Last known US WWI veteran dies today.

Muir

Well-Known Member
His name was Frank Buckles. He lied about his age to become an ambulance driver at age 16. He died at 110 years of age.~Muir
 
RIP

My grandfather did the same and lied to get in. He never spoke about it, even when as kids and we asked him about how he won his medals, as much as we know is what the local paper said.
 
Bless him....

I have just finished listening to an audio book called "the forgotten highlander", The suffering this man and his comrades suffered for 6 years at the hands of the Japanese is unimaginable. I truly believe that all young miscreants and layabouts should have to read books like this to realise just how lucky we all are.
 
I brought this back up to the top after listening to the morning news. Mr Buckles was given a full military burial with Honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia this morning. I learned that not only did he enlist in WWI at age 16, but he also served in WWII and was a POW for 39 months in the Philippines.
Rest in Peace, Sir.~Muir
 
Just imagine what he had seen in his life, everything from the mundane to the overwheming.

I wonder how many of us would swap our time for his?

I missed my first Remembrance service in about 30 years last year due to illness, I still feel bad about it.

A couple of years ago I was at my Mothers for Christmas Day and an old Great Uncle was there, ashamed to say that I never knew him very well, Saving Private Ryan came on the TV. After the first few minutes, when the landing craft ramps go down and all hell breaks loose, he said: 'Bloody hell boy, they got that spot on, thats just how it was'. We were gobsmacked, he had never mentioned that before to anyone and never said anymore than that. He wasn't upset or anything but you could see that he was thinking about it. We knew that he was in Europe during the war as he married a German girl, but to think of him on the beach on D-Day was quite a shock.

The stuff that his generation had to deal with makes you feel pretty lame when you are moaning about some prat at work or your truck failing it MoT!

JC
 
Bless him....

I have just finished listening to an audio book called "the forgotten highlander", The suffering this man and his comrades suffered for 6 years at the hands of the Japanese is unimaginable. I truly believe that all young miscreants and layabouts should have to read books like this to realise just how lucky we all are.
My father in law was a prisoer of war in tokyo from the fall of Hong Kong. The stories he told were horrendous. He wrote a book but the pubishers told him it would not be printed. The establishment would not allow it. He destroyed it. It was written as it happened, not the sanatised vertion released by the officers. Facts like the volunteer force deserted the day before the japs arrived. They went back to work and sittng in their office. Offiecers collabourated with the Jabs even reporting their own men who were taken out and shot. Facts like diet killed more than starvation. Most starved because their bodies could not adddapt to the asian diet. Of the thousand taken to Japan 200 left. His diaries are in the war musium. I doubt they will ever go on show. His knife fork and spoon were on display. Staff Sgt. James Winspear, Royal Artillary, from Hartlepool.
Jim
 
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Do Army numbers run consecutively? If I subtract my Grandfathers number, who joined in 1940 from mine (1997) would I have the number of Soldiers who have served in between? If so, the answer is 23,363,937. Would this include the other services too? JC
 
Bless him....

I have just finished listening to an audio book called "the forgotten highlander", The suffering this man and his comrades suffered for 6 years at the hands of the Japanese is unimaginable. I truly believe that all young miscreants and layabouts should have to read books like this to realise just how lucky we all are.

I think that its in 'Tornado Down' where one of the lads is being interviewed and he is asked if he can ever find any understanding or forgiveness for his captors... he replies, something along the lines of, 'if I saw any one of them on the street tomorrow, and I thought that I could stand a chance of getting away with it, I would kill them with my bare hands'. I think the interview lost its way a bit after that! JC
 
Yes My number is a 24,1***** number. The number is unique to myself. Most of my unit were the last of the 23's. Jim
 
I think that its in 'Tornado Down' where one of the lads is being interviewed and he is asked if he can ever find any understanding or forgiveness for his captors... he replies, something along the lines of, 'if I saw any one of them on the street tomorrow, and I thought that I could stand a chance of getting away with it, I would kill them with my bare hands'. I think the interview lost its way a bit after that! JC

Hmm!... a Seismic level of bitterness, perfectly understandable though.
 
Same here, I was may 1967 signing up, Jim
PS my favourite CO was Captain Jack Cheeseman, a L/CPL on the DDay landings, A charachter and a half.
 
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