Frank Buckles
Frank Buckles | |
|---|---|
| File:Frank Buckles WW1 at 16 edited.jpg Frank Buckles at age 16 | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917 – 1920 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Légion d'honneur |
Frank Woodruff Buckles (born February 1 1901) is, at age 123, the last known surviving American-born veteran of the First World War.[1]
Biography
Buckles is the last living WWI U.S. veteran to finish basic training and be 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 fifteen 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. 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 World War II, in the 1940s, Buckles was a civilian working for an American shipping line in the Philippines. He was captured by the Japanese, however, and spent three years in a Japanese prison camp during most of that war.[3]
At war's end, Frank returned to the States. He fell in love with a California girl and she agreed to settle down with him in the beautiful northwest corner of West Virginia: the Buckles' ancestral homeland. Frank and Audrey bought and restored a charming 18th century stone farmhouse. Fifty-three years later, he's still there. Although Audrey passed away in 1999, their daughter Susannah and her husband now spend much of their time running the farm – with Frank. Frank was still out working the tractor at the age of 103. Today, Frank surrounds himself with family and friends, books and mementos from a life filled with journeys and adventure. His private study is home to dozens of books about World Wars One and Two. His larger library contains more than a thousand volumes. Even now, Frank continues his life-long passion of reading. But not the reading of just anything; Frank is an unabashed student of history. He has no time for fiction.
Frank says, "Why should I read something someone made up when real events are so interesting?" When asked his secret to a long life, Frank has a quick answer at the ready: "Be prepared," he jokes. But the longer answer may lie in the independent way he's always led his life. Frank Buckles neatly fits the profile that gerontologists point to as ideal: he's had a life-long passion for reading and learning; an ongoing interest in foreign languages and culture; and has been physically fit his entire life.
Years ago, Frank made a sentimental journey to his father's farm in Missouri, the place of his birth. There he spotted the old bell that his father rang the day he was born in 1901. He made the current farmer an offer and bought it on the spot. Today on his farm in West Virginia –107 years later – that same bell rings loud and clear for Frank Woodruff Buckles: a National Treasure.
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. He does, according to his care taker, do around 50 sit-ups before he gets up in the morning.
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 George W. 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]
See also
References
- ^ Some hints that you may be getting old
- ^ Frank Woodruff Buckles, May 29, 2007, Library of Congress, Veterans History Project.
- ^ "'One of the last': WWI vet recalls Great War", USAToday.com, March 27, 2007, Andrea Stone.
- ^ World War I Veteran Reflects on Lessons
- ^ 106-year old WWI veteran speaks on the Iraq war
- ^ Bush thanks WWI veteran for 'love for America'
- ^ "Last doughboy gets Presidential 'Thank You'". abcnews.com. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
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External links
- Over There — and Gone Forever (The New York Times Op-Ed about Frank Buckles, written by Richard Rubin and published on November 12, 2007)
- Last surviving U.S. World War I vet honored by president (CNN article about Frank Buckles by Paul Courson on March 7, 2008)