America's last World War I veteran grew up in Ozarks

News-Leader.com, Springfield, MO: America's last World War I veteran grew up in Ozarks
America's last World War I veteran calls West Virginia home, but 110-year-old Frank Buckles has fond memories of his childhood in Missouri, his biographer said Tuesday as Buckles celebrated his birthday.

Although Buckles no longer gives interviews, he remains alert and able to recount his experiences, David DeJonge said.

DeJonge is Buckles' official biographer and is trying to get a documentary film about Buckles made.

Buckles is honorary president of the World War I Memorial Foundation, which is trying to get a national memorial built in Washington, D.C. DeJonge is foundation president.

Lockwood history teacher Mike Shores has followed the lives of Missouri's last World War I veterans, including Buckles.

Shores said he got interested in World War I veterans while working at a gas station in his hometown of Norwood.

The station owner had a brother who died during the war, and his boss recounted stories about his brother, Shores said.

Buckles probably deserves more attention as the United States' last World War I veteran, Shores said.

He is the oldest of the world's three surviving veterans of the conflict.

On Tuesday, The Associated Press noted Buckles' birthday in its daily history article. News media in West Virginia also reported on Buckles, who lives at Gap View Farm, the old family place overlooking Harpers Ferry, Va.

Buckles was born in Bethany and lived in the small Vernon County community of Walker from 1910 to 1916, Shores said.

There are still some Walker residents around whose families were acquainted with Buckles and his family, he said.

Buckles' family moved to Oklahoma in 1916. When the United States entered World War I, Buckles decided to enlist despite being only 16 years old, Shores said.

Buckles eventually joined the Army after he told a recruiter the only way he could prove he was old enough to enlist was to send for the family Bible, which was in Missouri.

Rather than wait for proof of Buckles' age, the Army recruiter signed him up, Shores said.

A photograph taken after Buckles enlisted portrays a slight young man wearing a uniform and campaign hat.

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Shores said he agrees Buckles looked more like a Boy Scout than a soldier.

Buckles was assigned to the 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment and eventually ended up in France, driving an ambulance, Shores said. After the Armistice, he helped return German prisoners to their homeland.

Once out of the Army, Buckles became a businessman and eventually worked for a steamship line in the Philippines just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and U.S. Pacific possessions, including the Philippines.

He spent 3 1/2 years as a civilian prisoner.

Although he moved to West Virginia after returning to the United States, Buckles recalled his boyhood in Missouri with fondness and enjoyed visiting the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City several years ago, DeJonge said.

"He's talked to me about growing up in Missouri, he talked to me about riding to school on horses," DeJonge said.

Buckles' Missouri roots may have played a role in his determination to get into the Army at 16, and to endure being a prisoner during World War II, he said.

"He learned a lot about determination, and hard work in Missouri," he said.