Gov. honors Florida's last surviving World War I vet, 111 [years old]

Associated Press ^ | 11/10/06 | Associated Press

[MotleyGirl70]

BRADENTON -- Ernest Charles Pusey, 111 years old and nattily attired in a dress shirt and light blue cardigan, smiled slightly when Gov. Jeb Bush walked in his trailer Friday and gave him a medal for helping win World War I.

[Junior_G]

I have a friend who is a public high school teacher. Yesterday he dismissively mentioned his high school's Veterans Day assembly, and how he could barely stomach "all the American propaganda".

I F'n hate liberals.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Don't waste your time hating them. Pray for their misguided souls...

[Finalapproach29er]

They encountered horror on a scale no one ever could have imagined in the Victorian period

---

These guys got mustard gas used against them! Tougher than we can imagine.

[Cagey]

Two paragraphs from the story struck me.

"The most amazing thing about Ernie is when I see him come home from church, get out of the car and walk in the house by himself,'' said Jim Johns, who lives across the street. ``It tells you something about his soul. The man just glows.''

The man still goes to church at 111. Wow.

Pusey has a full-time caretaker, and besides going to church he likes stepping out for a scallop dinner every Sunday. He's tried nursing homes a few times, but prefers living in his trailer.

I don't want to see one more person make fun of trailer parks!

And I hope I look as well as he does when I hit 50, let alone 111. :)

[SteveMcKing]

"To me, the generation that fought the First World War was truly the greatest generation. They encountered horror on a scale no one ever could have imagined in the Victorian period. The modern world was born during World War I, not World War II."

Certainly. There just wasn't as much film available to relate the drama to people back home. If there had been, most everyone would likely agree with this without argument.

[Gamecock]

Did you get a similar award from your governor? < ducking for cover>

[xzins]

Not once but three or four times.

11th month, 11th day, 11th hour.

As Bilbo would say, this guy is Eleventy one!

[Rockpile]

Post 18. That is NOT a picture of Wyoming "back in the day"---well at least not in Pusey's day anyway. That's a photo from April 1944 of Wyoming long after her conversion to a gunnery training ship. Notice that the twelve 12-inch/50-caliber rifles and turrets are gone and replaced by 5-inch/38 cal turrets. Also note the single 5-inch destroyer mounts.

========================================

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-w/bb32.ht

[Rockpile]

BTW, both of ny grandfathers were on the Western Front in the Great War. One tried to join the Navy and was turned down because of fallen arches. But the Army took him and he got to "march all over France" as he put it :<]

[Mr. Mojo]

Bump to an amazing American!

[AnAmericanMother]

[Mr. Brightside]

Very nice story.

True American hero.

[MotleyGirl70]

I agree. ...such a wonderful man--an American hero.

It makes my pursuits look pretty pathetic.