Robert C. Byrd

Recognizing the Last Remaining Veteran

of the "Great War"

Veterans Day is the day we set aside to honor the men and women who have defended our country, our way of life, and our freedom. It is the day that allows us to thank our veterans for their patriotism and their willingness to serve our Nation. It is the day of the year that a grateful nation shows its gratitude to its bravest and finest citizens.

The origins of this day are both historic and symbolic. It began at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, that is, 11/11/11 of 1918, when the Allied Powers signed a cease-fire agreement with the Central Powers, thus bringing to an end the bloody international nightmare known as World War I, the "Great War" as it was called. The next year, the United States set aside November 11^th as Armistice Day to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I. In 1954, Congress made November 11 a day to honor veterans of all wars, and, therefore, changed the name of the day to "Veterans Day."

Of the 4.7 million Americans who served in World War I, only one is still living -- my good friend and our fellow West Virginian, Mr. Frank Woodruff Buckles of Charles Town, who has become a national treasure and a West Virginia legend.

Mr. Buckles was only 16 years of age when the United States entered the war. As a dough boy, Private Buckles drove dignitaries around England, and an ambulance around France. Mr. Buckles downplays his wartime experience explaining, "There was nothing dramatic about it. Sometimes I was driving in Winchester, England, sometimes France." But his experience was indeed important. It was his willingness as well as that of 4.7 million brave Americans to enter the military and to serve our country that won that war.

While Mr. Buckles was actually born in Missouri in 1901, he became a West Virginian by choice in 1954, when he and his wife settled on a farm in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, the same area where his ancestors had settled in 1732.

On November 11, 2009, Veterans Day, we need to remember Mr. Buckles, and all of our nation's veterans, as well as the men and women currently wearing our nation's uniforms. We must keep all of them in our hearts and prayers, and make sure that our country serves them well and honorably, just the way that they have served our country.

October 28, 2009