America’s last surviving veteran of World War I, Frank Buckles, has died aged 110.
Mr Buckles, who joined the US army in 1917, at the age of 16, lying about his age to get enlisted, died of natural causes at his home near Charles Town, West Virginia, on Sunday.
He was one of more than 4.7m Americans who signed up to fight in the Great War between 1917-18.He served in England and France, as a driver and a warehouse clerk.
Mr Buckles was turned down by the marines and the navy for being too young to serve, but managed to convince an army recruiter he was 21.
“A knowledgeable old sergeant said if you want to get to France right away, go into the ambulance corps,” he said in a 2001 interview with the Library of Congress.
BBC | BreakingNewsNetwork
He served as an ambulance driver during the war in France.
Mr. Buckles later spent more than three years in a Japanese POW camp as a civilian in the Philippines during World War II.
Knoxnews
Wow. One hundred and ten years old! Rest in peace Mr. Buckles.
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