(Martinsburg Journal News.net)Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving American World War I Veteran, passed away at his Charles Town, WV farmhouse on Monday at the age of 110.
Buckles was 16 when he enlisted, lying about his age to an Army recruiter in Oklahoma in 1917 and worked as an ambulance driver until the armistice. After the war, he was assigned to a POW escort company that was tasked with repatriating prisoners with their home country.
At the outbreak of WWII, Buckles was working as a civilian with a shipping company in the Philippines when he was captured as a prisoner of war and spent three years at the Los Banos POW camp on the island of Luzon. Interestingly, last week marked the 66th anniversary of the US Raid on Los Banos.
After the war, Buckles married and moved to a farm in West Virginia. He continued to work on the farm until he turned 106. Buckles also served as honorary chairman of the National WWI Memorial foundation.
Rest in Peace and thank you for your service, Mr. Buckles.
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