FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: CPL Frank Buckles ~ July 6, 2015

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[Kathy in Alaska]

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

CPL Frank Buckles
All info and photos from this website.

           

Frank Woodruff Buckles (February 1, 1901 - February 27, 2011) was a United States Army soldier, the last living American veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe. During World War II, Buckles was taken prisoner by the Japanese as a civilian.

Buckles was born in Bethany, Missouri. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at the beginning of America's involvement in World War I in April 1917. Only 16 years old at the time, Buckles was asked by his recruiter to show a birth certificate. Later Buckles said of that event, “I was just 16 and didn’t look a day older. I confess to you that I lied to more than one recruiter. I gave them my solemn word that I was 18, but I’d left my birth certificate back home in the family Bible. They’d take one look at me and laugh and tell me to go home before my mother noticed I was gone. Somehow I got the idea that telling an even bigger whopper was the way to go. So I told the next recruiter that I was 21 and darned if he didn’t sign me up on the spot! I enlisted in the Army on the 14th of August 1917." Before being accepted into the United States Army, he was turned down by the Marine Corps due to his slight weight.

In 1917, Buckles was sent to Europe on the RMS Carpathia, which had rescued Titanic survivors five years earlier. During the war Buckles served in England and France, driving ambulances and motorcycles for the Army's 1st Fort Riley Casualty Detachment. After the Armistice in 1918, Buckles escorted prisoners of war back to Germany. Following his discharge in 1919, he attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, in honor of those Americans who died in World War I. While there, he met General John "Black Jack" Pershing, commander of all U.S. forces in France during the war.

In the 1940s Buckles worked for a shipping company in Manila, Philippines. He was captured by the Japanese in 1942 and spent the next three and a half years in the Los Baños prison camp. He became malnourished, with a weight below 100 lb, and developed beriberi, yet led his fellow inmates in calisthenics. He was rescued on February 23, 1945.

In 1953, Buckles married and bought the 330-acre Gap View Farm in West Virginia. His wife died in 1999, and their daughter moved back to the farm to care for her father.

Buckles stated in an interview with The Washington Post on Veterans' Day 2007 that he believes the United States should go to war only "when it's an emergency."  When asked about the secret of his long life, Buckles replied: "Hope", adding, "When you start to die... don't." He also said the reason he has lived so long is that, "I never got in a hurry."

The U.S. Library of Congress included Buckles in its Veterans History Project and has audio, video and pictorial information on Buckles' experiences in both world wars, including a full 148-minute video interview.  Buckles' life was featured on the Memorial Day 2007 episode of NBC Nightly News.

On March 6, 2008, he met with President Bush at the White House.  The same day, he attended the opening of a Pentagon exhibit featuring photos of nine surviving World War I veterans created by historian and photographer David DeJonge. Of the group, only Buckles and Canadian veteran John Babcockwere left. Babcock was unable to attend. He passed away February 18, 2010.

Buckles is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He was eligible for cremation and placement in a columbarium at Arlington, but expressed a desire for burial there, which he was not eligible for under current Arlington policy.  Friends and family members took up his cause, but made no headway until a relative, Ken Buckles, contacted Ross Perot, whom Frank had met at a history seminar in 2001. Within two weeks, Perot had successfully intervened with the White House, and on March 19, 2008, Buckles received special approval for underground burial at Arlington.

Buckles was the Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation, which seeks refurbishment of the District of Columbia War Memorial and its establishment as the National World War I Memorial on the National Mall. Buckles appeared before Congress on December 3, 2009, advocating on behalf of such legislation.  On February 1, 2010, on Buckles' 109th birthday, his official biographer announced that he will be completing a film on Buckles' life. The film is a cumulative work of three years of interviews and intimate moments gathered by DeJonge as he traveled the nation with Buckles

For his service during World War I, Buckles received (from the U.S. Government) the World War I Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal. In addition, French president Jacques Chirac awarded him France's Légion d'honneur.

On May 25, 2008, Buckles received the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Gold Medal of Merit at the Liberty Memorial. He sat for a portrait taken by David DeJonge that will hang in the National World War I Museum, as "the last surviving link".

Buckles received the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry's Knight Commander of the Court of Honour (KCCH) on September 24, 2008. The KCCH is the last honor a freemason receives prior to the 33°. The ceremony was hosted by Ronald Seale, 33°, Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. A keynote address was provided by James Peake, Secretary of Veteran Affairs.

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Thank you to Ms. Behavin for the heads up about this wonderful hero!

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

((((HUGS))))

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION
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CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides," remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).
(Click for Bosun’s Whistle)



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you have a good 4th of July weekend? BBQ with friends? Fireworks?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Families, for your service to our country.

Thanks, unique, for the perfect woohoo.

John Conlee ~ They Also Serve

[left that other site]

I was invited to two BBQ’s but had a terrible headache due to lack of sleep (fireworks all night and Lynn-dah having panic attacks every time one went off.) I have also been very concerned about my Mom.

So it has been a bit of a struggle lately.

[Kathy in Alaska]

United States Marine Corps Band ~ National Anthem

[Kathy in Alaska]

Kate Smith ~ God Bless America

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[SkyDancer]

~

~ Good Evening! ~

~

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Kathy and Star!

***HUGS***



Thanks very much – coming aboard! Rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors and to the Officer of the Deck!

And thanks very much to you and Star for tonight’s Hall of Heroes thread! Cpl. Frank Buckles, USA is most worthy of admission to our Hall of Heroes!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please note: The author of the Hall of Heroes is StarCMC.

Please thank StarCMC for today’s thread.

Sending out prayers for Arrowhead1952 as he recovers from his horrible fall.

~ Hall of Heroes: CPL Frank Buckles ~

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[ConorMacNessa]

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Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who
Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...ready to take on the new week? Nice weekend weather?

[Kathy in Alaska]

So sorry about the headache....hope you are finally feeling better.

Did your talk with Mom go well?

Prayers continue for your Mom.

I heard not a single fireworks go off. They have been illegal in town for several years, but that didn’t stop people. This year even the city cancelled their display because of so many statewide fires.

[left that other site]

I couldn’t reach Mom today, but I talked with her last night. She is hurting really bad!

My headache went away in time for church this morning. It was over 110 degrees on the stage, and I was so soaked in sweat that my hands were slipping off the bass strings, and sunscreen was dripping down into my eyes (eek).

But, from all reports, we sounded good. I will give you a link when it comes up on the website.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...did you have a wonderful Independence Day celebration with family and friends?

Any flying this week?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Mac, for the Missing Man Setting as we remember those who have given their all that we may gather safe and secure.

[ConorMacNessa]

Ready indeed! Our weekend weather bounced back and forth between sun and rain - but was extremely humid throughout.

Just about ready to climb the spiral staircase.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."