Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Last Surviving U.S. WWI Veteran Dies At 110 Year Old

Frank Buckles, the man believed to be the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I died Sunday at the age of 110 at his farm in West Virginia, surrounded by his family.

Frank Buckles, who celebrated his 110th birthday on February 1, lied about his age in order to join the army at age 16. He became one of nearly 5 million Americans who enrolled and served in the war from 1917 to 1918.

In 1941, while working as a civilian in the Phillippines, he was captured by Japanese forces and held prisoner for 38 months during World War II before being rescued by a military raid.

With Buckles' death, only a 109-year-old Australian man and a 110-year-old British woman are believed to still be alive from the estimated 65 million people who served in the war.

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