That's sad to here. I've met only a handful of Peale Harbor Vets and always enjoy talking with them.
Posts from The Ringo Kid in thread „Carl's Update on WWI and WWII Veterans“
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Hi Jim, do you known who is in that movie? I'd love to find out more. ;-))
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I think it was in Europe. I heard that he was the last in his country. I'm sorry I don't know where it was but it was sometime at the first of this month. It was announced on the news and I was half way listening when I heard it.
Cheers
Hondo
Thanks, ill have to do some looking around and see if I find anything out. I know that this Gent wouldn't be the last WWI German Vet to pass away, as that already happened several years ago. I knew one WWI German Vet-by the name of Fridolin von Spaun-who was also in Freikorps Oberland-which was made up of men from Bavaria. Sadly, he too passed on some years ago.
It's possible that the vet you heard about could have been Belgian-as I think theirs was still alive? I know all the WWI French Vets are gone as allegedly all WWI Russian vets, trouble is, is there were so many nations involved and id have to do alot of looking to see who was who and what was what on this. Im leaning towards this vet being that Belgian vet-but I can't prove anything. Its also possible that he could have been Italian, or even a Turk?? Hard to say. -
Carl, I heard that another WWI vet passed away sometime within a month. You know that any WWI vets would be over 100 years old right now, and I heard that there were maybe two or three left. Do you have any idea how many and where they are from?
Cheers Hondo
Hi Hondo, I had not heard about any WWI vets passing recently and I HOPE he was not ours-because that would be the last known American WWI Veteran. He I THINK was about 113?? The two more recent WWI Vets that I heard that had been called home-were both WWI British vets both passing within about a week of each other
I know that 1 WWI Canadian vet still lives and he lives in Washington State somewhere.
Any WWI Vet to still be living-will all be over 100 ;-)) and bless them all ;-))
Take care--Carl. -
For those who don't know, Carl (aka The Ringo Kid) is our resident 'expert' on things related to the World Wars, and he often posts when members of those generations pass away. I've merged all those threads into one (and renamed it), to make it easier to read about all those who have served to protect world-wide freedom.
Thanks, Carl, for all your hard work!
Chester
Heh hhe, many thanks. It does help keep track on things ;-)) -
R.I.P. Mr. Ross - We Americans tend to forget the contribution the Aussies (and others) made to keep the world free.
Hi Jay, aint that the sad truth. Some of my most favorite of soldiers I like to read about as well as the WWI battles they were in-has to do with the Anzacs and the Diggers. Names like Gallipoli, Anzac Cove and Beersheba come to mind-as well as their contributions on the Western Front.
I don't know if this was mentioned here before or not? but-just earlier this week or late last week-Milvina Dean (SP?) was the last Titanic survivor-and she sadly passed into history. I guess by now she is visiting with her Father, Mom and Brother.
I do regret the day our last WWI Vet also passes into history. I wonder who will drink a toast to his memory-with Cognac? -
The last Australian WWI Vet passes away. John "Jack" Ross was aged 110. He passed away in his sleep in the early morning hours on Wednesday at a Nursing Home in Bandigo, In the State of Victoria. He was 18 when he enlisted in the Australian Armed Forces in January 1918. Ross was the last of some 417,000 Australians who served in WWI.
Rest in Peace "Jack". -
I've read many-a-story about Soldiers from both sides of the Battlelines, doing so many things like what Jack did. Audie Murphy (one of many) called in an artillery barrage on his own position. Those Gents sure did have Zeus's brass &@!!$.
A modern case in point, just about a week or so ago, Pres Bush posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to a Soldier who threw himself on a grenade that was thrown into his Humvee. This man was either an Army Sergeant or a Sergeant in the Marines. Some people wonder why in so "into" this stuff, it's partly because they never fail to amaze me with their deeds and self-sacrifices. -
Thank you both Mark, Todd, i'm glad that I can be of help, to make this heroic soldiers story be known. I'm in total awe, of these guys-as well as all who serve.
Mark, thank you for serving-I owe you much.
Take care and best regards--Carl. -
Medal of Honor recipient: Jack Lucas passes away in the pre-dawn houres on June 5th, at the age of 80.
This man lied about his age to enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec 7th 1941. Jack was 14 at the time and had forged his Mothers signature on the enlistment waiver. Military censors found out his age through a letter from his 15 yr old girlfriend. He was assigned as a truck driver in Hawaii when they threatened to send him home. "He said if they sent him home, that he would just join the Army."
He stowed away on a Navy ship headed for combat in the PAcific. He turned himself in to avoid being listed as a deserter and volunteered to fight. He got his wish. Having just turned 17 in Feb 1945, when his heroism on Iwo Jima earned him thenations highest military honor.
He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two Japanese grenades, and was nearly killed when one exploded. "A couple of grenades rolled into the trench. I hollered for my pals to get out and I did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman, after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off." He was left with more than 250 pieces of schrapnel in his body and in every major organ and endured 26 operations, in the months after Iwo Jima.
