Last American World War I Veteran Dies

Frank Buckles "I knew someday there would be only one survivor left, I just didn't think I would be the one."

Frank Buckles was born on February 1, 1901. At the age of 16, he witnessed the European theatre of World War I, serving in the United States Army as an ambulance driver. He tried to join the Marines and they told him he was too young. He tried the Navy and they told him he had flat feet. He lied to the Army recruiter and gave his age as 18, the recruiter said he had to be 21. A week later he came back and told the recruiter he was 21. He was accepted.

In World War II, he became a Prisoner of War in the Philippines and was imprisoned for 39 months. After his return, Frank settled down in West Virginia to his humble farm, where he lived until his death on February 27, 2011, at the age of 110.

From the WWI Museum in Kansas City MO.

Great War Generation to be Honored during Ceremony at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial

(Kansas City, MO) – During World War I, approximately 4.8 million Americans fought for freedom and democracy while serving in the armed forces. With the passing of Frank Buckles, the last known American veteran of the Great War, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial will honor this generation of Americans at a ceremony in March 2011.

With the exact date yet to be determined, preparations have begun for the commemorative ceremony. Initial plans include traditional elements such as presenting of colors and a commemorative wreath, singing of the National Anthem, a 21-gun salute and Taps. A keynote speaker will express the importance of this generation of Americans and what the Great War meant for our country and the world. In Flanders Fields, one of the most famous poems from World War I, will be read during the ceremony.

The National World War I Museum is working closely with several organizations to plan the ceremony including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the United States Army Command and General Staff College

About the National World War I Museum The mission of the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial is to inspire thought, dialogue, and learning to make the experiences of the World War I era meaningful and relevant for present and future generations.

Officially designated as the National World War I Museum by the 108th Congress, the facility is the only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of a war whose impact still echoes in our world today.

Initially established to memorialize those who served in liberty’s defense, the Museum uses its extensive historical collections, facilities, and resources as a National Historic Landmark to research and share internationally the stories of all those who experienced this global conflict.

Just two weeks after the Armistice, Kansas Citians embarked on a campaign which would one day create the National World War I Museum. A community-based fundraising drive in 1919 raised more than $2.5 million in less than two weeks to build the Liberty Memorial. Following the drive, a national architectural competition for a monument design was held by the American Institute of Architects. The site dedication in 1921 was attended by the leaders of the five Allied nations – the first time in history that these leaders were together at one place. After three years of construction, the Liberty Memorial opened on November 11, 1926.

During the dedication, President Calvin Coolidge addressed the more than 100,000 attendees, saying “It is with a mingling of sentiments that we come to dedicate this memorial. Erected in memory of those who defended their homes and their freedom in the World War, it stands for service and all that service implies. Today I return … in order that I may place the official sanction of the national government upon one of the most elaborate and impressive memorials that adorn our country.”

General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, said "The memorial symbolizes the obligation that rests upon present and future generations to preserve that for which those men and women offered their all, and from many of whom the supreme sacrifice was accepted. May their memory live on, and may every American who looks upon this noble edifice be inspired by their devotion."

To address major issues of deterioration, Kansas City voters in 1998 overwhelmingly passed a sales tax to raise money for the Memorial’s restoration. Private fundraising supplemented this financial support. The initial restoration was completed on Memorial Day, 2002. In 2004, two other milestones occurred: (1) the passage of a $20 million bond initiative to fund the construction of a new museum; and (2), President George W. Bush’s signing into law a bill that designated the Liberty Memorial as the National World War I Museum. In 2006, the site received the coveted National Historic Landmark status.

The National World War I Museum was designed by Ralph Appelbaum, one of the preeminent museum exhibit designers in the world today. The Museum opened to great national fanfare and critical acclaim on December 2, 2006.

America’s Last World War I Veteran Frank Woodruff Buckles was born in Harrison County, Missouri, in 1901. He served in the United States Army from 1917 – 1919 as an ambulance driver. Mr. Buckles attained the rank of Corporal.

An underage but eager recruit, Frank Buckles enlisted on August 14, 1917 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He trained at Ft. Riley in Kansas. In December 1917, he and 102 men of the 1st Ft. Riley Casual Detachment sailed to Europe. The men traveled from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Europe on the HMS Carpathia, the vessel famous for rescuing the survivors of the White Star Liner Titanic on April 15, 1912.

Mr. Buckles drove motorcycle sidecar, cars and ambulances in England and France. After the Armistice, he was with a POW Escort Company returning prisoners back to Germany. He returned to the United States on the USS Bogahontis and was discharged at Camp Pike, Arkansas, on November 12, 1919.

Mr. Buckles was honored at the Memorial Day ceremony at the National World War I Museum in 2008.

Mr. Buckles died peacefully in his home in Charles Town, West Virginia, of natural causes on February 27, 2011.