List of last surviving World War I veterans
![]() | It has been suggested that List of last World War I veterans by country be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2022. |
The following is a list of known veterans of the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918) who died in 2009 (7 veterans), 2010 (1 veteran), 2011 (2 veterans) and 2012 (1 veteran). Royal Air Force (WRAF) service member Florence Green is generally considered to have been the last verified veteran of the war at her death on 4 February 2012, aged 110.[1]
Veterans by country of service – 9 veterans
On 27 June 2006, the British Government approved a National Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey, to take place after the death of the last known World War I veteran from the United Kingdom. On 11 November 2009, despite the survival to that date of Claude Choules and Florence Green, the commemoration was held following the death of Harry Patch.[2] On 21 November 2006, the House of Commons of Canada approved a state funeral for the last World War I veteran to have served in the Canadian forces,[3] but this was declined by John Babcock.
Country served | Name | Born | Died | Notes |
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John Campbell Ross | 11 March 1899 | 3 June 2009 (110) | Last Australian digger and the last veteran of any status to serve Australia in the conflict. Joined in early 1918 as wireless operator, but did not see action. Served in Home Guard in World War II. Australia's oldest person. Lived in Bendigo, Victoria.[4][5][6][7] |
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John Babcock | 23 July 1900 | 18 February 2010 (109) | Last Canadian veteran. Declined state funeral. Joined in 1916. Served first in 146th, CEF, then transferred to Boys Battalion. Completed training in UK but did not see action due to age. Moved to US in 1924. Lived in Spokane, Washington.[8][9][10][11] |
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Henry Allingham | 6 June 1896 | 18 July 2009 (113) | Last airman. Served in the 12 Squadron RNAS (later RAF). Joined in 1915 as mechanic. Last veteran of the Battle of Jutland. World's oldest man and oldest ever British man. Oldest veteran ever to see action. Lived in Brighton, Sussex.[12][13][14] |
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Claude Choules | 3 March 1901 | 5 May 2011 (110) | Last living combatant of World War I.[15] Last seaman. Last veteran who served in both World Wars. Last male veteran. Joined in 1916. Last witness to the German Naval surrender. Moved to Australia in 1926 and served with Royal Australian Navy in World War II. Lived in Perth, Western Australia.[16][17][18] |
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Florence Green | 19 February 1901 | 4 February 2012 (110) | Last female veteran and last officially recognized veteran. Worked as a waitress in the Royal Air Force; the Women's Royal Air Force.[19] Lived in North Lynn, Norfolk. Not recognized as a veteran until 2008.[20] |
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Netherwood Hughes | 12 June 1900 | 4 April 2009 (108) | Called up to the 51st Manchester Regiment in mid 1918 as truck driver. Did not see action as he was still in training. Lived in Accrington, Lancashire.[21][22] |
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Harry Patch | 17 June 1898 | 25 July 2009 (111) | Last Tommy. Served in the British Army under the 7th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Last veteran to serve in trenches and to be wounded in action. Called up in 1916. Last survivor of Battle of Passchendaele. Fireman in World War II. Europe's oldest man upon death. Lived in Wells, Somerset.[23][24][25][26] |
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Bill Stone | 23 September 1900 | 10 January 2009 (108) | Joined Royal Navy in 1918. Did not see action as he was still in training, but was also a World War II veteran. Lived in Reading, Berkshire at the time of his death.[27][28] |
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Frank Buckles | 1 February 1901 | 27 February 2011 (110) | United States Army 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment Last American veteran. Joined in 1917. Ambulance driver near Western Front. Held prisoner in World War II as a civilian. Lived in Charles Town, West Virginia.[29][30][31] |
Likely verifiable - 1 veteran
Country served | Name | Born | Died | Notes |
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Jiroemon Kimura | 19 April 1897 | 12 June 2013 (116) | Probable last verifiable surviving Empire of Japan veteran and possible last verifiable surviving veteran from any combatant nation. Served as a conscripted soldier in an Imperial Japanese Army communications unit from April 1–June 30, 1918, posted to Nakano, Tokyo; saw no action. Oldest verified man in history at the time of his death, and the last verified surviving man to have been born in the 19th century. Service verified from official government records by gerontology researchers confirming his life history. Lived in Kyōtango, Kyoto Prefecture.[32] |
Unverified World War I veterans – 4 veterans
Listed here are the veterans who were not verified as a World War I veteran.
Country served | Name | Born | Died | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Sante Dal Santo | 8 September 1902 | 26 February 2009 (106) | Claimed to have joined up in 1916 at the age of 14 as a "Digger" digging trenches and tunnels. Also served in World War II. Lived in Montecchio Precalcino.[33][34] |
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Carlo Dozzi | 25 January 1901 | 30 May 2009 (108) | Claimed to have joined up in 1917 at the age of 16 as a "Digger" digging trenches and tunnels. Also served in World War II. Lived in Maniago.[35] |
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Harry Futcher | 21 April 1904 | 27 May 2010 (106) | Claimed to have joined up in 1918 at the age of 14 as a bandsman in the British Army serving in Egypt during the First World War. Lived in Dorset, England.[36][37] |
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Douglas Edward "Doug" Terrey | 23 June 1903 | 26 June 2010 (107) | Claimed to have joined up in 1917 as bicycle courier delivering messages in the Southampton Military District. Served in Home Guard in World War II. Lived in Southampton, Hampshire.[38][39] |
World War I era veterans – 8 veterans
Listed here are those that joined the armed services after the Armistice date, but before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, or where there is debate on their join-date, or whose military service is sometimes viewed as outside the scope of "WWI", but are considered World War I-era veterans by the press or by their respective governments, or served in a related conflict.