He was the youngest Medal of Honor Recipient of WWII and since the Civil War. "By his inspiring actionand reliant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or even death, but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue their advance," the Medal of Honor citation read.
Rest in Peace Sir. -
WWII Navajo Code Talker & Medal of Honor recipient dies on Memorial Day.
Jerry C. Begay Sr. was 83 years young. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 for his service in the USMC as a Code Talker.
Among the places he served, this man served on Okinawa using his skills of speaking his native language as code-a code that the Japanese never broke and still is classified today.
Rest in Peace Jerry.
PS, if im not mistaken, I THINK he was the last living Navajo Code Talker living. Thankfully there are others still living who were from other tribes. -
Thank you Mark, Kilo, Mike and H.Sanada,
Mark, your quite welcome. For many years now, I have been very lucky to meet either in person or by mail, many historical figures including many WWII German Veterans.
I was also very priviledged to have been introduced to a Great man who was a Victoria Cross Recipient-by the name of: Captain, Richard Wallace Annand-of the Durham Light Infantry. A Lot of people ahaven't been as lucky as I have been-on meeting these folks.
I think I really got my interest in these things when as a boy, I remember when our POWS returned home from Vietnam. I was about six at the time, and I remember they had a big hoobalah of a celebration at the NAS in Kingsville, TX-where a plane load of them stopped and we got to meet many of them. I no longer remember any of their names but, as a kid, I was in total awe of these guys-and felt great that when I grabbed a sleeve of their jacket/tunic, and actually got their attention-I was walking on water for a long time afterwards.
Over the years I basically happened to be at the right place and at the right time. One WWII American Vet that really stood out in my mind-for many years-as a great guy was the last Marine to surrender to the Japanese on Corrigador, by the name of MacCormack. He had been a (Im not sure of the Marine equivillent to the Army rank of Master Sergeant) when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. He was in charge of a battery of guns which eventually were wiped out and all of the crews killed or wounded. Well, this man stayed on Corrigador and fought until sometime in 1943!! He finally had to surrender because he was too sick (had an acute case of Malaria) to do anything, so he surrendered. Well, after the war ended and he was released from captivity, he weighed about 115 pounds-from his previous 200 or so pounds, and spent many months recooperating. Anyway, I met him at a local Museum in Kingsville. This guy recieved many many military awards-but not the MoH. Sadly, he passed away about 24 years ago.
Sorry for my lecture but, this subject brought it back to the forefront of my mind. In short, I guess I really want to say that i've met many-a-historical character in the last 30++ years-many of them very famous, some not so famed but equally deserved it so. Heck, before he passed away, I even had a phone conversation with Maj (later) Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington-who was in Florida at the time.
Among the more famed WWII German Vets I got to know are: Major Martin Drewes-who was a Night-fighter Pilot and who had I think 60 victories? with the vast majority of them being at night. Baron Burkhard Freiherr von Mullenheim-Rechberg-who was the 4th Gunnery Officer on the Battleship Bismark-he passed away a few years ago, and several others of note. -
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Hi The Ringo Kid,
Do you have an interest in survivors of kamikaze pilots.
Here is the link for documentary film"Tokko(Wings of Defeat)"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20070712r2.html
Regards,
H.sanada
Hi H.Sanada, I certainly do have an interest in them. Thank you for this link and I will also pass it on to some friends of mine who are at WW2F.com, as they too will greatly apreciate this site.
Take care and best regards--Carl. -
Hi Jim/Sue, your quite welcome and, thank you for also publicly saying that he was a hero-which he was.
Also, something I forgot to mention yesterday was, that this man was also involved in another and earlier plot to kill Hitler. The Baron was part of a group of eight German Officers who were on the Eastern Front and who would be among those who were to greet Hitler on his arrival. When Hitler arrived, these eight officers were going to pull their pistols at the same time, and shoot Hitler and then fly to Berlin with 1200 men and arrest Himmler and Goebbels.
The reason why they had not carried out this attempt, was because the reprisals would have been much too high-as they thought that no less than 2,000 much needed Army Officers would be arrested and executed. -
The last of the few anti-Hitler bomb-plotters, has passed away at the age of 90.
Baron Philipp von Boeselager, who was a German Army Officer in WWII, and also a recipient of his (then) Nations highest bravery award: which was the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, has passed away at his home early Thursday.
As a German Army Officer, this man was able to get the explosives that were given to Co-Conspiritors (namely) Colonel Count Claus Schenck von Stauffenberg, (who planted a bomb in a briefcase for the July 20, 1944 plot against Hitler) and had placed this briefcase at the leg of the table right next to where Adolf Hitler; had been standing.
The Baron said that he was never caught because none of his co-conspiritors had revealed his name under torture.
This man also was never a member of the nazi party as the vast majority of German Officers were also not. I used to have his address, but never found time to write.
This man is one WWII German Veteran that I have to say: Rest in Peace; to.
