The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his death, marks the end of a historic era. The bodies of prominent citizens have been displayed in the Rotunda on 30 occasions, starting in 1852 with Henry Clay, a Kentucky senator and congressional rep. Others include President Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, unknown soldiers from America's wars and civil rights hero Rosa Parks.
Frank Buckles served in England and France, mostly as a driver and warehouse clerk. After the war ended, he helped repatriate German prisoners of war, returning to the U.S. in January 1920.