Frank Buckles is 107 and in fine health, but it will just be a matter of time before he joins the 4 million other American men and women who participated in World War I. He is the sole remaining member of that generation. His was also a generation that lived through the Great Depression, World War II, and Man on the Moon.
Plans are underway at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City to commemorate his passing when it happens. This won't be just for him, but for all of his generation. It "will make a war that took place some 90 years ago feel suddenly very real and very close to us." said Denise Rendina, spokesperson.
The announcement of Mr. Buckle's death will be different from the announcements of the deaths of the last survivors of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. When that happened, others suddenly showed up to claim the honor of last veteran. There will be little dispute that Frank Buckles is the last veteran.
Plans are not finalized for the ceremony, but, weather permitting, museum officials plan to gather at the base of the Liberty Memorial, a national monument to the war erected in 1921. A bugler will play taps, a 21-gun salute will be fired, and then someone will read Lt. Col.John McRae's "In Flanders Fields." Dignataries will attend as well as Buckle's family.
From Feb. 20th Chicago Tribune "Rol lcall for last doughboy" by Kirsten Schamberg.
Sounds Like a Very Fitting Ceremony. --Cooter
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