What is the youngest a vet who saw action could have been at the end of the war?
Trying to get an idea of how long we will still have at least some WWII vets with us.
My Father born in 1917 was an Army Air Corps WWII vet. He died in in 1988. He would be 102 this year.
American vets would in general be a bit older than those of other combatants. Unless a boy lied about his age, 17 with a parent signature was required. Which means a 17 year old who enlisted in 1945 would now be 91.
I seem to recall the British took boys at 15.
Towards the end, the Germans were using 12-13 year old boys.
I've heard of the Russians using 10-12 year old boys.
I don't know what Japanese, or Chinese age requirements were.
To answer your question, the answer is 90 years old for some legally enlisted or drafted.
They would have been born in 1928 and 17 in 1945. One member of my church was drafted after high school in 1945, but was still in training when the war ended. I think he told me he was in San Diego at the time.