As most everyone should know by know, our last World War I veteran passed away earlier this week.
Frank Buckles
No, Frank Buckles didn’t cross the no-man’s land, fighting from trench to trench. He wasn’t one of the famous flyboys. He wasn’t an officer. He wasn’t even wounded. BUT, he was there, and he was the last American veteran of that war. Not to mention, in his service as a volunteer, he made a sacrifice that many in Congress can’t even relate to.
Yet, some in Congress don’t think that’s significant enough to permit his remains to lay “in honor” under the Capitol Rotunda.
Why?
Why do you think they resist this honor?
Crocodile tears? Hey, Boehner... this is something worth crying about... it's a crying shame that you refuse not only to honor Buckles appropriately, but you refuse a chance for the American people, to pause and reflect on his passing... the symbolism in Buckles, as the last representative of all the veterans of the First World War. It's the end of an era, and an end worth marking, by allowing him to lay in honor under the Capitol Rotunda.
What is to be gained on the political battleground for this resistance? Is this even something appropriate to politicize? Of course, it’s not. So, what’s the message in this refusal?
So what if Frank Buckles wasn’t a Sergeant York. Buckles represents the end of an era. Being allowed to lay in honor in the Capitol is not just an honor to Mr. Buckles, it’s the last chance for us, the living, through him, to honor all those who passed before him. Buckles gives us a moment to pause, and remember something that, I think, has been too easily forgotten… the World War I veteran(*) and his/her (yes, American women were over there as well) sacrifices.
When I visited the National World War I Museum this past summer, I saw Buckles photos in several places there, and thought to myself, “Wow, how amazing it is that we still have a living connection in our last surviving veteran.” But, he’s gone now, and with that, we no longer have a living voice, an active memory, of a single American who was in that war. Granted, it was going to happen eventually, but how sad that is that the last is gone, and we can’t see justice done in his passing.
So, as representatives of the American people, are those who resist in Congress not failing US, once again. We want to see OUR OWN honored, and done so the right way. Since some want to turn this into something political… at least it appears so… it should be our decision, not yours.
*An example of how forgotten the WWI veteran really is… the Meusse-Argonne Cemetery is overshadowed in significance by, for example, the Normandy American Cemetery. I can’t seem to find the story, but I recall reading how an American was visiting the Meusse-Argonne Cemetery on Memorial Day, and yet, there were no efforts by the U.S. to mark the day there, as compared to the efforts, at the same time, at Normandy. Officials there (French, I believe) asked the American visitor if he would be so kind as to participate in a ceremony. Sad.
Jim Rosebrock
March 5, 2011
I have emailed Speaker Boehner’s office respectfully asking for an explanation for his action. I have not received a reply. I completely agree with you.
Robert Moore
March 5, 2011
Thanks, I have emailed as well. I have to say, I have little confidence they will move on this.
Joe Bartolini
March 5, 2011
I have been an daily reader of this CW blog for the past couple years. Just wanted to say that I totally agree with you post about Mr. Buckles. Once more I am ashame of our elected representatives.
Robert Moore
March 5, 2011
Thanks for following… and I know exactly how you feel.
Jeffry Burden
March 5, 2011
Great post. If you can find the story about the American asked to participate in the ceremony, let us know. I’ll look for it too.
Robert Moore
March 5, 2011
Thanks, Jeffry. For some reason, I think it was about a UVA professor who was over there visiting. It’s either him (he specializes in WW1 era history, actually) or someone he was writing about.
Robert Moore
March 5, 2011
Come to think of it, I wonder if this demands that we consider the future. Shall we, in 30 years or so, minimize the passing of our last WW2 veteran in the same way?
Craig Swain
March 6, 2011
First off, I generally wait to see a stated policy stance in these matters. There may well be a policy/protocol issue that is in play here. I know of a few similar cases where the decision makers hands were tied by bureaucracy.
Another point of perspective to consider here – how was the last surviving Civil War veteran honored? Last Spanish-American War veteran? Not to diminish Mr. Buckles service, but is the observance of his passing on par with those other somber passings? I tend to think the nation made a big deal over the last Union ACW veteran who passed.
In your comments, Robert, you raise an interesting question – twenty or thirty years from now how will we reflect on WWII veterans as the last passes from this earth? And five years or so after that, what of the Korean War veterans? And continuing on decades later for Vietnam War veterans….
My point is not to walk down the list of American wars, but to point out a trend. As a society, we are walking back from discussing and remembering the wars in our past. More than one observer has noted the current ACW sequi has accomplished the near impossible – bringing out public discussion of a war without discussing the military aspects of the war! (Put that last bit in “hyperbole”, “sarcasm”, and “gross exaggeration” tags.)
