108 In February!

Wow, he'll be 108 in February!

Who?

Frank Buckles, the last known World War I veteran in the US. He'll be 108 in February. I wish I could meet him, he sounds like a tough old guy. First he served in WWI and then was captured in 1941 and spent WWII in a Japanese prison camp. Dude is a tough man.

Whew... You should read the article, I can't do it justice.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/30/MN8G14MFAO.DTL

He makes me think of my grandfather. Grandpa was in World War I. My mother has his hand-written diary, written in pencil at night. He served in France.

That was the second time he was in the Army. The first time he was with the party that surveyed Glacier National Park. I'll have to ask my mom for another copy of the Thanksgiving Dinner menu from his service days. It had the menu, and on the other side it had all the men's names that were in his company.

I'd like to gather copies of all those things, put them into a book about my family.

Grandpa went on Ahead many years ago.

I miss him. It's been a long time, I still miss him.

Honestly, we didn't talk much. He was old and kinda deaf and mumbled. He was a gentle and generous man, but you know, he was tough as nails too. He and my grandma were the last homesteaders in Oregon. They came all the way across the United States from North Carolina to settle in the "Wild West".

I wish I had known him better.

There are a lot of things I wish for.

In the New Year, I really need to make a point of documenting more of what my mom tells me. We've already lost so much of our family history, of our heritage.

The students who are preparing the documentary about World War I are providing a valuable look at our past.

I think I'm jealous.

And dang, I can't get over it. Frank Buckles will be 108 in February.

Wow....