Frank Buckles

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Frank Buckles
Born February 1, 1901 (1901-02-01) (age 107)
Frank Buckles at age 16
Place of birth	Bethany, Missouri, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917 – 1920
Rank	Corporal
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Légion d'honneur, Gold Medal of Merit

Frank Woodruff Buckles (born February 1, 1901) is, at age 107, the last known surviving American-born veteran of the First World War.^[1]

1 Biography
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Buckles is the last living WWI U.S. veteran. He finished basic training and was stationed overseas prior to the end of the war. The US Library of Congress included him in its Veterans History Project that has audio, video and pictorial information on Buckles' experiences in both World War I and the Second World War, and which includes a full 148-minute video interview.^[2]

He was born in Bethany, Missouri, and enlisted at the beginning of the United States' involvement in World War I in April 1917. Only sixteen at the time of his enlistment, Buckles lied and said he was 21. Before being accepted into the army, he was turned down by the Marines due to his weight. During his time in service for the United States Army, Frank was stationed in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Buckles was sent to France in 1917 at age 16, where he was a driver; after the Armistice was signed in 1918, he escorted prisoners of war back to Germany.

Buckles pictured at 103, was awarded the French Legion of Honor military decoration

In 1919, after the war had ended, Frank Buckles was stationed in Germany, and he was discharged from service in 1920 having achieved the rank of Corporal. In the Second World War, in the 1940s, Buckles was a civilian working for an American shipping line in the Philippines. He was captured by the Japanese and spent three years in a Japanese prison camp during most of that war.^[3]

Buckles has at least one interview on a daily basis. He has stated in many interviews that he doesn't understand why people in the twenty-first century are in such a rush. He commented: "What's the hurry?". Also, he does not own a television and has stated that people today watch too much television. He has said the worst president in his opinion was McKinley. Once asked about Nixon, he replied "He said a few bad things here and there." When asked on how he could live so long, he replied "Hope". On a daily basis he lifts 2-pound weights and does stretches in the morning. According to his caretaker, he does around 50 sit-ups in the morning before beginning his day.

Buckles was awarded the légion d'honneur by then French president Jacques Chirac, and he currently lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. His story was featured on the Memorial Day 2007 episode of NBC Nightly News. He was also at the 2007 Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C., riding in a buggy. Buckles stated in an interview with The Washington Post that he feels that the United States should only go to war when "it's an emergency."^[4]^[5] On March 6, 2008, he met with President Bush at the White House.^[6] The same day, he attended the opening of a Pentagon exhibit featuring photos of nine World War I veterans. Of the group, only Buckles and Canadian veteran John Babcock survive. Babcock was unable to attend.^[7]

Buckles will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He was eligible for cremation and placement in a columbarium at Arlington,^[8] but expressed a desire for burial there, for which he was not eligible under current Arlington policy.^[9] Several friends and family members took up his cause, but made no headway until a family member, 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,^[9] and Buckles received special approval for underground burial at Arlington on March 19, 2008.^[8]

On May 25, 2008, Buckles received the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Gold Medal of Merit at the Liberty Memorial. He also sat for a portrait that will hang in the National World War I Museum, as "the last surviving link."^[10]