# "Last" World War I veteran dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080 "2012-02-07T16:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/1 "2012-02-07T16:13:37Z")
It is dangerous to call someone “the last living” whatever, as you will invariably be proved wrong. So I will only say that **Florence Green** , who died on Feb. 4, aged 110, is reported to have been the last living World War I veteran. Green joined the Women’s Royal Air Force in September 1918, at the age of 17, and, according to her local Norfolk paper, she had as good a time as my own mother did in Miami during the Second World War: “I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates,” she said. “I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. It was a lovely experience and I’m very proud.” When asked how it felt being 110, she deadpanned, “Not much different to being 109.” ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/2 "2012-02-07T16:18:27Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > When asked how it felt being 110, she deadpanned, “Not much different to being 109.” With one notable exception. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/3 "2012-02-07T19:35:08Z")
[Link.](http://news.yahoo.com/last-known-wwi-veteran-florence-green-dies-110-170627015.html) Florence Green was the last known veteran of World War I, having served in the Women’s Royal Air Force as a waitress. She was two weeks shy of her 111th birthday. I often hear of the Korean War referred to as the Forgotten War. Even though it was sandwiched in between World War II and the Vietnam War, both cataclysmic events in American history, I believe that the War to End All Wars is indeed the conflict that is least understood, yet bears a considerable mark on the development of our country to what it is today – for the better, in my opinion, but perhaps also for the worse. But the ascent of the United States to the world stage is perhaps an academic event at this point in time. I can’t think of a World War I film that anyone but a movie buff would have seen (with the notable exception of the recent War Horse), and literature about the war is probably mostly read in high school lit classes. I was fortunate enough to have met Frank Buckles, the last surviving American World War I veteran, on a handful of occasions. He died 11 months ago. The times that I met him, I always reflected on how strange it was that I was talking with someone who fought a war while my late grandparents were in diapers. On my frequent trips to Europe, and particularly the UK, it is fascinating that World War I still leaves an imprint on society. Visit London in November and you can see so many people who have paid a quid to wear a paper poppy on their lapel. It is a remarkable statement on the power of history. Thank you, Mrs. Green, for your service to your country. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/4 "2012-02-07T19:46:06Z")
Previous, totally ignored by almost everyone, thread: ["Last" World War I veteran dies - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=641244) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/5 "2012-02-07T20:34:30Z")
I’ve merged **Eve** ’s and **Ravenman** ’s threads. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/6 "2012-02-07T20:35:41Z")
I met a World War I veteran (as I’ve mentioned on these boards before) in 1986; even then it was astonishing to me. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/7 "2012-02-07T20:44:26Z")
My grandfather was in the army in WW1. He spent the entire on a base in the south as a supply clerk. He told my mom that he was very grateful that he was never sent overseas to fight. RIP Ms.Green, you earned it. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/8 "2012-02-07T22:29:25Z")
In 1975 I met my husband’s grandfather, a WWI vet, end it amazed me. He did speak some about the war, about being in France. But the stories were all between the battles stuff, mostly humorous incidents. He wouldn’t talk about fighting, except just one statement to say he’d seen his best friend from home shot. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/9 "2012-02-07T22:35:46Z")
There are dozens of movies about the Vietnam War and WWII but shamefully few on the Korean War and WWI. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a WWI movie. All war is horrible and cruel but WWI seems especially so. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/10 "2012-02-07T22:39:10Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > When asked how it felt being 110, she deadpanned, “Not much different to being 109.” I think Eubie Blake said it best, “If I’d have known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” Or when George Burns was asked why he dated younger girls, said, “Girls my age are dead.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/11 "2012-02-07T23:24:05Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a WWI movie. I recommend _The Big Parade_ (1925), filmed just a few years after the war ended, and \*quite \*good. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/12 "2012-02-07T23:24:54Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > … I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a WWI movie. > > … Quickly rent: _All Quiet On The Western Front Sgt. York Paths Of Glory_ That will get you started. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/13 "2012-02-08T00:28:48Z")
I remember seeing an interview with a British (I think) WWI veteran a maybe 10 years ago. He was over a hundred years old, anyway. It went something like this: Interviewer: “Did you have nightmares after the war?” Veteran: “Yes, yes, of course.” Interviewer: “When did you last have a nightmare?” Veteran: “Last night.” War is indeed hell, and the Great War was perhaps the most hellish. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/14 "2012-02-08T00:33:13Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Quickly rent: > > _All Quiet On The Western Front > Sgt. York > Paths Of Glory_ > > That will get you started. _Legends of the Fall,_ IIRC, takes place (in part) during WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/15 "2012-02-08T00:35:22Z")
The middle act of _The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp_ also takes place during WWI, although it’s there largely to make a point about WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/16 "2012-02-08T01:00:35Z")
Ok, any realistic WW1 movies filmed in the last 50 years? A WWI version of Saving Private Ryan? ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/17 "2012-02-08T01:08:35Z")
[The Lost Battalion](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287535/) is the only purely WWI movie I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/18 "2012-02-08T01:13:51Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Ok, any realistic WW1 movies filmed in the last 50 years? A WWI version of Saving Private Ryan? Speilberg’s recent _[War Horse](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/)_. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/19 "2012-02-08T01:16:14Z")
Realistic? Well, the gas attack sequence in _Fraulein Doktor_ was pretty good. \*A Very LongEngagement \* was more surrealistic, but then war defies realistic understanding, so that worked out just fine. British “poor bloody infantry” melodramas are standard fare, but among them _King And Country_, and _The Trench_ with Daniel Craig, stand out. There’s a half-hour short of Hemmingway’s _Soldier’s Home,_ with, IIRC, Nancy Marchand, that has more realism than _Sergeant York_ or _What Price Glory_. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080/20 "2012-02-08T01:18:34Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Ok, any realistic WW1 movies filmed in the last 50 years? A WWI version of Saving Private Ryan? Gallipoli Lawrence of Arabia The Blue Max The Lighthorsemen [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-world-war-i-veteran-dies/612080.md?page=2)