MalahatTwo7
03-07-2008, 10:41 AM
Very humbling, no matter how you read this.
107-Year-Old WWI Vet Honored In Washington
Pentagon Recognizes Last Known Surviving WWI Veteran
POSTED: 7:38 am EST March 7, 2008
WASHINGTON -- At the age of 107, America's last known surviving World War I veteran has been honored with his picture on the walls of the Pentagon.
Frank Buckles met with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office Thursday and was welcomed at a ceremony at the Pentagon by Defense Chief Robert Gates.
Buckles was born in 1901 and joined the Army in 1917 after lying to a military recruiter about his age.
The West Virginia resident headed to the European front on board the H.M.S. Carpathia, the steamship that had rescued survivors from the Titanic. During the war, Buckles drove ambulances in Britain and France and later guarded German POWs, assisting their transfer home at the end of the war. He was a corporal by the time he was discharged from the Army in 1920.
Despite his adventures, Buckles said he's not qualified to tell the current crop of American soldiers "anything."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
107-Year-Old WWI Vet Honored In Washington
Pentagon Recognizes Last Known Surviving WWI Veteran
POSTED: 7:38 am EST March 7, 2008
WASHINGTON -- At the age of 107, America's last known surviving World War I veteran has been honored with his picture on the walls of the Pentagon.
Frank Buckles met with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office Thursday and was welcomed at a ceremony at the Pentagon by Defense Chief Robert Gates.
Buckles was born in 1901 and joined the Army in 1917 after lying to a military recruiter about his age.
The West Virginia resident headed to the European front on board the H.M.S. Carpathia, the steamship that had rescued survivors from the Titanic. During the war, Buckles drove ambulances in Britain and France and later guarded German POWs, assisting their transfer home at the end of the war. He was a corporal by the time he was discharged from the Army in 1920.
Despite his adventures, Buckles said he's not qualified to tell the current crop of American soldiers "anything."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press