And Then There Were None

The last known combat veteran of World War I has died. Claude Choules was 110. Watching this video interview with Choules, it looks like he was comfortable talking about his experiences, so we can hope his stories were handed down. He witnessed some momentous events of the Great War such as the surrender, and later scuttling, of the German fleet. He is also to last veteran to have served in both WWI amd WWII. A remarkable person from a remarkable generation.

Long Memories

Since 1985 the Dutch have held a parade for the Canadian veterans who helped liberate the Netherlands 65 years ago. Unfortunately, this year's parade will be the last, as many of the veterans are no longer able to make the trip. But it does seems that the Dutch have long memories. More importantly, they are making sure the next generation understands what happened so long ago. I wonder why there are not similar efforts here in Canada?

Last Veteran

Canada's last veteran of World War I has died. He was 109. RIP.

Veteran's Stories

There is new web site, The Memory Project, which will maintain an audio archive of Canadian WWII veterans' stories. This is important as that time fades further into history. I only wish this effort had started earlier so that it could have captured some the memories of the WWI veterans, who are now almost all gone.

WWI Veterans Update

The already short list of WWI veterans just got even shorter. Just a few days after I wrote about this topic, the last British veteran of WWI, Harry Patch, passed away. Henry Babcock, the last Canadian veteran, is now also the oldest.

Although the Canadian Parliment has approved a state funeral for the last Canadian WWI veteran, in 2007 the remaining veterans rejected the idea on the basis that we should honour all of the soldiers, not only the last one. I think they are right as a state funeral would soon be forgotten. But what would be the best way to honour all of the 619,636 Canadians who served in the First World War? Another war memorial does not seem like it is enough.

WWI Veterans

Very few World War I veterans are still alive. John Babcock is Canada's last one and he turned 109 today. The oldest veteran died just a few days ago in the UK. The complete list can be found here and as you can see, it is very short. They are last living witnesses to the horrors of WWI. Think about that for a moment.