The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.
Frank Woodruff Buckles (born Wood Buckles, February 1, 1901 – February 27, 2011) was a United States Army corporal and the last surviving American military veteran of World War I.
As of 2011 there are no surviving veterans of The Great War. Despite more than 4 million soldiers being mobilized, and more than 65,000 being killed in the short amount of time, the fact that the war ended more than 100 years ago makes it impossible that someone called up to fight could be alive today.
How many World War I veterans are still alive today? None. The last known veteran, Florence Green (UK), died in 2012; the last combat veteran, Claude Choules (Australia) in 2011. The last Central Powers veteran, Franz Künstler (Austro-Hungarian Empire), died in 2008.
Only one former Australian WWI veteran now remains alive. Wireless operator John Campbell Ross, 106, of Bendigo in Victoria, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1918 but the war ended before he saw active service.
Here's a brief breakdown of estimated living WWII veterans by country: United States: Approximately 168,000 (as of September 2022) United Kingdom: Approximately 11,500 (noting "The Disappearing Dozen" - last dozen British WWII vets)
The number of living Australian Second World War veterans has halved since 2019. According to a study by family search website Ancestry and YouGov, 7800 remain.
Just after 2 p.m. on August 18, 1945, U.S. Army Sergeant Anthony J. Marchione bled to death in the clear, bright sky above Tokyo. A month shy of his 20th birthday, Marchione died like so many before him had in the Second World War—quietly, cradled in the arms of a buddy.
The era ended May 7, 1975, by order of President Gerald Ford. During the 11-year campaign, approximately 2.7 million American men and woman served; of those, 58,220 died and 153,000 were wounded. Today, there are fewer than 850,000 living Vietnam War veterans, many of whom who are eligible for VA benefits.
Henry Nicholas John Gunther (June 6, 1895 – November 11, 1918) was an American soldier and possibly the last soldier of any of the belligerents to be killed during World War I. He was killed at 10:59 a.m., about one minute before the Armistice was to take effect at 11:00 a.m.
Varying estimates suggest that Russia may have suffered the highest number of military and total fatalities in the First World War.
World War I ended precisely on the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month of 1918. At the moment the bells struck and the guns went silent, a body fell in a French village. Henry Gunther was a bank clerk from Baltimore, drafted the year before. He's listed as the last man killed in World War I.
Everyone from the lost generation is now dead. At least no one has a verified birth before 1900. There is the question of when will the last person born before 2000 die.
The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.
SAN ANTONIO — On this Veteran's Day we are honoring the youngest living World War II veteran. Like many Americans, Bob Kelso signed up to fight in World War Two. But - he was only 13 years old. He was sent into battle and wounded - one of the youngest Americans ever to receive the Purple Heart.
World War II was a global war that spanned from 1939 to 1945. The war pitted the Allies and the Axis power in the deadliest war in history, and was responsible for the deaths of over 70 million people.
A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself, including 2,501 Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians.
Alec Campbell became the last Anzac in June 2001, following the death of Gallipoli veteran Roy Longmore in Melbourne, at the age of 106.
Australia lost 34,000 service personnel during World War II. Total battle casualties were 72,814.
The passing of the WWII generation
Every day, memories of World War II—its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs—disappear. Yielding to the inalterable process of aging, the men and women who fought and won the great conflict are now in their 90s or older.
"Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam, Less than 850,000 are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam veteran's age approximated to be 60 years old."
Today, Vietnam Veterans range in age from 61 to 103 years old.
It's important that we never forget the sacrifices made by Americans during the Korean War and those who have served in Korea since the war's end. Approximately 1.2 million Korean War veterans are still living, and this law gives them the recognition they deserve — and that is long overdue.