We here at IllustrateMyLife.com want to pay tribute to and commemorate Mr. Frank Buckles, our country's last surviving veteran of World War I. Mr Buckles passed away in his sleep on Sunday February 27th at the age of 110. Mr. Buckles was one of only three known remaining World War I veterans still alive out of the more than 65 million world wide that served. Mr. Buckles lied about his age and enlisted in the Army at 15 years old. He had previously been turned away by the Marines and the Navy. After World War I Mr. Buckles went to work in the shipping business, which took him to South America as well as Asia. Ironically he was in Manila in 1941 and got caught up in the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. He subsequently spent 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war. A lifelong Physical Fitness enthusiast, Mr. Buckles did 50 pushups every morning and kept a set of 3 and 4 pound dumbbells near his chair. Another passion later in life was the creation of a National World War I Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C. He urged a Senate Committee in 2009 to refurbish an existing World War I memorial to Washington, D.C. troops and rededicate it as a national tribute. We at IllustrateMyLife.com applaud his efforts on behalf of all World War I veterans and we pledge our support to make this memorial a reality. Our country owes Mr. Buckles and all World War I veterans a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid.
It is hard to believe it has been two decades since Operation Desert Storm and Scott and I are extremely excited about attending the coming reunion in Texas.
We wanted to make sure that all Storm vets knew about this so you can view the invitation video and website from President Bush below:
http://bush.tamu.edu/scowcroft/
Hope to see you there!
Today as we remember the 69th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a day that forever changed America, let us remember and commemorate those some 2,408 men and women who perished on that fateful day. Our Military Forces lost 188 aircraft as well as 4 battleships which were sunk. They included The USS Arizona BB-39, The USS California BB-44,The USS Oklahoma BB-37, and The USS West Virgina BB-48. Let us also pay tribute and commemorate those who survived that vicious and unprovoked attack. At the time of the attack there were approximately some 60,000 military personnel on the island of Oahu. Out of those 60,000 there are only some 3,000 still alive who will remember and commemorate this 69th Anniversary.
I was lucky enough to befriend a Pearl Harbor Survivor way back in December of 1993. His name is Franky Frucci and I would like to dedicate this blog to him, wherever he is. Franky was stationed at Hickam Air Field on the morning of December 7th 1941 and had no idea that he would become part of that "day of infamy" as President Roosevelt called it. I feel very blessed to have heard Franky's story first hand and to imagine what that day was like, while listening to his story. As a token of our friendship as well as my awe of Franky and his experiences, he gave me an autographed Pearl Harbor Survivor License Plate that is shown in the picture. It's a momento that I will always cherish and hold dear. Tomorrow we owe it to Franky and those roughly 3,000 other survivors to remember them and their sacrifices, as well as those who lost their lives on that December morning 69 years ago today...
The pictures below were taken with the old Brownie camera below as well...
This is a license plate given to Scott as a token of our friendship from Franky Frucci:
This Veterans Day was probably my (John's) most busy ever. Scott and I were able to be heard all across the country on radio shows and it was great.
I think some of the most special and meaningful events are the convocations put on by kids in schools. My niece and nephew participated in such an event at their school, New Britton Elementary in Fishers, IN. I always appreciate the excitement and patriotism of the kids. I wanted to upload a few pictures...
Above picture of the ceremony honoring CMH Recipient Charles George.
Self Explanatory picture above is the group of Korean War Veterans Association Members from Charlotte NC Chapter 265 at the ceremony to honor Medal of Honor Recipient Charles George at The Yellow Hill Veterans Cemetery Cherokee, NC - 10/9/10
Above, Scott Stump poses with one of very few living Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients - Date of Picture Oct 8th Location Cherokee, NC.
