By the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Originally Published: February 6, 2008 – Updated July 3, 2009
In 1917 – more than 90-years ago -- the United States entered the Great Conflict in Europe. Sixteen-year-old Frank Buckles decided he wanted in, too. He figured he could fib about his age; say he's 18. But the Army recruiter told him, "No good: you need to be 21." So he kept shopping around until finally, he found a recruiter who believed him when he said his home state of Missouri didn't keep birth records when he was born; it's back home on the farm, an entry in the family Bible.
Frank Buckles
Soon, young Frank was "Over There" in England. His ultimate goal was France where the action was. It took him a while but eventually he made it, thanks to some sage advice.
"An old sergeant said, if you want to get to France in a hurry, then join the ambulance service," Frank recalls. "The French are big for ambulance service."
Of the two surviving World War Oneveterans in North America today, Frank Buckles is the only remaining World War I veteran who actually saw the war in Europe.
"I had many different assignments," Frank says, "and I was doing things that I thought were important... no, I didn't either: I didn't think they were important. But I found out afterwards when I read up on my history that some of the things that I did were quite important."
Being an ambulance driver, Frank didn't see combat but he saw plenty of casualties. And after the armistice, he delivered German POWs back to the Fatherland, a foreshadowing of his own fate 20 years later.
After two years in the Army, Frank went out to see the world and worked for the White Star Line of Titanic fame. For the next 20-years, he lived the life of a merchant seaman.
By 1941, the shipping business had taken Frank to the Philippines. On December 8th, he and millions of Filipinos experienced their own horrific version of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese invaded the islands. Ironically, although Frank served in only one world war, he suffered in two.
For the next three and a half years, Frank was a prisoner of war. It was a harsh, brutal experience. Frank ended up at Los Baños, a former university campus that had been converted into an internment camp for more than 2,000 civilians. He kept himself and his fellow prisoners mentally sharp by focusing on the physical: every day, he led the group in rigorous calisthenics. Finally, in 1945, the Los Baños prisoners were rescued in a daring raid by paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division. When Frank emerged from Los Baños, he was 100 pounds lighter than when he entered.
At war's end, Frank returned to the States. He fell in love with a California girl and she agreed to settle down with him in the beautiful northwest corner of West Virginia: the Buckles' ancestral homeland. Frank and Audrey bought and restored a charming 18th century stone farmhouse. Fifty-three years later, he's still there. Although Audrey passed away in 1999, their daughter Susannah and her husband now spend much of their time running the farm – with Frank. Frank was still out working the tractor at the age of 103.
Today, Frank surrounds himself with family and friends, books and mementos from a life filled with journeys and adventure. In his private study is home to dozens of books about World Wars One and Two. His larger library contains more than a thousand volumes. Even now, Frank continues his life-long passion of reading. But not the reading of just anything; Frank is an unabashed student of history. He has no time for fiction.
Frank says, "Why should I read something someone made up when real events are so interesting?"
When asked his secret to a long life, Frank has a quick answer at the ready: "Be prepared," he jokes. But the longer answer may lie in the independent way he's always led his life. Frank Buckles neatly fits the profile that gerontologists point to as ideal: he's had a life-long passion for reading and learning; an ongoing interest in foreign languages and culture; and has been physically fit his entire life.
Years ago, Frank made a sentimental journey to his father's farm in Missouri, the place of his birth. There he spotted the old bell that his father rang the day he was born in 1901. He made the current farmer an offer and bought it on the spot. Today on his farm in West Virginia –107 years later – that same bell rings loud and clear for Frank Woodruff Buckles: a National Treasure.
Frank Buckles is now 108 and still going great guns, motivated by his goal to honor his fellow WWI brothers. He was interviewed for the 4th of July 2009 by Fox News. He humbly said he didn’t do much while he was serving in Europe, but those that served with him did and deserve a Memorial in Washington D.C. on par with those for the other great American Wars!! The U.S. government finally agrees and is upgrading the WWI Memorial in Washington D.C. with TARP Stimulus money.
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