Posted on 12/10/2025 7:11:02 AM PST by devane617
I’m surprised it’s so many. If one lied about one’s age and snuck in, aged 16, at the very end of the war, that man is now 96
Yes, you’re right. One day in the not-so-distant future, we will hear a report that the last surviving veteran of WWII has passed. It’s sad to think soon they will all be gone.
Exactly, math makes it real hard to believe so many are still alive.
Thanks for posting and Thank You for your service. My Dad, 3 uncles one aunt and grandfather served in WWII . Grandfather in WWI too. One uncle died at Anzio. God bless them all and you too. You answered the call to fight evil. The call is different now but we still fight evil.
“The Mansions of the Lord”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Pz_BGQitI&list=RDf6Pz_BGQitI&start_radio=1
Every member of my family that fought in WWII have gone on and my one uncle that Jumped into the Battle of the Bulge would never talk about it and my Father in Law was on a destroyer in the Pacific for over three years and would never say a single word.
They all would look off into space...
There were 13 million Americans in uniform during WWII.
My father and some uncles served during WWII. None were killed but one was wounded in North Africa. My father was 31 at the time of Pearl Harbor and the uncles were even older.
Sadly, the America they fought for has largely been squandered. DJT is bringing us back a little, but it’s probably too little, too late.
I suspect many of the surviving generation, like their Brit counterparts, now wonder why they bothered to fight.
BMP
For Honor and Respect.
I recently read an autobiography of Omar Bradley. After WW II he took on the job of reviving an ossified Veteran’s Administration. One statistic he gave to define the enormity of the job was that in 1946 when I was born 43 out of every 100 adult males was a veteran. No wonder I volunteered when Vietnam came around. Armed Forces service was just part of becoming an adult.
My dad didn't have tanks, he had an Army engineer company with bulldozers and TNT.
He was XO on an LST (Landing Ship, Tank), somewhere around the Panama Canal, headed for the Pacific when the war ended.
The last WW II Vet who came into our local VA Clinic in SW Colorado died three years ago. I shook his hand and thanked him about 2 years befor he died.
I had 5 relatives who served in WW II and the last died in 2016. My Dad died in 1974.
God bless them all.
Oh, forgot to add. He died in 1986, two days after his 64th birthday.
they did great stuff ... and then voted in the 1965 immigration act and the great society ...
My great uncle was a farm boy and lied when he was 15 to get into army. Artillery (as was Harry Trunan). Saw the worst of WW 1 in France and wouldn’t talk about it ever more.
One man joined the army at 14 during the Vietnam war. He was KIA at age 15. There is a street in Brooklyn named after him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bull
There were a couple 12—14-year-olds who joined early.
Examples of 12-14-Year-Olds in WWII:
Calvin Graham (US Navy): Enlisted at 12 (but was around 14 when deployed), served on the USS South Dakota in combat, and became the youngest American serviceman.
Jacklyn H. Lucas (US Marine Corps): Enlisted at 14, served in the Pacific, and famously survived being blown up by grenades at Iwo Jima, earning the Medal of Honor.
Bob Kelso (US Army): A 13-year-old who enlisted, stood 6 feet tall, and was serving in Germany by age 14.
Dennis Moule (Australian/Merchant Navy): Enlisted at 14 and saw action in the Pacific theater.
Richard H. Johnson (US Navy): Enlisted at 14 when the U.S. entered the war and served throughout.
One thing that pisses me off is that the government failed to protect the service records of our military. A large number of records were lost in a massive fire at the St. Louis Personnel Records Center July 12 to July 16, 1973, destroying approximately 16 to 18 million military personnel records. Both of my uncle's records were destroyed.
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.