National/World

Last US WWI veteran seeks DC memorial to that war

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Frank Buckles, left, who at the time was 108 years old, and the oldest surviving veteran of WW I, shakes hands with Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said in a statement that Frank Woodruff Buckles died early Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 of natural causes in his home in Charles Town, W.Va. at the age of 110. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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veterans, u.s. air force, u.s. army, u.s. coast guard, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. marine corps, u.s. navy, washington, d.c., west virginia, national/world

By VICKI SMITH

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - November 11, 2010 -- America's last surviving World War I veteran says Congress should pass legislation to create a memorial in the nation's capital honoring veterans of that conflict.

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The West Virginia resident is the last of 5 million Americans who served in World War I. He says a memorial doesn't have to be elaborate, but a monument should be created alongside others commemorating other 20th century conflicts.

Born in 1901, Buckles was 16 when he enlisted but persuaded the Army he was 18. He saw no combat but worked as a driver and warehouse clerk in Europe and helped repatriate German prisoners after the war.

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WWI Memorial Foundation

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