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Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications
Division
State
Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: March 9, 2011
Sen. Jim Reynolds
Senate honors life of last WWI Vet
The Oklahoma State Senate paused to honor the life and service
of Frank Buckles, the sole surviving veteran of World War I. The
former Oklahoma resident passed away on February 27 at the age of
110. The full Senate gave its approval to Senate Concurrent Resolution
8, by Sen. Jim
Reynolds, on Wednesday.
“I think it is good for us to reflect on our past and the
things that made our nation great,” said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma
City. “World War I changed the world. The service of men like
Frank Buckles truly set America on a path to greatness.”
Although he was born in Missouri in 1901, in 1916 Buckles’
family moved to Dewey County in Oklahoma. The very next year, at
the age of sixteen, he tried to enlist in both the Marines and the
Navy, but was turned down by both. He finally was successful after
telling an army recruiter he was 21. He was sent to France where
he drove ambulances and military vehicles. In 2007, the Department
of Veterans Affairs identified Buckles as the last living link to
the two million men who served in the American Expeditionary Forces
in France in what was then hailed as the “war to end all wars.”
SCR 8 hails Buckles as an outstanding patriot and offers the condolences
of the Oklahoma State Legislature to the Buckles family.
For more information contact:
Sen. Reynolds: (405) 521-5522
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