Robert Moore
March 6, 2011
For some reason, that WW2 thing seems to really stick in my head. In a generation in which THAT generation has been declared “the greatest generation”, I seem to think this might be pivotal in how this generation may have been responsible in setting a new trend, perhaps. Despite what has or has not been done in the past, for veterans of previous wars, I think, in some ways, that the new die has been cast. The last WW1 veteran has died, and I think we need to ask ourselves “is this something we will be tolerant of, when the last WW2 vet dies?” If our tolerance, and our memory of what has been done, in this generation, for WW2 vets (think not only the “greatest generation”, but also the National WW2 monument) fades in 30 years, then, no, the situation today with Buckles will mean nothing. It will be a non-issue in our memories.
However, I think this thing with Buckles is more than just that. Maybe it strikes more of a nerve with me, but the whole WW1 thing has been eclipsed by our national collective memory of WW2, and dismissing Buckles’ “lay in honor” situation, just makes our memory of WW1 appear even worse. To me, it seems that we have been taught more about the politics and international affairs, in relation to WW1, than the sacrifice and story of the soldier in that war. Yes, the story of the soldier appears to be taking second place in the CW Sesqui, but, I think, for better or worse, we have at least some idea, in the general national consciousness, some ability to connect with the life of the soldier. Regarding WW1, it’s almost as if any real understanding and knowledge of the war has been smudged from history.
Susan Evelyn McDowell Cole
March 7, 2011
I don’t think the government wants us to remember. I wrote my graduate thesis on National Health Care and I included the way Adolph Hitler used the sickness funds to build the concentration camps in Germany. So many people died so tragically so that medical experiments with a military agenda could be done. 500,00 American soldiers died during WW2 and for each American soldier who perished 58 Russian soldiers perished because they were fighting a war on two fronts.
30-45 per cent of the current homeless population are US veterans. We can not forget what the military is capable of.
Mike Simons
March 7, 2011
It is just Shameful they will not Honor this last ww1 vet!
Jacob Dinkelaker
March 8, 2011
Is there reason for Buckles to lie in state other than the fact that he outlived every other WWI vet? I see his passing more as a question of relevancy. What does WWI mean to us now that all the veterans have passed?
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
Yes, there is a reason other than him being the last. It seems quite appropriate, and an opportunity to set precedence, to recognize the lasts of each of our major wars; not to celebrate war, but to recognize sacrifice, and pause, if only for a while, to attempt to understand why those sacrifices were made.
You bring up the “so what” factor in your post, on your blog. The “so what” has been established years ago, but generational forgetfulness has set in. For him to lay in honor, not only do we have a chance to publicly, nationally, to reflect on that end, but we have a learning opportunity. As historians, I would think we would embrace the opportunity, not for us to be talking heads, but to have a chance to give information… accurate information… for observers to consider, while they reflect.
As it stands now, the alternative location for a ceremony at the pavilion at Arlington… well, the whole thing is minimized. It will be little more than a 2 minute mention in the national news, obscured by everything else.
Jacob Dinkelaker
March 8, 2011
I think you pinpoint the idea that I am getting with your statement, “The “so what” has been established years ago, but generational forgetfulness has set in.” I want to know why WWI matters to me today – not why it mattered in the past. Are those two reasons the same?
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
No,and yes. The question as asked is up for interpretation, without clearly understanding the motivations behind the person asking the question. A person with no curiosity of the past, a person with a curiosity… or as a historian in search of a hook to capture both of the above?
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
That’s not necessarily a question directed at you, personally, but more an inquiry into who you have in mind when presenting the question.
Jacob Dinkelaker
March 8, 2011
I guess what I’m getting at is why does WWI matter to any average American today, regardless of their interest in history?
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
Ok, whether Buckles is placed in the Rotunda is dependant on the mass appeal (of what matters) to the US citizenry? I don’t get your point. What matters to one may not to another, so no matter what I list here, it would be nothing but an academic exercise. Ultimately, opinions will vary.
I think I’ve been clear, and without revisiting it all, in my eyes, the symbolism in Buckles is significant enough to warrant the honor.
Personally, I have no immediate connection to anyone in the war. In fact, I seem to recall one of my grandparents referring to it as “Mr. Wilson’s War”. So, in fact, it’s possible that I give more relevance to it than they would have.
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
I’ll take this from yet another angle. I’m a veteran. I’m aware of how the WW1 veteran has been forgotten, and even overshadowed. That bothers me.
Not exactly, but somewhat similar to my thoughts when it comes to Southern Unionists.
hls
March 8, 2011
I knew Mr. Frank when I was a young kid outta high school. I worked at the local NAPA store in Charles Town. He always brought in parts for his International trucks or tractors to be matched up with new ones. He always had a quiet sense of humor and didn’t pick on the new kid at the parts counter. He would just say something dry and funny and smile while looking straight into your eyes with his head down looking from under the brim of his hat. Wish I had known what an honor it was to have waited on him back then. I met history and didn’t know it. God Bless Mr. Frank Buckles.
Robert Moore
March 8, 2011
Thanks for the comment, and sharing your interaction with Mr. Buckles.
JM Rudy
March 14, 2011
Robert,
Thought you would appreciate the following Presidential proclamation:
Robert Moore
March 14, 2011
I’ve heard, but haven’t seen anything written, that designating this as “half-staff flag” has even bent some out of whack. Good to see that it matters to some.