Hey Bucky, I knew that you a big history fan, as am I, and I knew that this would peek your interest.


Riffy

______________________________

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/us/01buckles.html?_r=1&src=mv

Rest in peace Mr Buckles

Sad news.

What's the story/meaning behind the term 'doughboy' ?

my god riffy....thank you for posting this! i hadn't heard the news as of yet, and i am guessing that because most people are paying attention to the oscars, this may take a few days to filter through to the big news outlets.

amazing and sad. the last of the first world war is gone...it is now consigned to the history books.

my biggest question, however, is this: what are you doing reading that liberal dishrag?!?!

(that last line posted in memory of blue)

Gazza wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 11:05am:

Sad news. What's the story/meaning behind the term 'doughboy' ?

the term doughboy is a term used to refer to american servicemen during WW1. i always thought it had to do with the fact that the uniforms of the era made our soldiers look like gingerbread men. however, the almighty wikipedia tells me that the term may date as far back as the mexican war, when marching through the desert left a film of dust on the uniform, making it look as though our soldiers had just walked through dough.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/WN/ht_frank_buckles_1_090522_mn.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ypE7dC4vlo/Svtgih89wjI/AAAAAAAACnI/ykzoWBDHBns/s400/2009-11-11_frank_buckles.jpg

Oh, those pix are great, Starbuck.

I am a huge history buff as well.....my history {of the 50's on} and earlier history as well. I read about this today and was greatly saddened, as well. Truly an end of yet another era in U.S. history...

Starbuck wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 11:21am:

my god riffy....thank you for posting this! i hadn't heard the news as of yet, and i am guessing that because most people are paying attention to the oscars, this may take a few days to filter through to the big news outlets. amazing and sad. the last of the first world war is gone...it is now consigned to the history books. my biggest question, however, is this: what are you doing reading that liberal dishrag?!?! (that last line posted in memory of blue)

I would normally never read NYT for obvious reasons. (read-liberal hack journalism at it's worst.) However, this was linked off of Drudge, and unlike the lying sacks working for the NYT, this man was a real hero. Sad day indeed. He had a good run though. Mr. Buckles helped to shape this great nation, and unfortunatly for him (and us), he also watched it all go wrong starting in 2008. Things will change soon enough though! LOL!


Riffy

I heard this on the news this morning.Didn't realize he was the last one surviving from WWI. RIP and what a life he had.

I saw this on the Early Morning CBS show.

RIP

Sad news - surely he was the very last surviving Great War veteran from any nation?

Just two left, Alex - both from the UK. One man and one woman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_I_veterans_by_country

Claude Choules, who now lives in Australia, is the only one to have seen active combat, and he served in WWII as well.

which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan?

Pdog wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 4:25pm:

which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan?

I don't know,but if I live to be a 110,somehow I don't think I'll be listening to the Stones. :warhorse

Gazza wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 2:34pm:

Just two left, Alex - both from the UK. One man and one woman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_I_veterans_by_country Claude Choules, who now lives in Australia, is the only one to have seen active combat, and he served in WWII as well.

gazza, claude choules never saw active combat. he was a sailor who served on support ships, i believe. he did witness the surrender of the german fleet, but never saw a shot fired in anger.

the last surviving combat vet of the first world war was harry patch, who was wounded at passchendaele in 1917. he died in 2009, a week after henry allingham, who was the last surviving RAF member of the first world war.

speaking of, is WWI still engrained in british national consciousness, even among today's youth, now that the vets are all gone? i spent a year in newcastle working on a masters degree about ten years ago, and my flatmates and i used to go down to the pub and discuss wars and such...my british friends would talk about WWI quite often and how it effected britain...meanwhile, i'd walk past the newcastle memorial to the WWI dead every day on my way to class. seemed like WWI was ubiquitous over thar....

i, naturally, would yap on about the US civil war...


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/151263023_c28224dd04.jpg

" which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan ? "


< ------ The Joey !!!!

http://i40.tinypic.com/euk3ko.gif   !!!!!!

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 5:24pm:

Pdog wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 4:25pm: which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan? I don't know,but if I live to be a 110,somehow I don't think I'll be listening to the Stones. :warhorse

Oh, sure you will!  ;D ;) :areyoufuckingserious :willya :willya

Sioux wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 6:12pm:

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 5:24pm: Pdog wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 4:25pm: which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan? I don't know,but if I live to be a 110,somehow I don't think I'll be listening to the Stones. :warhorse Oh, sure you will!  ;D ;) :areyoufuckingserious :willya :willya

LOL Sioux.At that age I'll be lucky to hear anything.

