Yesterday I heard of the passing of Frank Buckles. At the age of 110 he was the last surviving American veteran of WW1. The war to end all wars. I can't honestly say I remember ever meeting a veteran of this war but most likely I did in my youth. I have know a few from WW2 and Korea and the later conflicts.
I read an article about Mr. Buckles and how he died of natural causes. I couldn't help but wonder at the miracle of it all. To have survived that conflict with its' use of poisonous gas,most notably mustard gas,and the conditions they lived and fought in is remarkable in it self. This man was also captured by the Japanese,although he was not an armed combatant in that war,and spent three years in a prison camp. Again to survive.
I wish I had had an opportunity to meet this man. Surely his outlook on life must have been unique. I think it must have been sad for him to know he was the last one. In the article they say he pushed for the rededicating of the WW1 memorial in Washington and was successful. Now there is no one left that can directly relate any tales from this conflict. The history has been written and the final chapter closed with his passing.
And so now the countdown begins on the greatest generation. My parents generation. Those that fought and sacrificed everything in WW2. Many of these warriors are already past on, my father included. Their story is far more accurately documented than those that came before. Many hours of actual film footage exists and an effort to record individual experiences is under way. Having taken place closer to our time we are much more aware of the circumstances of this war. My own children know a good deal about it but the Grand children will know less. And so it goes until it is just a mention in the history books and the causes and reasons left to the scholars to debate.
Following WW2 was the Korean conflict. Notice the word conflict. It wasn't a war until later on. Most people know that is was the north against the south but exactly why we were there is a lesser known fact. More Americans today probably relate Korea to the Mash movie and television series. We fought to the 38th parallel. Then it was declared over.
As for my generation we have no glorious campaign for freedom to write about. Our story begins with Vietnam. An often misunderstood conflict that only after years was even called a war. It was started as a police action. Yes,it was my generation that drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in operation desert shield/desert storm. Much later we toppled his regime. Many lives have been lost in Iraq and continue to be lost. Now we are entering Afghanistan. The enemy here are not clear. Al Queida? But who exactly are they and where exactly are they ?
I suppose one could argue the Vietnam was the last war we were engaged in. Really it is a matter of semantics. Anytime our armed forces engage in combat with foreign powers I would consider it a war. But then I'm not a scholar or politician. Someday,some generation may be able to say,they have not had to engage in any wars or conflicts or police actions or any type of action where it involved the killing of man.
That my friends is a noble aspiration. We can only dream. Mr. Buckles thought he fought the war to end all wars and I wonder what his thoughts were.
My grandfather was a veteran of WWI but only once did I hear him talk about it. It happened when someone in the family made a joke about the Salvation Army and I saw him get angry for the first and only time in my life. He said the Salvation Army volunteers were the only ones who would come to the front lines and put themselves in danger to bring the soldiers food and drink and help the wounded and then he said that no one should ever make fun of them in his presence again. I never forgot that and when my mother-in-law died recently and we received some money from the sale of her house, I made a nice contribution to the Salvation Army in memory of my grandfather.
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