List of surviving veterans of World War I

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The following is a list of known surviving veterans of World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918). The total number of participating personnel is estimated by the Encyclopaedia Britannica at 65,038,810. There were approximately 9,750,103 military deaths during the conflict.

Veterans, for this purpose, are defined as people who were members of the armed forces of one of the combatant nations up to and including the date of the Armistice. Other World War I-era veterans are listed separately. This policy may vary from the policy in actual use in some countries.

The oldest verified World War I veteran is 109-year-old Frank Buckles, born 1 February 1901. World War I veteran Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico (21 August 1891 – 24 January 2007), who died aged 115, is the oldest authenticated veteran, from any conflict, ever to have lived. On 27 May 2008, the last Central Powers veteran, Franz Künstler of Austria-Hungary, died at the age of 107.

Contents

[edit] Verified veterans of World War I – 3 veterans

Nationality Name Date of Birth Age Residence Force served Notes
 United Kingdom Choules, Claude Stanley 01901-03-03 3 March 1901 109 Australia Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Royal Navy Last seaman. Last veteran who served in both World Wars. Joined in 1916. Last witness to the German Naval surrender. Last living combatant of World War I.[1] Moved to Australia in 1926 and served with Royal Australian Navy in World War II. Lives in Perth, Western Australia.[2][3][4][5]
 United Kingdom Green, Florence Beatrice (née Patterson) 01901-02-19 19 February 1901 109 England  Royal Air Force Women's Royal Air Force Last female veteran and last veteran residing in the UK. Joined in 1918 and served as a waitress for the Womens RAF. Lives in King's Lynn, Norfolk.[6][7]
 United States Buckles, Frank Woodruff 01901-02-01 1 February 1901 109 United States United States United States Army 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment Last American veteran. Eligible for burial at Arlington. Joined in 1917. Ambulance driver near Western Front. Held prisoner in World War II as a civilian. Lives in Charles Town, West Virginia.[8][9]

[edit] World War I-era veterans – 1 veteran

Listed here are those who joined the armed services after the Armistice date, but before the Treaty of Versailles; or where there is debate on their join-date; or whose military service is sometimes viewed as outside the scope of World War I, but are considered World War I-era veterans by the press or by their respective governments; or who served in a related conflict.

Nationality Name Date of Birth Age Residence Force served Notes
 Poland Kowalski, Józef 01900-02-02 2 February 1900 110 Poland PL ground forces flag IIIRP.svg Polish Army 22nd Regiment Ułanów Last Polish-Soviet War veteran. Took part in the September Campaign in World War II and was later held in a concentration camp. Poland's oldest man. Lives in Tursk, near Sulęcin.[10][11][12][13]

[edit] World totals – 4 veterans

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Choules, Claude The Last of the Last Mainstream Publishing pg 11 (introduction) & pg 61
  2. ^ "Veteran, 107, is last man to serve in both world wars". Worcester News. 2008-11-08. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/local/3830105.Veteran__107__is_last_man_to_serve_in_both_world_wars/. Retrieved 2009-01-21. 
  3. ^ Booth, Gary (2002-05-13). "500 km by bike to demolish Albany". Navy News. http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/05_13_02/story09.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-06. 
  4. ^ Claude, 108 ... last of the WW1 heroes
  5. ^ Agence France-Presse (27 July 2009). "Claude Choules says WWI was 'boring'". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25841206-12377,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-02. ""Mr Choules was informed by his 80-year-old daughter Anne Pow over the weekend that the death of 111-year-old Harry Patch, Britain's last soldier who fought in the Great War's infamous trenches, had made him the country's sole survivor."" 
  6. ^ Beal, Claire (2010-01-15). "At 108, Florence is Britain's oldest war vet". Lynn News. http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/At-108-Florence-Green-is.5986586.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  7. ^ Brain, Louise (2009-02-24). "108 - and she's still as sharp as a needle!". Lynn News. http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/108--and-she39s-still.5006685.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  8. ^ "Oldest Living Heroes Remembered". CBS News. 2006-11-11. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/11/eveningnews/main2174447.shtml. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 
  9. ^ Reynolds, Dean, and Stuart, Elizabeth (2006-12-02). "Last WWI Veterans Get Their Due". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2695964&page=1. Retrieved 2007-01-22. 
  10. ^ "Pan Józef ma 107 lat i czuje się znakomicie" (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/wiadomosc.html?wid=8714409&ticaid=132ac. Retrieved 2007-03-16. 
  11. ^ "Niech żyje 200 lat!" (in Polish). Radio Zachód S.A.. http://www.zachod.pl/articles/view/niech-zyje-200-lat. Retrieved 2008-02-02. 
  12. ^ "200 lat dla pana Józefa! Najstarszy Lubuszanin mieszka w Tursku." (in Polish). Gazeta Lubuska. http://www.gazetalubuska.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090202/POWIAT12/535624281. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
  13. ^ "Letter on the occasion of Józef Kowalskis 110:th birthday" (in Polish). President's office, Poland. http://www.prezydent.pl/aktualnosci/wypowiedzi-prezydenta/listy/art,673,list-z-okazji-110-urodzin-jozefa-kowalskiego.html. Retrieved 2010-03-30. 

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