Last German WWI Veteran dies

[XXi]

Today, I`ve found rather sad information: Dr Erich Kaestner, the last German WWI veteran has passed away.

Recently on another forum I`ve found a discussion cocnerning the sad truth that the band of WWII Veterans is shriking rapidly. However sad it is, in the very meantime last veterans of another great conflict that somehow initiated XX century pass away in relative obscurity. Out of millions of soldiers of the Great War, until today only mere two dozens are still alive. Like Harry patch, the last Tommy who fought in the trenches...

RiP

[horsa]

Yes. They are an elite and very special band. Thanks for the heads up. It prompted me to go looking for survivors from all countries

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

[August]

My Great Grandfather was a soldier in the Kaisers army and at 28 years old gave his life for his country exactly 90 years ago on October 3rd of this year (survived 4 years of hellish war only to get killed a little over a month before the end). Wish i could have met him...

[CCIP]

That's a really sad and sobering piece of news. Veterans like this have always had a special meaning for me. Things like this should really be commemorated more openly. I hope this is a fact that won't be lost on people this coming Nov 11th.

Of course after such a long life, it's hard to say that it wasn't his time. A well-deserved peace, I should hope, after what he has been through!

[Letum]

I knew my great grandfather at 102 years of age. A vetran from both wars.

[Tchocky]

A possible distant relative of mine, serving in the RNVR went down on the SS Normandy, torpedoed in January 1918.
Simply put, our names are identical, and his parents lived a few miles from where my paternal grandfather was born. My surname is rather unusual in this part of the country, so it looks likely that we're related.
SS Normandy, 618grt, defensively-armed, 25 January 1918, 8 miles E by N from Cape La Hague, torpedoed without warning and sunk by submarine, 14 lives lost

The submarine involved was the U-90, that later sank the President Lincoln

[XXi]

Personally, I do not know much about my ancestors` service during WWI, except few things. First, one of my Greatgrandfathers served in the German Army in the Western Front but all I know is the fact he survived. The other one was in the Russian Army in the same time and after the bolshevik revolution he escaped from Russia with all his family through Ukraine to reach Poland. My uncle`s Grandfather in the same time fought against the Red Army as Lieutenant of the White Army, served under baron Wrangl and has been evacuated from the Crimea by ship shortly before collapse of the White Army there.

CCIP --> indeed, this is a sad news. The fact how fast their numbers are falling is no better - only one year ago, there were a dozen of German WWI Veterans alone. And now...

On the other hand though, there`s something positive in fact they have been with us for such long time, concerning the fact the Great War has ended nearly 90 years ago.

[Wave Skipper]

What was Dr Erich Kaestner's record in that war? Was he a front soldier or officer? Just wondering.

[baggygreen]

My fear is that once these old fellas are gone... what they did will be forgotten. sure, not in 5, or even 10 years. but in 20 or 30 years....

[Stealth Hunter]

I think all veterans feel that way. I know I do sometimes.

I hope that the future of Iran shall not forget her veterans. Sometimes, I think this younger generation doesn't care about the past, they just care about themselves and the present. It's not that way with everyone, mind you, but it still saddens me to think that most teens in America have never heard of Iwo Jima, the Battle of the Atlantic, or the Invasion of Italy for that matter.

What's wrong with our world today? So much killing, so much destruction. Have human beings not learned one goddamn thing from history a thousand times since? Too much of this crap going on today, and not enough action against it. Just mindless and senseless chaos.

[horsa]

My fear is that once these old fellas are gone... what they did will be forgotten. sure, not in 5, or even 10 years. but in 20 or 30 years....

I can only speak for the UK, but there is a growing resurgence of interest in this era. With the centenary of the outbreak of WW1 only 6 years off I can see it only getting bigger. The Western Front battlefields of France and Belgium are becoming a huge industry.

As to maybe 50/100 years down the track maybe it will go the way of all conflicts .... how many people see the relevance of the Napoleonic Wars ?
:hmm:

[CCIP]

What was Dr Erich Kaestner's record in that war? Was he a front soldier or officer? Just wondering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_K%C3%A4stner_%28World_War_I_veteran%29

By the description it certainly appears that he fought - and in both wars at that!