Last American World War I Veteran Dies

February 28, 2011

Portrait of Frank Buckles, taken February 28, 2011, at the Pentagon, where anonymous workers placed white roses and a handwritten note in his memory. Buckles, the last known American veteran of World War I, died Sunday at age 110. He attended the portrait's unveiling three years ago. The handwritten note reads, 'Thank you for your service to our country. May you and your generation rest in peace.'

"I did not lie [LAUGHTER]. Nobody calls me a liar! [LAUGHTER]”

Mr. Buckles had us laughing that day in March of 2008, when he came to the Pentagon for the unveiling of a set of new portraits of himself and other World War I veterans. He admitted he exaggerated his age, twice, in order to join the Army in 1917, when he was just 15 years old. But with a wink he said that did not make him a liar.

“I had added some years onto my age and was 18. He [the recruiter] said, ‘Sorry, but you have to be 21.’ So I came back later and I had aged. I was 21. [LAUGHTER]”

And he was still lying about his age, just a little bit.

“I do not feel that I am any older than you are [LAUGHTER],” said Buckles.

In fact, he was more than twice as old as any of the Pentagon reporters who interviewed him that day.

On Monday, anonymous Pentagon workers put white roses and a handwritten note on his portrait. The note reads, "Thank you for your service to our country. May you and your generation rest in peace."