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 7:00pm:

Sioux wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 6:12pm: sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 5:24pm: Pdog wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 4:25pm: which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan? I don't know,but if I live to be a 110,somehow I don't think I'll be listening to the Stones. :warhorse Oh, sure you will!  ;D ;) :areyoufuckingserious :willya :willya LOL Sioux.At that age I'll be lucky to hear anything.

I will be dropping stones in a toilet holding my balls out of the water...

Starbuck wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 5:30pm:

Gazza wrote on Feb 28th, 2011 at 2:34pm: Just two left, Alex - both from the UK. One man and one woman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_I_veterans_by_country Claude Choules, who now lives in Australia, is the only one to have seen active combat, and he served in WWII as well. gazza, claude choules never saw active combat. he was a sailor who served on support ships, i believe. he did witness the surrender of the german fleet, but never saw a shot fired in anger. the last surviving combat vet of the first world war was harry patch, who was wounded at passchendaele in 1917. he died in 2009, a week after henry allingham, who was the last surviving RAF member of the first world war.

Thanks. I wondered about that as when the pair of them died, I was under the impression they were the final two.


Quote:

speaking of, is WWI still engrained in british national consciousness, even among today's youth, now that the vets are all gone?

I think it is to some degree, even though our last government seemed to have a pretty shameful attitude at times towards our national identity. Its more engrained than it used to be, although maybe not as much as it should be.


Quote:

i spent a year in newcastle working on a masters degree about ten years ago, and my flatmates and i used to go down to the pub and discuss wars and such...my british friends would talk about WWI quite often and how it effected britain...meanwhile, i'd walk past the newcastle memorial to the WWI dead every day on my way to class. seemed like WWI was ubiquitous over thar....

Well, Britain lost twice as many people in WW1 than we did in WW2, and WW1 has historically been seen as a futile and stupid conflict - unlike the war that followed it two decades later.

Where I live, WW1 is more of a big deal - even though Belfast was heavily bombed in air raids in 1941 - mostly due to the huge loss of life by the 36th Ulster Division at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. I know quite a few people of my own age who go to France every July without fail to the memorial there.

here in the states, it's exactly the opposite. our KIA in wwI is something around 110,000, whereas our KIA in wwII is about 415,000. everybody my age had a grandpa or great uncle that fought in the war, or at least wore the uniform. my grandpa was in the air corps....great uncle fought in patton's 3rd army during the bulge and, at 92, still tells the stories whenever we see him....another great uncle was KIA a week after the normandy landings, and i visited his grave at st laurent sur mer when i was in france ten years ago.

still to this day, we glorify the "greatest generation" in the USA. the allied victory in WWII was our most glorious hour, so to speak...in US national consciousness, the war was thrust upon us, and we answered the call...while basically fighting the war by ourselves in the pacific, our resources and manpower helped to turn the tide in europe as well. although those of us that know better realize that hitler lost the war in europe because of russia.

still, there is something about WWI and the trenches that captures the imagination and makes one want to scream out a giant WTF!!!! even a century later. what the hell was haig thinking??!?! 20,000 KIA on the first day of the somme??! still boggles the mind, no? and gazza, reading about your pals battalions makes one want to shake one's head vigorously. i forget if it was the accrington pals or the grimsby chums that lost the most, but one of them was nearly wiped out the first day of the somme, no? imagine...an entire city losing all its young men after a single day of combat.

http://bioscopic.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/somme10.jpg

wow.

This is Liberty Memorial.  The only WWI Memorial in the United States.  It is in Kansas City, Missouri.  One shot is from down the hill.  The other is so you can see what the top looks like.  I took these two years ago when then Candidate Obama held a rally on the mall.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk86/angieblue06/AugtoNov2008228.jpg

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk86/angieblue06/AugtoNov2008258.jpg

WW1 isn´t a or wasn´t a big deal in Finland then,or either now.Back then Finland was still part of Russia,up to 1917.

But WW2 is still a big deal here,specially winter 1941,when Russia attacked Finland,and it was one of the coldest winters in European history.It was -40decrees and more
through winter.Even in France and Belgium it was -30 decrees below zero!
And that winter and the next one 1942,was Hitlers biggest mistake.Most of the German soldiers died,because lack of winter clothing and food.

