The Last Doughboy of World War I

Frank Buckles lied about his age to serve in World War I. Before his death at 110 years old, he was America’s only living link to the great conflict

  • By Richard Rubin
  • Photographs by Karen Kasmauski
  • Smithsonian magazine, October 2008, Subscribe
View Full Image »
Frank Buckles proudly wears the French Legion of Honor medal
At age 107, Frank Buckles proudly wears the French Legion of Honor medal, one of many honors to have come his way lately. (Karen Kasmauski)

More from Smithsonian.com


(Page 2 of 2)

Those who fought in World War II are now celebrated as "The Greatest Generation," but there were no such honors for the veterans of Frank Buckles' war. Many came home to find their jobs gone or their farms in a terrible state.

"I was lucky—wherever I went, I got a job," Buckles says. After paying his way through business school, he worked in Toronto, then New York City and then on steamships, which took him all over the world. He was running the Manila office of the American President Lines when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in December 1941 and promptly took him prisoner. He spent 39 months in prison camps. "When I got down to 100 pounds, I quit looking at the scales," he says. He also developed beriberi, a degenerative disease caused by malnutrition, which affects him to this day. Nevertheless, he led a daily calisthenics class for his fellow prisoners. "I explained to them," he recalls, "that we're under severe circumstances, but you must keep yourself in shape—for when the war is over." On February 23, 1945, they were all liberated in a raid led by the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division. Frank Buckles was then 44 years old.

He returned home to the United States, got married, became a father and bought more than 300 acres of gently rolling meadows in West Virginia, where his ancestors had farmed more than two centuries earlier. Today, he remains active on the farm, raising cattle and maintaining his 18th-century farmhouse. He spends a good bit of time in a small, sunny reading room filled with World War I artifacts—including his doughboy's cap, letters he sent home from France and a German belt buckle inscribed with GOTT MIT UNS, or "God Is With Us." As the last of his kind, Buckles receives a lot of mail from strangers, writing to thank him for his service. He responds to all of it, with the help of his daughter, Susannah, 53. "I know that I have an obligation," he says, "to keep the [next generation] aware that we had a World War I."

Buckles stopped driving a few years ago, but he still makes forays with Susannah to inspect his farm and to visit nearby Charles Town. He also travels to events around the country, and was invited to the White House last March, when President Bush recognized his World War I service. "That was interesting," he says. "I went to the White House and sat in the Oval Room, and here came President Bush...and he asked me, 'Where were you born?' And I said, 'That's exactly the words that General Pershing used,''' when Corporal Buckles met him after the war.

Frank Buckles isn't surprised to be a centenarian. His father lived to 95, his grandmother to 96. "I had been warned by my two aunts, both of whom made it past 100, to be prepared—that I was going to live past 100 years old," he says. "I see no reason why I shouldn't live to 115."

Richard Rubin is writing a book about America's World War I veterans, to be titled The Last of the Doughboys.
Karen Kasmauski contributes to National Geographic.


Editor's Note: Frank Buckles died on Sunday, February 27, 2011 of natural causes. He was 110 years old and the last surviving American veteran of World War I.

Frank Woodruff Buckles was visiting the Kansas State Fair in Wichita one day in the summer of 1917 when, seeing a Marine Corps recruiting booth, he decided to enlist; the nation had just entered World War I. Buckles was only 16, but he told the recruiting sergeant he was 18. The recruiter, perhaps suspecting the boy's real age, offered a fib of his own: he told Buckles he had to be at least 21 to become a United States Marine. Undaunted, Buckles passed another booth and tried his luck with a Navy recruiter. He, too, turned Buckles down, saying he had flat feet, which he didn't.

But Buckles wouldn't give up. The Great War, which had started in 1914, was "an important event," he explains. "The world was interested in it. I was interested." So he traveled south to try his luck with recruiters in Oklahoma City. Again, the Marines turned him down. So did the Navy. But an Army sergeant passed him on to a captain, who asked him for a birth certificate. "I explained that when I was born in Missouri, birth certificates were not a public record," Buckles recalls. "It would be in the family Bible. And I said, 'You wouldn't want me to bring the family Bible down here, would you?' He said, 'Go on, we'll take you.'" And so it was that in August of 1917, Frank Buckles joined 4.7 million Americans recruited or conscripted for the new American Expeditionary Forces. They are all gone now—all except Buckles, who turned 107 this past February. He is the last living American veteran of the Great War.

After basic training, Buckles joined the First Fort Riley Casual Detachment and shipped out for England in December 1917. To Buckles' dismay, his unit was held in reserve there, while others, under the command of Gen. John J. Pershing, were in France fighting the Germans.

Buckles spent most of his time in England on a motorcycle with a sidecar, shuttling officers, delivering dispatches, driving the occasional ambulance and trying to get to the action. "I let any person who had any influence at all know that I wanted to go to France," he says.

