Frank Buckles represents our final link to a generation that built a legacy as defenders of the free world. --Jay Rockefeller
See the Gift for the last doughboy...
He served in the ambulance corps during World War I in France and Germany, where he evacuated wounded soldiers from the horrific battlefield. As if that weren't enough, he was drawn into World War II, where he survived three years in a Japanese POW camp after his freighter was captured.
Buckles also happens to be the last surviving doughboy, yet another distinction for a man who was able to join the Army at just 16. Frank Buckles was on this Earth before we had washing machines, before X-rays, before air conditioning, before TV or plastic, even before sliced bread. He is, in short, amazing and has been alive long enough to inspire awe at his longevity.
Despite his long life and inspiring story, and the fact that he is now an icon in the military family and modest about his achievements,
Buckles is first and foremost a good person and a kind friend. To this day, Buckles lives on his farm in Jefferson County, West Virginia; it was only a few years ago that he stopped driving his tractor.
No comments:
Post a Comment