Last American World War I Veteran Dies At 110

MSNBC reports that "Frank Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. He was 110. Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died peacefully of natural causes early Sunday at his home in Charles Town, biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said in a statement. Buckles turned 110 on Feb. 1 and had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of World War I in Washington, D.C. Buckles lied about his age to join the army at age 16. The Missouri native was among nearly 5 million Americans who served in World War I in 1917 and 1918. 'I knew there'd be only one (survivor) someday. I didn't think it would be me,' he was quoted as saying in recent years... Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the United States entered the 'war to end all wars' in April 1917. He was repeatedly rejected before convincing an Army captain he was 18. He was 16½. 'A boy of (that age), he's not afraid of anything. He wants to get in there,' Buckles said."

Here is Buckles in 2007:

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