Finally, after six months in England, Buckles managed to get himself sent to France, where he was assigned to escort an American lieutenant—a dentist—to Bordeaux. He was in the right country, but still miles from the fighting. As the war wound down, he continued to chafe behind the lines.

He was still there when the shooting stopped on November 11, 1918, having claimed 8.5 million lives. "I wasn't disappointed that the war ended," he recalls. "[But] I would have liked to accomplish what I had started out for."

Following the armistice, Buckles' unit was ordered to escort 650 prisoners of war back to Germany. He remembers them as mostly friendly and cultured. Some were professional musicians, a few conductors; they staged concerts. "Where they got the instruments, I don't know," he recalls. "But we would take boards and put them on boxes to make benches and listen to the concert." One late night he found himself about to exchange blows with a young prisoner over some dispute long since forgotten. "A big German on each side just took us by the back of the arms and read the law to us," he recalls. That was as close as Buckles got to fighting any Germans. He was sent home in January 1920 and mustered out of service.

Those who fought in World War II are now celebrated as "The Greatest Generation," but there were no such honors for the veterans of Frank Buckles' war. Many came home to find their jobs gone or their farms in a terrible state.

"I was lucky—wherever I went, I got a job," Buckles says. After paying his way through business school, he worked in Toronto, then New York City and then on steamships, which took him all over the world. He was running the Manila office of the American President Lines when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in December 1941 and promptly took him prisoner. He spent 39 months in prison camps. "When I got down to 100 pounds, I quit looking at the scales," he says. He also developed beriberi, a degenerative disease caused by malnutrition, which affects him to this day. Nevertheless, he led a daily calisthenics class for his fellow prisoners. "I explained to them," he recalls, "that we're under severe circumstances, but you must keep yourself in shape—for when the war is over." On February 23, 1945, they were all liberated in a raid led by the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division. Frank Buckles was then 44 years old.

He returned home to the United States, got married, became a father and bought more than 300 acres of gently rolling meadows in West Virginia, where his ancestors had farmed more than two centuries earlier. Today, he remains active on the farm, raising cattle and maintaining his 18th-century farmhouse. He spends a good bit of time in a small, sunny reading room filled with World War I artifacts—including his doughboy's cap, letters he sent home from France and a German belt buckle inscribed with GOTT MIT UNS, or "God Is With Us." As the last of his kind, Buckles receives a lot of mail from strangers, writing to thank him for his service. He responds to all of it, with the help of his daughter, Susannah, 53. "I know that I have an obligation," he says, "to keep the [next generation] aware that we had a World War I."

Buckles stopped driving a few years ago, but he still makes forays with Susannah to inspect his farm and to visit nearby Charles Town. He also travels to events around the country, and was invited to the White House last March, when President Bush recognized his World War I service. "That was interesting," he says. "I went to the White House and sat in the Oval Room, and here came President Bush...and he asked me, 'Where were you born?' And I said, 'That's exactly the words that General Pershing used,''' when Corporal Buckles met him after the war.

Frank Buckles isn't surprised to be a centenarian. His father lived to 95, his grandmother to 96. "I had been warned by my two aunts, both of whom made it past 100, to be prepared—that I was going to live past 100 years old," he says. "I see no reason why I shouldn't live to 115."

Richard Rubin is writing a book about America's World War I veterans, to be titled The Last of the Doughboys.
Karen Kasmauski contributes to National Geographic.


Single Page « Previous 1 2

    Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.



Additional Sources

"Frank Buckles, 107, old-school survivor" by Emily Brown, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, May 18, 2008


 

Add New Comment


Name: (required)

Email: (required)

Comment:

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.

Comments (42)

+ View All Comments

Tim, I thought that your song fragment sounded very familiar. A quick Google search confirmed my hunch: it's from the WW1 ditty "Mademoiselle from Armentières". You'll find different versions all over the place because soldiers would add to it. There's a discussion thread on the Mudcat Cafe site that currently lists something like an hundred different verses. Even the chorus of "hinky dinky par-lay-voo" has the variants "inky pinky", "inky dinky", and "rinky dinky". Sharon, it most likely wouldn't be in your grandfather's songbook, as many versions can be best described as -- putting it mildly -- bawdy, and not the sort of thing that the YMCA would have promoted. *grin* Interestingly enough, I learned a more-or-less G-rated version from one grandmother and my great-aunt, her older sister. (Both of them told me stories of their youth, including seeing the headlines about the sinking of the Titanic; talk about living history!) I didn't even know that the song was supposed to be naughty until my other grandmother heard me singing the chorus and read me the riot act!

Posted by Becca Lee on November 19,2012 | 06:33 AM

I have my grandfather's YMCA song book from France but did not find your song. I also have his daily MP journal. I believe he may have been billeted in Paris. He listed the hospitals and the regiments being evacuated. The last date with details is November 19, 1918.