I knew so many men, uncles, friends, that were in pattons army, and they all had a certain inner toughness, combined with an  understanding nature.  That was a great generation.

uncleson wrote on Mar 1^st, 2011 at 12:31pm:

I knew so many men, uncles, friends, that were in pattons army, and they all had a certain inner toughness, combined with an  understanding nature.  That was a great generation.

I agree with you,and we´ll never have another one like them.

Pdog wrote on Feb 28^th, 2011 at 4:25pm:

which of us will be the last surviving Stones fan?

It would be fun to have again another Stones/Beatles clash in the retirement homes the next decades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY

by Madeleine Coorey Madeleine Coorey – Wed Mar 2, 10:24 am ET
SYDNEY (AFP) – World War I's last surviving combatant Claude Choules will celebrate his 110th birthday on Thursday with a low-key party, his son said, describing his father as a reluctant "celebrity" who hates war.

British-born Choules, who is nicknamed "Chuckles" and lives in an Australian nursing home, will mark his birthday just days after the death of American Frank Buckles made him the 1914-1918 conflict's last male veteran.

"He's blind and he's deaf, but we get up close to him and we shout at him and he understands," his son Adrian Choules, 76, told AFP from Perth in Western Australia on Wednesday.

"And he still knows who we are. I don't think he suffers from dementia any more than you and I do. He's just biding his time."

In previous interviews Claude Choules has credited cod-liver oil, a healthy diet low on alcohol as well as regular exercise and laughter for his longevity, joking that the real secret to a long life is to "just keep breathing".

Choules lied about his age to join Britain's Royal Navy in World War I -- later witnessing the 1919 scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow -- and was an officer in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II.

According to official listings by the Australian and British armed forces, he became the Great War's last surviving combatant after Buckles' death at 110 on Sunday.

British veterans Henry Allingham and Harry Patch, aged 110 and 113 respectively, both died in 2009. The last combatant from the opposing side, Franz Kuenstler of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire, died aged 107 in 2008.

"He's a celebrity now, he's a celebrity because everybody else has died," Adrian Choules said of his father. "He is a celebrity because of his war experience and he hated war."

The only other surviving WWI veteran is believed to be Britain's Florence Green, who served with the Women's Royal Air Force in a non-combat role in England. She is now 110, according to the RAF.

Choules said his father, who was born in Wyre Piddle in central England on March 3, 1901, had been taught to think "that the Germans... were monsters, terrible people" after joining the navy.

But he soon realised that "they were exactly the same as any young people".

"And he hated war. War for him was a way of making a living, that was his job," Adrian Choules said.

Choules moved to Australia in 1926 and served in the Royal Australian Navy in WWII, becoming chief demolition officer for Australia's vast western coastline, which was then considered vulnerable to attack from the Japanese.

Adrian Choules said when his father talked about his life he rarely mentioned his war experiences, adding that the only military marches he participated in were when he was a serviceman.

"He wasn't interested in war, war to him was a terrible thing," he said.

Choules said his father was not in any pain, but had watched his friends pass away and no longer gave interviews to the media. The Choules family has been offered a navy funeral for the veteran when the time comes.

"If someone said to me do you want to live to be 110 I would say, 'No thank you very much'," Adrian Choules said.

Claude's daughter Anne Pow said there will still be some birthday treats in store for the centenarian, who didn't own a car until he was 50 because he preferred to travel by bicycle.

"He still likes his mango juice and soft caramel-like chocolates," she told Perth's Sunday Times.

God Bless him.  I can't begin to imagine living to 110.  Much less living that long and having fought two wars.

I am trying to attend the ceremony for Mr. Buckles.  If anyone is still following the press about him, get ready to vomit due to John Boehner. If anyone is to lie in state, it is Frank Buckles.  Read this:

WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner is blocking an effort by West Virginia lawmakers and others to allow the body of World War I veteran Frank Buckles to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

Buckles died Sunday at the age of 110. He had been the last surviving American veteran of that war.

Members of both parties of West Virginia's congressional delegation had been working on a resolution the House and Senate would have to pass to permit the honor, which is seldom bestowed.

But Mike Steel, spokesman for Boehner, said the Ohio Republican feels it would be more appropriate for Buckles to be honored with a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery in nearby Arlington, Va.

Steel said at Arlington, Buckles will be "surrounded by honored veterans from every American war."

Oh for cryin out loud!  Pete's sake!  Good Gravy!  Whatever else you can think of.

Common sense in Congress is hard to come by, but this should be easy.  :forfucksake     :sad