus Christi, who fought in WWI. Of course his mind is completely gone and he can barely remember whether or not he had lunch today, but he ain’t croaked off yet.
Amazing! What are the chances that the last surviving Great War veteran would also have been a POW of the Japanese for the whole of US involvement in WW-II?
That stuck me too.
Time is doing to these vets what the Kaiser, Hitler and Tojo couldn't. It's slowing them down and eventually stopping them altogether.
Sad.
Not really, we all go sometime, and these WW-I guys have gotten way more than they could have ever expected. Their friends are all gone, their wives and lovers too. Generations of pets, hunting dogs, etc. In many cases their children have passed on.
Sad for us maybe, it's our loss, but not really sad for them. They are going to their final reward.
Just about all of them that grew up on farms. My cousins could have at that age, and two of the four in the one family, still do, but of course they are in their 50s now. The third of that family is a cabinet maker, while the big sister is the admin assistant to the head of major hospital.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.