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Frank Woodruff Buckles (born Wood Buckles, February 1, 1901February 27, 2011) was a United States Army soldier and the last surviving American veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe. During World War II, he was captured by Japanese forces while working in the shipping business, and spent three years in the Philippines as a civilian prisoner. After the war, Buckles married in San Francisco and moved to Gap View Farm near Charles Town, West Virginia. A widower at age 98, he worked on his farm until the age of 105. In his last years, he was Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation. As chairman, he advocated the establishment of a World War I memorial similar to other war memorials in Washington, D.C.. Toward this end, Buckles campaigned for the District of Columbia War Memorial to be renamed the National World War I Memorial. He testified before Congress in support of this cause, and met with President George W. Bush at the White House. Buckles was awarded the World War I Victory Medal at the conclusion of that conflict, and the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal retroactively following the medal's creation in 1941, as well as the French Legion of Honor in 1999. His funeral was on March 15, 2011, at Arlington National Cemetery, with President Barack Obama paying his respects prior to the ceremony with full military honors. ==Early life and education== Buckles was born to James Clark Buckles, a farmer, and Theresa J. Buckles (née Keown) in Bethany, Missouri, on February 1, 1901. He had two older brothers, Ashman and Roy, and two older sisters, Grace and Gladys. Several family members lived long lives; he remembered speaking with his grandmother who was born in 1817, and his father lived to be 94.〔http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19271148〕 His ancestry included soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.〔 In 1903, Frank—then known as Wood—and his brother Ashman contracted scarlet fever.〔 Frank survived, but Ashman died from the disease at the age of four. Between 1911 and 1916, Buckles attended school in Walker, Missouri.〔 Later, he and his family moved to Oakwood, Oklahoma, where he continued his schooling and worked at a bank.〔〔 He was an amateur wireless operator, and an avid reader of newspapers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Frank Buckles」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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