Lazare Ponticelli (1897-2008)
Last French WWI Veteran
Lazare Ponticelli outlived 8.4 million other "poilus", a name given to French soldiers of World War I meaning hairy or tough, dying March 12th at age 110.
He was born in Italy, but chose to fight for France in the "la Grande Guerre" as it was called in France. Born Dec. 7, 1897, he left a hard childhood at age 9 to join his brothers in France. When war broke out in 1914, he lied about age to enlist.
He joined the Foreign Legion and served in the Argonne region digging trenches and burial pits. "At the beginning, we barely knew how to fight and hardly had any ammunition. Every time that one of us died, we fell silent and waited our turn," he said in a 2005 interview.
When Italy entered the war, he tried to hide, but was caught and served in the Italian Army versus the Austrians.
He returned to France in 1921 and, along with his brothers, started a company that made factory smokestacks. He became a French citizen in 1939.
Monday, France will have a national funeral ceremony honoring him and all the other WWI veterans.
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