Frank Buckles, The last American survivor of the First World War Laid to Rest

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The Doughboys, Veterans

LAST OF HIS KIND: The casket of Frank Buckles lay in a chapel at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia Tuesday. Mr. Buckles, the last surviving American World War I veteran, died in February in West Virginia at age 110. Mr. Buckles lied about his age and enrolled in the Army at 16. (Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

We extend our sympathies to the family and friends of Frank Buckles who was laid to rest today with full honors at Arlington Cemetery.   Buckles who died at the age of 110 is the last surviving American World War 1 veteran.

Buckles’ flag-draped casket was carried to its final resting place on a caisson led by seven horses.

Buckles was laid to rest just 50 yards from the gravesite of Gen. John Pershing, under whose command he served

Last of the 'doughboys': Buckles' enlistment photograph from 1917. Photo courtesy of Independent.co.uk

Before the burial service, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden paid their respects to Corporal Buckles and offering their condolences to his daughter.

WVVA.COM

“MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — He was repeatedly rejected by military recruiters and got into uniform at age 16 after lying about his age. But Frank Buckles would later become the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I.

A family spokesman says Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died of natural causes Sunday at his home in West Virginia. He was 110.

Buckles had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of the Great War in the nation’s capital.

When asked in February 2008 how it felt to be the last of his kind, he said simply, ‘I realized that somebody had to be, and it was me.’ And he told The Associated Press he would have done it all over again, ‘without a doubt.”

STAR-TELEGRAM

“FORT WORTH — As Frank Buckles was being buried about 1,300 miles away in Arlington National Cemetery, almost 100 people gathered in Mount Olivet Cemetery to salute him and the rest of the 4.7 million Americans who served in World War I.

Buckles, at 110, was the last of them to die.

A color guard from Naval Air Station Fort Worth marched slowly down a promenade that is dedicated to veterans, passing between American flags posted by more than three dozen Texas Patriot Guard Riders. The color guard, wearing Air Force and Navy uniforms, came to a halt facing a group of men dressed as American Revolution soldiers.

Between them was the cemetery’s Dough Boy and American GI statues.

David Hall, who organized the ceremony, rang a replica of the Liberty Bell. When its final toll died, a bugler blew Taps.”

James Alderman, a member of Sons Of The American Revolution, places a wreath at the foot of the Doughboy and American G.I. statue during the ceremony. He is from Bedford. A noon-time ceremony at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth honored WWI veteran Frank Buckles, the last vet from the first World War in the United States to die, Buckles is being buried in Arlington National Cemetery today.Photo courtesy of STAR-TELEGRAM/PAUL MOSELEY

Thank you Corporal Frank Buckles for your sacrifice and your service.  Rest in peace.  God bless.

Suggested reading:  Frank Buckles: The last American survivor of the First World War