Posted by Sharon Middleton on April 12,2012 | 11:45 PM

Can someone help me discern a memory?

I remember what I believe to be song lyrics from WWI, but can't find the source:

The doughboy, he went over the top
Because he had no place to stop.
From gay Paree he heard guns roar
And all he learned was "Je t'adore."

Thanks for any help.

Posted by Tim on February 28,2011 | 12:57 AM

Several years ago I worked for the company that printed the Veterans of WWI newsletter, doing some editing, layout, and design. I was honored to meet a number of the gentleman who served during the war from time to time. I am especially proud to have received a certificate of appreciation and a 2 inch replica of the dough boy statue by way of saying thank you for my work with them. I still have the certificate and statue in my office at home, almost 25 years later.

Posted by Steve on November 10,2010 | 01:58 PM

Just this past veterans day I brought my childern up to honor the vets at their celabration of the day. I once again was sadened to see just a handful of people there besides my boys and i. Altohugh my generation missed all the conflicts i never forgot the men and women who did their part in all the wars. I for one would love to see this national memorial presented to the wwI vets.I talked to one of the men who use to be in vietnam and told him of the artical i saw in weekly reader and he is going to help me start the ball rolling to see if this thing can come to a reality.

Posted by john cahill on November 12,2009 | 10:26 PM

I subscribe to the MAGAZINE,and will us his photo in our digest of VETERANS/ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY at our Church. Buckles will be reconized/honored on November 11.(Veterans Day. Thank you. Roger Underwood

Posted by Roger L.Underwood on September 5,2009 | 10:37 AM

As a resident of Jefferson County, I was interested to find out more after reading about Henry Allingham death. The article on AOL mentioned you and that you were the last WWI American born veteran living right here in Charles Town. I am positive that you have experienced more in your lifetime then we will ever learn in any history class. Thank you Mr. Buckles for the freedom that my family enjoys to this day.

Posted by Janet Wise on July 18,2009 | 09:43 PM

I went to visit Mr. Buckles during the summer of 2007, and it was one of the greatest thrills of my life. He was a kind, gentle man who was very willing to tell a great story. I filmed our meeting, but hope that I will get another chance for an in person visit with this wonderful man.

Posted by Janson Kopp on July 12,2009 | 02:05 PM

Mr. Buckles is quite a person, and I'm glad he has the honor of being the last U.S. WWI veteran. Also one of only 7 known to be living in the world. At 106 I wrote to him and sent him some pictures of himself that the press had took and he had not even seen them. He sent me a kind note and an autographed photo. Just a down right gentleman!

Posted by CHRIS on April 7,2009 | 04:20 PM

Mr. Buckles is a kind man. I have known him for several years now. Not only is he the last US WW1 veteran, and one of less than 10 in the world - He was smart enough (though a republican) to vote for Obama!

Posted by Mark on January 27,2009 | 11:47 AM

Let's face it, war isn't a good thing in any way, but I'm still extremely grateful and thankful for the bravery and determination of people like Mr. Buckles!

Posted by Tori on December 28,2008 | 08:53 PM

A possible correction in the story, the Kansas State fair was held in Hutchinson Kansas, not Wichita. This small point in does not in anyway take away the gratitude owed to Mr.Buckels. My family recently visited the WW I musuem in Kansas City found information about my Grandfather who also served. What hardships those doughboys had, again, many thanks.

Posted by Scott Potucek on November 19,2008 | 04:21 PM

Great story. Mr Buckles is certainly a hero and deserves our praise and thanks. I just saw a story about a WWI Vet in England named Henry Allingham who is 112! We need to get these crazy kids together. They have much to discuss.

Posted by Melinda Bailey on November 12,2008 | 02:27 PM

HAPPY VETERANS DAY TO FRANK Woodruff BUCKLES, our proud veteran-hero of World War I! It was a privlege to meet and visit with Frank Buckles on July 19, 2008, in his lovely farm house in Charles Town, West Virginia. He gave me photos of himself, one of him taken in 1920 on his way to a reception for Gen. John J. Pershing, at the Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City. My daughter Cathy Darby (lives in VA)and my grandsons Jack Darby and Marcello McCartney were also pleased meet Frank Buckles at his farm on 19 July, and hear about his experiences during W W I and W W II. A photo of Frank W. Buckles and me, taken by my daughter on that day, appeared in our local "Venice Gondolier Sun", Florida newspaper, August, 2008. Dear World War I Veteran Frank Buckles, We salute and thank you for your dedicated service to our great country! A grateful Nation does remember! Jean Maxwell Catsakis, member of Sara De Soto Chapter,Daughters of the American Revolution,Nokomis, FL.

Posted by Jean Maxwell Catsakis, Nokomis, FL on November 10,2008 | 02:06 PM



Advertisement


Advertisement

Follow Us





First Name
Last Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State   Zip
Email


Travel with Smithsonian




Smithsonian Store