Trip to Normandy-- Part 5: Fewer WW II Veterans Still Alive

The 80th anniversary will likely be one of the last big D-Day celebrations to include so many living World War II veterans.  Only about 100,000 of the more than 16 million Americans who served during the  conflict are still living.

It is truly remarkable that inside the 89-bed nursing home in tiny Durand, Illinois, there are thee in one hallway.

The military has an expression:  "We stand on the shoulders of giants."

Kohnke, Vinje and Walstrom are living embodiment: patriotic, wise, humble.  And they retain that dark sense of humor unique to those of us who have experienced the hell of war.

On this warm spring morning, Frank Khonke blurts out something on his mind:  "What if I up and die over there?"

One of his friends deadpans:  "Well, then they'll either send you home in a vase or bury you over there.  Basically the same options you had in 1944 -- and at least you'll go out doing something more fun than napping in a nursing home bed."  

There it is: the old belly laugh.

"You're right," Kohnke smiles.  "I'm going back to France."

--Cooter

By the Numbers: U.S. War Veterans-- Part 3: World War I and World War II

WORLD WAR I  (1917-1918)

Service:  4,734,991

Deaths:  405,399 (291,557 in battle)  Wounded  670,846

Last Veteran:  Frank Buckles, died 2011 at age 110.

WORLD WAR II  (1941-1945)

Service:  16,112,566

Died: 405, 359 (291,557 in battle)  Wounded:  670,846

Estimate Living:  1,711,100.

--Cooter

By the Numbers: U.S. War Veterans-- Part 2: Indian Wars to Spanish-American War

INDIAN WARS (1817-1898)

Service:  est. 106,000
Deaths:  1,100 est.
Last Veteran:  Fredrak Fraske, died 1973 at age 101.

MEXICAN WAR  (1846-1848)

Service: 78,718
Casualties:  13,283 dead, 4,152 wounded
Last veteran:  Owen Thomas Edgar, died 1929 at age 98.

CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)

Service:  Union 2,213, 363  Confederate 600,000 to 1,500,000
Casualties:  Union 364,511  Wounded 281,881  Confederate  unknown
Last Veteran:  John Sailing.  Died 1958 at age 112.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR  (1898-1902)

Service:  306,760
Casualties:  2,446 dead (385 in battle) Wounded 1,662
Last Veteran:  Nathan E. Cook died 1992 at age 106.

--Cooter

By the Numbers: U.S. War Veterans-- Part 1: American Revolution and War of 1812

From the June 5, 2013, CNN U.S..

There are still 1.7 million Americans alive today who served in World War II  But, hundreds are dying every day.  The VA estimates that by 2036 there will be none alive.

The last American veteran of World War I was frank Buckles who died in February 2011.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-1783)

Service: 184,000 to 250,000 estimated
Deaths:  4,435, Wounded: 6,188
Last veteran: Daniel F. Bakeman, died 1869 at age 104.

WAR OF 1812  (1812-1815)
Service: 286,730
Casualties:  Dead 2,260, Wounded: 4,505
Last veteran:  Hiram Cronk, died 1905 at age

Freedom Isn't Cheap.  --Cooter

World War I Veteran's Widow Dies

From the June 1, 2012, Saratogian

On May 27, one of the last widows of a World War I veteran died.  Grace H. Luciano, of Saratoga Springs, New York died.  She was preceded in death by her husband Michael Luciano, a Navy submarine veteran during World War I and a pharmacist during World War II.

War records are kept on veterans, but it is not known if Grace, 90, was the last surviving widow of a World War I veteran.

The last U.S. veteran of the war, Frank Buckles, died in 2011.