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The following is a list of known surviving veterans of the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 ). The total number of personnel who participated in the war is unknown, but there were an estimated nine million military casualties during the war.
Veterans, for the purposes of this list, have been agreed to be those that were members of the armed forces of one of the nations involved in the war, up to and including the date of the German armstice that ended the war on November 11th, 1918. Other World-War I era veterans are listed separately. This policy may vary from the policy in actual use in some countries.
Puerto Rico resident Emiliano Mercado del Toro , born 21 August 1891 , is believed to be the oldest surviving veteran, and is, since 19 November 2004 , the world's oldest verified living man.
Interestingly, the next three oldest verified living men (Moses Hardy , Maurice Floquet and Ernest Pusey ) are also World War I veterans.
Aurora, Illinois resident William Olin , born 28 August 1904 , is believed to be the youngest surviving veteran. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 at the age of 13.
Living in Australia - 4 veterans
Name
DOB
Nationality
Force Served
Notes
Choules, Claude Stanley
1901
3 March
British
British Royal Navy
Subsequently emigrated to Australia
Lucas, Sydney (Syd)
1900
21 September
British
British - 1st Sherwood Foresters
Did not see action (was still in training when the war ended)
Ross, John Campbell
1899
11 March
Australian
Australian
Last Australian digger
Young, William (Will)
1900
4 January
British
British Royal Flying Corps
Moved to Australia after World War II
Living in Canada - 3 veterans
Living in France - 8 veterans
Name
DOB
Nationality
Force Served
Notes
De Cazenave, Louis
1897
16 December
French
French
Floquet, Maurice Noël
1894
25 December
French
French
Grelaud, Jean
1898
26 October
French
French
Jaffré, François
1901
28 May
French
French
Reintegrated in ONAC (Office national des anciens combattants ) lists at the beginning of 2006. (served in submarine)
Lagaurnadie, Louis
1899
17 June
French
French
Excluded in French government lists as it only counts those with more than 3 months of combat service.
Ponticelli, Lazarre
1897
7 December
Italian
French, Italian
Birth name "Lazzaro". Moved to France in 1907. Served in French army first, later in Italian army.
Riffaud, René Félix
1898
19 December
French
French
Reintegrated in ONAC (Office national des anciens combattants ) lists at the beginning of 2006.
Tuveri, Justin
1898
15 May
Italian
Italian
Birth name "Giustino".
Living in Germany - 9 veterans
Living in Italy - 12 veterans
Name
DOB
Nationality
Force Served
Notes
Agazzi, Alberto
1899
30 January
Italian
Italian
Bertolami, Carmelo
1900
8 December
Italian
Italian
Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.
Borroni, Delfino
1898
23 August
Italian
Italian
Carta, Giovanni Antonio
1899
28 December
Italian
Italian
Chiarello, Francesco Domenico
1898
5 November
Italian
Italian
Ciarniello, Annibale
1900
9 January
Italian
Italian
Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.
Costanzo, Pasquale
1899
21 May
Italian
Italian
De Bettin Casanova, Antonia
1900
17 December
Italian
Italian
Last Italian female veteran.
De Cristofaro, Domenico
1899
21 November
Italian
Italian
Sarrocco, Italo
1898
11 May
Italian
Italian
Saravalle, Ido Giorgetto
1899
16 November
Italian
Italian
Serioli, Battista
1900
26 November
Italian
Italian
Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.
Living in Poland - 4 veterans
* "Polish nationality" refers to ethnic Poles at the outbreak of war in 1914, since Poland as a state regained its independence only in 1919 , as a result of the Versailles Peace Treaty
Living in the United Kingdom - 7 veterans
Living in the USA - 18 veterans
Name
DOB
Nationality
Force Served
Notes
Anderson, Homer
1897
24 December
American
USA-Balloon Corps
Resides in Florida
Babcock, John F.
1900
23 July
Canadian
Canadian
Resides in Spokane, Washington
Brown, Lloyd
1901
7 October
American
USA-Navy
Resides in Maryland
Buchanan, Russell
1900
24 January
American
USA-Navy
Resides in Watertown, Massachusetts , and is also a WWII veteran
Buckles, Frank Woodroff
1901
February 1
American
USA-Army
Resides in West Virginia
Coffey, J. Russell
1898
1 September
American
USA-Army
Resides in Ohio
Gardner, Harold
1898
3 December
American
USA-Army
Served in USA-army less than 24 hours, and resides in Pennsylvania
Goldberg, Samuel
1900
19 March
American
USA-Army(Cavalry)
Resides in Greenville, Rhode Island
Hardy, Moses
1893 or 1894
6 January
American
USA
Resides in Mississippi
Lincoln, Jim
1898
June
American
USA
Resides in Oregon [VETERAN STATUS IN DISPUTE -- See Discussion Section for details and to weigh in]
Mercado del Toro, Emiliano
1891
21 August
Puerto Rican
USA
Resides in Puerto Rico
Olin, William
1904
28 August
American
USA
Enlisted at age thirteen, resides in Illinois [VETERAN STATUS IN DISPUTE -- See Discussion Section for details and to weigh in]
Pierro, Antonio
1896
22 February
Italo-American
USA
Born in Italy as Antonio, a USA national, who resides in Swampscott, Massachusetts
Pusey, Ernest Charles
1895
5 May
American
USA-Navy
Resides in Florida
Ramsey, Howard Verne
1898
2 April
American
USA-Army
Resides in Oregon
Starkey, Maurice
1901
3 December
American
USA-Navy submariner
Resides in Pennsylvania [VETERAN STATUS IN DISPUTE -- See Discussion Section for details and to weigh in]
Wagner, Albert F. (Jud)
1899
5 September
American
USA-Marines
Resides in Kansas
Winters, Charlotte
1897
10 November
American
USA-Navy
Resides in Maryland
Other World War I-Era Veterans - 2 veterans
Listed here are those that joined the armed services after the Armistice date, or where there is debate on their join-date, but are considered WWI-era vets by the press or the government.
Name
DOB
Nationality
Force Served
Notes
Munger, Stillman Hiram
1902
25 November
American
US Navy
Resides in Massachusetts; WWI veteran status disputed
Rex, Robley H.
1901
4 May
American
USA
Resides in Kentucky [1]
World Totals - 67 veterans
Totals joined by Armistice Day: 65
Allies (including Italy): 53
Central Powers: 11
See also
External links