The soldiers’ long goodbye

Frank W. Buckles was a 16-year-old Missouri farm boy when he joined the Army in July 1917 as one of more than 4.7 million Americans enlisted during what was known then as the Great War.

Today, the 104-year-old Mr. Buckles, a retired West Virginia cattle farmer, is among at least 50 American World War I veterans still living, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Those few dozen are among the nearly 25 million surviving U.S. veterans, which includes about 18.4 million war veterans. The rest served during peacetime.

As one of the oldest surviving veterans, Mr. Buckles may attend ceremonies today marking Memorial Day. He recalls one such commemoration that took place six years ago when French President Jacques Chirac presented him and three other World War I veterans with the French Legion of Honor.

“The French Embassy even sent a stretch limo to my farm to pick me up. That was a surprise,” says Mr. Buckles, who was interviewed for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress five years ago.

Regardless, if he attends any events this year, his mind easily can go back to the time of World War I to recall names, places and dates.

His job was to drive ambulances and motorcycles on rescue and scout missions in England and France.

He says his time overseas in the Army made him value the freedom of being an American and that he and his war buddies really thought the Great War was the “war to end all wars.”

It did not take long, however, for them to realize how wrong they were.

Dying out

Mr. Buckles is part of a dwindling legion. The number of surviving American veterans is falling sharply; about 1,640 die each day, or 600,000 each year.

In September 2000, the total number of survivors was nearly 26.5 million. In 2003, the figure was down to 25.2 million.

By September 2010, the projected number of surviving veterans is expected to be 22 million. That total will drop to 18 million by 2020 and to 15 million in 2030, according to VA projections.

The oldest of those survivors, Emiliano Mercado Del Toro of Puerto Rico, is 113 years old. Drafted near the end of World War I, he never faced combat. He never left Puerto Rico.

Story Continues →