teufelhunde.ret Posted February 1, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 1, 2011 By Paul Courson, Washington (CNN) -- The family of Frank Buckles, the nation's lone living veteran of World War I, hopes he makes it to his 110th birthday about a month from now, despite troubling signs he is on the decline. Buckles, who was born February 1, 1901, is thought to be the world's oldest living war veteran. Buckles has slowed down considerably in just the past two months, according to his daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan, who lives with him at the family home near Charles Town, in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. A family friend who visited two weeks ago says he is awake just a few hours a day. "When he's awake, he's there with us," said David DeJonge, a Michigan portrait photographer who has spent the past decade documenting the final few veterans from the war that ended 92 years ago. With only one veteran left, DeJonge spends the remaining time helping Buckles represent the memory of his comrades. Despite his advanced age, Buckles had been coming to Capitol Hill to try to persuade lawmakers to grant federal status to an existing World War I monument in Washington that was built in the 1930s. The monument currently honors only those who served from the District of Columbia. I have to," Buckles told CNN when he came to Washington a year ago to testify as part of what he considers his responsibility to those who've gone before him. Although passed by the House, the legislation, known as the Frank Buckles Memorial Act, remains stalled in the Senate. Passage would bestow federal status to both the D.C. location and another WWI memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. His family is concerned he may never live to see the bill enacted. Last month, Buckles was not strong enough and could not make a trip to Washington to review renovations as they began at the D.C. War Memorial. The National Park Service hosted a tour showing the first real improvements in decades at the site, fixing a neglected walkway and dressing up a deteriorated dome and marble columns. Learning of Buckles' decline, the office of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, sent word to the family last week that "she would like to offer her thoughts and prayers to him," at a time "Mr. Buckles' health has taken a turn for the worse." rest of story: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/29/wwi.veteran/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share #2 Posted February 2, 2011 :salute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted February 28, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 28, 2011 Bad news ! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaxe Posted February 28, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 28, 2011 Nice article on him from a few years back: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8052302433.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted February 28, 2011 Share #5 Posted February 28, 2011 See the thread on his passing at http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...howtopic=102600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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