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Oldest WWI Veteran dies aged 113

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  • Created on Sunday, 19 July 2009 23:49
  • Last Updated on Thursday, 07 March 2013 14:39
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Henry Allingham

One of my passions is remembering and honoring those who have sacrificed so much, so that we can enjoy freedom. An article caught my eye yesterday morning, so I thought I'd share it. From the BBC News, "Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and one of the last surviving World War I servicemen, has died at the age of 113, his care home has said. Mr Allingham served with the Royal Naval Air Service in WWI, later transferring to the Royal Air Force at the time of its creation. Last month, Mr Allingham, born in 1896, became the world's oldest man. Mr Allingham, whose life has spanned three centuries and six monarchs, has five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild." Here is a link to the story at BBC News, hopefully the embedded video in the article will be working. If not, there are already quite a few at YouTube

Wikipedia also has a list of all the surviving veterans of WWI, it looks like there are only six left, one of them American. In May 1991 my family and I were privileged to meet a WWI veteran at a parade in Hollywood, CA, honoring the returning soldiers from operation Desert Storm. Warplanes roared across the sky, and tanks rolled down Sunset Boulevard. It was a wonderful heartfelt homecoming parade for the troops returning from the Persian Gulf War. It was " estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million peolple, lined the 3.2-mile Hollywood route, enthusiastically cheering and applauding more than 5,000 Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen who had returned from Iraq."

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