Country served | Name | Born | Died | Notes |
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Waldemar Levy Cardoso | 4 December 1900 | 13 May 2009 (108) | Last Brazilian World War I-Era veteran, served in the Brazilian Army, joining in late 1918 but did not see action. Lieutenant Colonel in World War II. Last living Brazilian field marshal. Later lived in Rio de Janeiro.[40][41] |
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Aarne Arvonen | 4 August 1897 | 1 January 2009 (111) | Last Red Guard veteran from the Finnish Civil War. Oldest Nordic person and Finland's oldest ever man. Last living Finn born in the 19th century. Lived in Järvenpää.[42][43][44] |
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Lauri Nurminen | 9 September 1906 | 20 February 2009 (102) | Last White Guard and possibly last Finnish Civil War veteran. Served in Ernst Linders Satakunta army group. Lived in Valkeakoski, Finland.[45] |
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Félix Maximilian Rostaing | 27 December 1900 | 31 December 2009 (109) | French World War I-Era veteran, served in the Franco-Turkish War. Re-enlisted in 1928 and served in China, Mali and Morocco. Lived in Capbreton, France.[46] |
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Helmut Fink | 18 March 1901 | 27 April 2009 (108) | Last German Revolution veteran and last German World War I-era veteran, served in the Freikorps during the German Revolution of 1918-1919. Lived in Germany.[citation needed] |
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Józef Kowalski | 2 February 1900 | 7 December 2013 (113) | Last World War I-era veteran, fought in the Polish Soviet War between 1919-21.[citation needed] |
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Wilhelm Meisel | 7 January 1904 | 3 June 2009 (105) | Last Silesian Uprisings veteran, joined up in 1919 at the age of 15 and served for the Polish Army during the Silesian uprising until it ended in 1921. Lived in Poland.[citation needed] |
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Robley Rex | 2 May 1901 | 28 April 2009 (107) | Last American World War I-era veteran, Joined 5th Infantry Division in May 1919. Later moved to 28th Infantry. Served in Intelligence Unit. Lived in Louisville, Kentucky.[47][48][49] |
Totals – 21 veterans
- Verified veterans – 9
- Unverified veterans – 4
- World War I-Era veterans – 8
See also
- List of last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars
- List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
- List of last surviving veterans of World War II
References
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- ^ "Last WWI veteran to be honoured". BBC News. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "First World War veterans don't want state funeral". CBC News. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
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- ^ Turnbull, Jeff (11 March 2008). "Oldest Digger celebrates turning 109". news.com.au. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- ^ "Australia's oldest man Jack Ross dies aged 110". theage.com.au. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ "Australia's oldest man, 110, dies". BBC News. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ "Oldest Canadian World War I veteran dies". WKOW. 18 February 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ "Canada's last WW I veteran dies". CBC News. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ Elliot, Ian (19 February 2010). "Last World War I vet Babcock dies at 109". The Kingston Whig Standard. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ Geranios, Nicholas K (20 February 2010). "John Babcock, 108; Canada's last known veteran of WWI". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
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- ^ Choules, Claude The Last of the Last Mainstream Publishing pg 11 (introduction) & pg 61
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Mr Choules was informed by his 80-year-old daughter Anne Pow over the weekend that the death of 111-year-old Harry Patch, Britain's last soldier who fought in the Great War's infamous trenches, had made him the country's sole survivor.
- ^ "Last WWI combat veteran Claude Choules dies aged 110". BBC News. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
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- ^ WWI veteran Patch dies aged 111
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- ^ "Oldest Living Heroes Remembered". CBS News. 11 November 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2007.
- ^ Reynolds, Dean & Stuart, Elizabeth (2 December 2006). "Last WWI Veterans Get Their Due". ABC News. Retrieved 22 January 2007.
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- ^ Gondo, Yasuyuki; Hirose, Nobuyoshi; Yasumoto, Saori; Arai, Yasumichi; Saito, Yasuhiko (1 December 2017). "Age verification of the longest lived man in the world". Experimental Gerontology. 99: 7–17. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2017.08.030. PMID 28847724.
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- ^ "Obituary of Harry Futcher". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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- ^ Seppälä, Anu (24 December 1999). "Arska, entering his third century and NOT "growing old gracefully"". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
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- ^ HS, STT (16 January 2009). "Suomen viimeinen 1800-luvulla syntynyt kuoli". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ^ Koikkalainen, Olli (5 March 2009). "The last freedom fighter buried with pine sword". Valkeakoski Sanomat. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "Felix ROSTAING - Un poilu d'Orient décédé le 31/12/2009" (in French). Pages 14-18 Forum. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ Stapleton, Ellen R. (9 November 2003). "Ky.'s oldest veteran, 102, still devoted to service". The Enquirer. Retrieved 22 January 2007.
- ^ Senator McConnell, Mitch (12 May 2008). "Honouring Robley Rex". Govtrack. Retrieved 21 January 2009.[permanent dead link]
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