List of surviving veterans of World War I

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 armistice that ended the war on 11 November 1918. Other WWI-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. In addition, since 11 December 2006, he is the world's oldest verified living person.

Verified veterans of the First World War - 53 veterans

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	Wireless operator and 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

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Clemett, Victor Lloyd	1899	10 December	Canadian	Canadian	Lives in Toronto
Powers, Gladys	1899	10 May	Canadian	British	Lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Wilson, Dwight (Percy)	1901	26 February	Canadian	Canadian	Lives in Toronto

Living in France - 9 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Brunier, Charles	1901	31 May	French	French	Excluded in French government lists as it only counts those who served in France (i.e. Western front). Brunier served in Syria (vs. Ottoman Empire)
De Cazenave, Louis	1897	16 October	French	French	Currently 2nd-oldest man in France at 109 (oldest is non-veteran)
Grelaud, Jean	1898	26 October	French	French
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	Born in Piacenza as "Lazzaro". Moved to France in 1907. Joined French Foreign Legion in 1914 at age 16. 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. Artilleryman at the Ardennes.
Tuveri, Justin	1898	15 May	Italian	Italian	Born in Sardinia as "Giustino". Moved to France in 1939. Only served in Italian army.
Name withheld	1899	?	French	French	Chose to remain anonymous [1]
Name withheld	1900	?	French	French	Chose to remain anonymous [2]

Living in Germany - 9 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Christmann, Rudolf	1900	10 January	German	German
Kaiser, Albin	1899	12 December	German	German
Kästner, Erich	1900	10 March	German	German
Klöpper, Hans	1900	10 August	German	German
Künstler, Franz	1900	24 July	German	Austria-Hungary
Meier, Robert	1897	10 March	German	Served in German Infantry from 1915	Oldest living German man. Veteran of the Somme, Reims and Saint Quentin. Was wounded at Chemin des Dames. Also a WWII veteran.
Seim, Rudolf	1899	31 January	German	German	2nd oldest living German man.
Solveen, Hermann	1899	20 February	German	German
Velten, Wilhelm	1899	2 September	German	German

Living in Italy - 9 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
Sarrocco, Italo	1898	11 May	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 - 3 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Kosa, Jozef	1900	27 September	Polish*	German	Resides in Sierakowice, and Polish name is Jozefa Kosa. Enlisted in 1917. [3]
Solinski Stanislaw	1900	11 February	Polish*	Russian	Resides in Draganowa (Poland).
Wycech, Stanisław	1902	11 November	Polish*	? (officer)	Enlisted at 15 years of age in 1917 and stayed in army, eventually reaching the rank of captain. [4] Also known as Stanisław Wycechu in native language.

Living in Romania - 1 veteran

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Pănculescu, Gheorghe	1903	26 March	Romanian	Romanian	Resides in Turnu Măgurele? Enlisted at 15 years of age in 1918 and remained in army, eventually reaching the rank of general.

Living in the UK - 4 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Allingham, Henry	1896	6 June	British	British - RNAS (later RAF)	Was granted Freedom of Eastbourne in April 2006. Oldest British man.
Mayne, Philip	1899	26 November	British	British - Royal Engineers	Last living British officer of WWI
Patch, Harry	1898	17 June	British	British - Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry	Is also a WWII veteran
Stone, William (Bill)	1900	23 September	British	British - Royal Navy	Did not see action (was still in training), but is also a WWII veteran

Living in the USA - 11 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Babcock, John F.	1900	23 July	Canadian	Canadian	Resides in Spokane, Washington
Brown, Lloyd	1901	7 October	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Charlotte Hall, Maryland
Buckles, Frank Woodruff	1901	February 1	American	USA-Army	Resides in Charles Town, West Virginia
Coffey, J. Russell	1898	1 September	American	USA-Army	Resides in North Baltimore, Ohio
Landis, Harry Richard	1899	12 December	American	USA-Army	Resides in Tampa Bay, Florida
Mercado del Toro, Emiliano	1891	21 August	Puerto Rican	USA	Resides in Puerto Rico, world's oldest living person
Peterson, Orin Manfred	1900	27 February	American	USA-Army (signed up for cavalry, did not serve overseas)	Resides in Spokane, Washington
Pierro, Antonio	1896	22 February	Italo-American	USA	Born in Italy as Antonio, a USA national, who resides in Swampscott, Massachusetts
Ramsey, Howard Verne	1898	2 April	American	USA-Army	Resides in Portland, Oregon
Wagner, Albert F. (Jud)	1899	5 September	American	USA-Marines	Resides in Kansas
Winters, Charlotte	1897	10 November	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Maryland

World War I-era veterans - 3 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 US government.

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Munger, Stillman Hiram	1902	25 November	American	US Navy	Resides in Ludlow, Massachusetts; enlisted 1919
Rex, Robley H.	1901	4 May	American	USA	Resides in Louisville, Kentucky; claims enlisted 1918; other sources cite 1919 [5][6]
Starkey, Maurice	1901	3 December	American	USA-Navy submariner	Resides in Royersford, Pennsylvania; enlisted July 1919

Unvalidated WWI veteran claims - 4 veterans

These are claims that were included in the press, but have not been verified by a government-sanctioned body or actual records located. To be a 'claim', there must be at least a citation.

Living in Poland - 1 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Parniak, Pawel	1890?	27 February	Polish*	Austria-Hungary	DOB claim is not authenticated

* "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 USA - 2 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Lincoln, Jim	1898	? June	American	USA	Resides in Oregon
Olin, William	1904	28 August	American	USA	Claims to have enlisted at age thirteen, resides in Illinois

Living in the UK - 1 veteran

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Bolaise, Violet	1901	?	British	British	Start date of service awaiting verification (see the talk page for further information)

World totals

• Verified claims of World War I and World War I Era: 56
  • World War I (Veterans who joined by Armistice Day): 53
    • Allies (including Italy): 42
    • Central Powers: 11
  • World War I Era (Veterans who joined after Armistice Day): 3

• Unverified claims: 4

External links

• The Great War Society
• The Western Front Association - UK branch
• The Western Front Association - US branch
• The Great War Primary Documents Archive
• For Centenarian, Haircut is Old Hat
• Mentioning of Kosa's 103rd birthday at the time
• WWI soldier, at 110, among last survivors of an era
• Article on Kenneth Cummins
• Article on Andrew Rigby's 103rd birthday
• Article on Andrew Rigby's 105th birthday
• Konrad Fuchs interview (in German)
• Article on J. Russell Coffey's 108th birthday
• Public Radio Exchange (PRX) Walter Cronkite (himself a spry 90-year-old, a spring chicken compared to the ones he questioned) interviews some last surviving veterans of World War I
• Britain's and Germany's oldest Great War vets (Allingham and Meier) embrace as friends
• The historical picture of their meeting resulting in tears all the way
• Toronto Sun article about Dwight Percy Wilson
• Article about the remaining US veterans
• Ernest Charles Pusey finally gets his WWI Victory medal
• Idem
• Likewise
• Another article about Ernest Charles Pusey
• Another article about Dwight Percy Wilson
• 105-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles at Armistice Day
• Idem
• Likewise
• Last WWI Veterans Get Their Due. ABC News, 2 Dec 06. Opening of the WWI Museum in Kansas City, MO. Article includes Frank Buckles.