Author Topic: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles  (Read 2266 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Online IronDioPriest

  • Administrator
  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 10828
  • I refuse to accept my civil servants as my rulers
CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« on: February 27, 2011, 10:43:49 PM »
Lord, I hate stuff like this. Godspeed, Mr. Buckles.

Last living U.S. WWI veteran dies

Frank Buckles, the last living U.S. World War I veteran, has died, a
spokesman for his family said Sunday. He was 110.

Buckles "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" early Sunday morning, the family said in a statement sent to CNN late Sunday by spokesman David DeJonge.

Buckles marked his 110th birthday on February 1, but his family had
earlier told CNN he had slowed considerably since last fall, according his
daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan, who lives at the family home near Charles Town, West Virginia.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Online Pandora

  • Administrator
  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 19529
  • I iz also makin a list. U on it pal.
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2011, 10:45:42 PM »
Mr. Buckles has earned his rest.

Gone in peace, I hope.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2011, 10:55:44 PM by Pandora »
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Online IronDioPriest

  • Administrator
  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 10828
  • I refuse to accept my civil servants as my rulers
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2011, 10:46:43 PM »
I posted this in both "Military" and "Departed".
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Glock32

  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 8747
  • Get some!
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2011, 01:21:35 AM »
Bless him. It's amazing that he was able to live all the way to the age of 110. I bet his diet wasn't Moochelle-approved, either!

I think we have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to WWI, since it was overshadowed by that bigger conflict 20 years later. But WWI was some of the most brutal conditions in the history of warfare. You had 19th Century tactics combined with 20th Century weaponry. A true meat grinder. I'm trying to learn more about it to better appreciate what men like Buckles experienced.

Just on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British lost about as many men as we did in the entire Vietnam War. I read somewhere that over the course of the Great War, Britain lost a third of its men aged 17-37. I'm quoting from memory there, but the figure is something insanely high like that. The situation was similar for France and Germany. I've often wondered if the loss of so many of those nations' best and bravest partly explains the deterioration of the West for generations to come. That's a big chunk of the gene pool eliminated.

WWI is also why I tend to cut the French some slack even though they have that "wave the white flag" stigma, which I don't think is entirely deserved. They actually had one of the best armies in the world until the close of WWI. They were still decimated by the loss of virtually an entire generation when the Germans overran them in 1940. Plus I just have to give them tons of credit for Charles Martel. I wish they -- or someone -- could resurrect him.
"The Fourth Estate is less honorable than the First Profession."

- Yours Truly

Offline John Florida

  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 10059
  • IT'S MY FONT AND I'LL USE IT IF I WANT TO!!
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2011, 09:18:42 AM »
Mr. Buckles has earned his rest.

Gone in peace, I hope.

 !
All men are created equal"
 Filippo Mazzie

Online IronDioPriest

  • Administrator
  • Conservative Superhero
  • *****
  • Posts: 10828
  • I refuse to accept my civil servants as my rulers
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2011, 10:14:57 AM »
A much more detailed account of the life and death of Frank Buckles @ WaPo.

[blockquote]Ace says, "It sounds like Mr. Buckles had quite the life, he actually spent most of WWII in a Japanese prison camp.

When I was a kid in the 70's and 80's, WWI vets seemed so few and ancient even back then. It's hard to believe that kids today must feel that way about WWII vets.

The march of time and all of that."[/blockquote]

Indeed.

"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

hemm

  • Guest
Re: CPL Frank Woodruff Buckles
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2011, 06:47:39 PM »


110-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last veteran of WWI, died peacefully in his home in Charles Town, West Virginia of natural causes at approximately 12:30 AM on February 27, 2011.

Buckles was born on February 1, 1901 and has been advocating for a National Memorial for WWI in Washington DC and actively pursued his role as the torchbearer for his fellow soldiers from the ‘Great War’. To date neither the Congress nor the Senate has passed the laws that were introduced nearly two years ago.

Buckles made history when he was asked to testify before a Senate committee on December 3, 2009 as to why there should be a memorial in our Nation’s Capitol.

The family asks that donations be made to the National World War One Legacy Project to honor Frank Buckles and the 4,734,991 Americans that he served with during WWI.

The project is managed by the non-profit Survivor Quest and will educate students about Frank Buckles and WWI through a documentary, bronze of Frank Buckles and traveling educational exhibition.

Cpl Buckles is to be buried on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery on 15 Mar 2011 at approximately 1600 hours.

ETA: I didn't see the first thread right away and that excerpt is from my invitation to be at Arlington.
« Last Edit: March 14, 2011, 06:55:46 PM by hemm »