Best regards--Carl. -
Hi Jay, Bill,
Jay, I definately hear you on that. Apparently they (the newspapers) don't think this stuff is important. Boy are they ever so wrong. It sure is important to so many good folks out there.
Hi Bill, I definately hear you on that. It is so sad to hear of so many of them passsing into history. My Father was in the Army Air Corps in WWII and then the USAF in Korea. -
Thanks Jim/Sue, Jay,
Walter must have been great to know. It would have also been great to be able to interview him. I do this when I get the chance.
Jay, yep, last I heard, they were passing away at the rate of 1,700 a day. It's mind boggling. -
I can't believed I missed this one for so long?!?!?!
Another WWII Flying Tiger, called home.
April 17/2008, Flying Tiger: Dick Rossi, passed away at the age of 92. He earned two Presidential Unit Citations for his combat prowess. He died from Pneumonia at his home near San Diego, Calif.
In November 1941, he joined a secret volunteer group of pilots who travelled to China to help defend it against the Japanese. Officially designated the: American Volunteer Group (A.V.G.) the Chinese referred to the pilots as "Flying Tigers" for their aerial combat skills. December 1941, Rossi and his Squadron first engaged Zeros (Japanese fighter planes) also known as "Meatballs" over Kunming, China and shot down three of them.
During their seven months flying Combat missions over China, the AVG shot down an impressive 296 Japanese aircraft. July 1942, the AVG was disbanded. Rossi spent the rest of the war, flying for the China National Corp delivering supplies from India to China. He made 735 trips over the Himalayas. After the war, he worked for the Flying Tiger Line (as a freight carrier) for 25 years.
Rest in Peace Dick. I had the pleasure of writing to him once and speaking with him over the phone once.
PS, he was the President of the Flying Tiger Veterans Org for many years. -
Hi you all ;-))
Thank you Mark. I do try to keep up with these kind of things as best as I can. It is also something I feel I must do in posting about these Gents and making sure others know about them. To me, all Veterans are great but, for some reason that I have never known why, but the WWII vets are at the top of my interests. No offense to vets from other than WWII.
The last time I heard any statistics on the rate of deaths of WWII Veterans per day, was when I was at my Uncles Funeral in San Antonio back in 2002. The Chaplain of the Air Force, was the one who led the funeral and also gave out the then) startling numbers of how many WWII vets pass away each day. That number back in 2002, was 1,700 per day. I shudder to think of what that number is now..
I guess my Uncle was good friends with him? Anyway, I was glad to see that my Uncle got a Military Funeral that he deserved. My Uncle served in the 80th I.D. under General Siman Bolivar Buckner and one place he fought at was on Okinawa. Im not sure of where he was before then as he did not like telling about what he saw and what he had to do-can't blame him either. All I know is that he left home at the age of 17, lied about his age and joined the Army in 1938 I think?
Hi Jim/Sue, Mainly, I think I just get lucky I guess and I hear about it on some radio or TV station. It's become a habit of mine to watch out for this stuff. At times, I almost feel like a Vulture when it comes to hearing this stuff. As far as I know at this time, our last WWI Veteran still lives. :-))
Amen to what you also sad Jay.
Hi Todd, sadly yep, at the rate of im sure it's now over 1,700 per day
Now that I have found all my addresses I had, im going to start making time to write to some of these fellas. I started writing to some of these Gents about 12 years ago. I have WWII American, German, British and Canadian vets I have letters and signed photo's of. If anyone is interested in any, I don't mind sharing because I know you guys well enough to pass out a few.
If anyone is interested in any Medal of Honor Recipients addys, Knights Cross Recipients addys, addys for men who served in the Black Sheep Sq, as crew on the Memphis Belle, Enola Gay, on the Doolittle Raid, Carlsons Raiders (I think I still have a few of those?) Test Pilots, Generals, Admirals, Astronauts-just let me know.
Take care and best regards-Carl. -
The Lord has called home, Retired Lt. General: Gordon Marion Graham-(1918-2008) General Graham was a WWII P-51 D Mustang Acr. He flew 73 missions in his Mustang Fighter & had 16 1/2 victories in WWII.
During the Vietnam War, he flew 146 missions in his F-4 Phantom Jet Fighter. He retired in 1973 as a Lieutenant General. and as Lieutenant General of the Air Force.
Rest in Peace General.
Doolittle Raider, Jacob De Shazur, has passed away on March 24th at the age of 95. He was in the last B-25 Liberator Bomber, to depart from the Carrier Hornet, for a daylight bombing run that marked the first time since the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that the US attacked the Japanese homeland.
DeShazurs plane ran out of fuel after dropping his bomb load and all 5 Crewmen bailed out over occupied territory. He was a POW for 40 months until freed a few days after Japan surrendered in August 1945.
After returning home, DeShazur earned a Batchelors Degree in Biblical Literature, and then spent 30 years as a Christian Missionary in Japan.
Rest in Peace Jacob. :-(( I had his address, and never found time to write him a letter. That is something I will always regret.
