Frank Buckles (1901 - 2011)

Cpl Buckles, 16 in 1917

Frank Buckles, the last living American WWI veteran and the last of three surviving veterans world wide, has passed.  He was 110.

The two remaining veterans are Claude Stanley Choules of the UK, who served in the Royal Navy, and Florence Beatrice Green (nee Patterson) of the UK, who served in the Royal Air Force Women's RAF.

Mr Buckles was the oldest verified WWI veteran at the time of his death.  He served as a corporal in the army from August 1917 until January 1920, as a member of the 1st Fort Riley Causal Detachment.  He drove ambulances and motorcycles.  He was also a civilian POW in World War II.

He spent his later years as an advocate for the restoration of the War Memorial in Washington DC, and for its dedication as the national memorial for World War I.  

Mr Buckles has said that the secret to his long life is hope.  He said that he lived such a long life because he "never got in a hurry".

From Mr Buckles' website:

A diligent patriot his entire life, Frank Woodruff Buckles served his nation for eleven decades.

As America's last surviving veteran witness to the First World War, his life experiences and perspective are a living artifact...

It is the nature of time that they leave us.  I make the choice granted me by liberty and freedom to remember their service and sacrifice, and to honor it always.


Peace to you, Mr Buckles.  You earned it.

Frank Woodruff Buckles

1 February 1901 - 27 February 2011