# Still-living WWII generals and admirals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586 "2005-02-05T23:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/1 "2005-02-05T23:41:07Z")
Are any generals or admirals from WWII still alive? I’m talking about those who held the rank during the war. If not, who were the last ones? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/2 "2005-02-05T23:44:14Z")
World War II ended 60 years ago. So you’d be looking at someone who reached that rank in his 30s and has lived a good life. Or got there in his 40s and has cracked the century barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/3 "2005-02-06T00:12:35Z")
[Frank Steer](http://www.defense.gov/news/Jan2003/n01162003_200301165.html) is the oldest living West Point graduate (or at least he was in 2003). He has served in both world wars and retired as a colonel, then was given an honorary promotion to provost marshal general on the occasion of his 102nd birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/4 "2005-02-06T00:17:07Z")
[This guy](http://www.historynet.com/wwii/bladolfgalland/) was the youngest general of WWII, but died ten yers ago. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/5 "2005-02-06T00:28:04Z")
During the celebrations of the 50th or 55th anniversary of the end of WWII (or of the D-DAy, can’t remember, either) I noticed that an article mentionned the presence of the last surviving WWII general, who was Polish. I don’t remember his name, of course, and maybe (problably) he since died. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/6 "2005-02-06T01:15:14Z")
In the German army in WWII the rank of General Field Marshal was the highest military rank. The rank was, in effect, abolished after the fall of the Third Reich. There were 27 Field Marshal’s in the German Army in WWII. The last WWII German Feild Marshal died in 1973 and had a decent amount of prestige and pomp as a pretty much totally [rehabed.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_Manstein) man. There were only 2 Lord Admirals in WWII ; Hitler’s sucessor Donitz being the longest surviving - he died in 1980 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/7 "2005-02-06T01:29:14Z")
How about bird captains/colonels? (I know the USAAF had some absurdly young colonels.) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-living-wwii-generals-and-admirals/288586/8 "2005-02-06T04:12:23Z")
Jimmy Doolittle was a lietenant general during the war, and he lived until 1995, aged 97.