Monday, March 7, 2011

The Fascinating Mr. Buckles

From the March 6th Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Reporter by Mike Myers.

Everyone who ever interviewed Frank Buckles, America's last Doughboy, always said he was one of the most fascinating people they ever met.

He would tell tales of his life like seeing the new invention at a show in Missouri, the airplane and meeting World War I General "Black Jack" Pershing.

When he went to Europe during World War I, it was on the Carpathia, which in 1912 has rescued the Titanic survivors. he talked with the crew about their experiences back then.

In the 1918 Influenza Epidemic, Mr. Buckles went to sleep one night at an Army infirmary next to a healthy soldier who just hadn't felt good that day. The next morning, the man was dead.

During the 1920s and 1930s, he met many captains of industry and in World War II, was held as a civilian prisoner for three years by the Japanese.

An Interesting Life. We Will Miss Him. --Dacoot

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