Mat McLachlan Posted 8 October , 2004 Share Posted 8 October , 2004 Apologies if this has been covered in an earlier thread... We hear alot about surviving British veterans of the Great War, but never much about their German foes. Does anyone have information about how many German veterans are still alive and, most interestingly, which battles they fought in during the war? Cheers, Mat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AmericanDoughboy Posted 8 October , 2004 Share Posted 8 October , 2004 Mat, I am not sure, however, I do know that it is very few...I believe. -Doughboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat McLachlan Posted 8 October , 2004 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2004 While we are on the subject Doughboy, do you know how many Americans are left? Now that I think about it, I'm waiting for some bright spark who is a member of this forum to post the definitive list of numbers of vets from ALL nations who are still alive. Now there's a challenge... Mat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Petty Posted 8 October , 2004 Share Posted 8 October , 2004 As of January of this year there are less than 44 American veterans -- this number is probably further reduced. The US census stopped tracking WW1 veterans with the 1990 census. Last November the last combat wounded veteran of the AEF died. He was a member of the 77th Division AEF and was gassed during the Muse-Argonne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RC Sigs Posted 8 October , 2004 Share Posted 8 October , 2004 There are less than 10 Canadians. We always get the latest count on Nov 11 each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat McLachlan Posted 8 October , 2004 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2004 RC, Thanks for the update. Won't be long before there's none left. Mat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RC Sigs Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 Heard on the tv today. Numbers of remaining WWI vets. 8 Canadian and 20 UK. Didn't mention other countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essexboy68 Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 Hi, always interested to hear about the remaining veterans, remember that last year, most UK dailies published lists & photos of the British veterans, which was about 28 at the time............. The Daily Telegraph had an article earlier this year about a survivor from the Kaier's army who had served on the Russian Front. He was an Alsation, & as a result had kept quiet for many years about his military experience. The article said he read the papers & helped to prepare the family meal each day, so appears to be pretty compus mentus. Unfortunately, they did not say how many German veterans were left........ Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 No one actually knows how many German veterans are left. There are simply no records as most disappeared during WW2. However, it is known that the last who was wounded in action is a 107 year old who lives in Colmar, France. His story is bizarre and a microcosm of the tragedies that have taken place around here. He was German when he was born in the Alsace and so found himself in the German army. He fought and was wounded. In WW2 he was called up again - into the French army this time, but he never saw action. His son was called up once the Alsace was German again and died in Normandy in 1944. As I have said on other boards, this sort of thing was very common in this region. Borders have changed continually for centuries. I have even come across one man (and he must be one of thousands) who lived his entire life in the house he was born in and changed nationality five times! I leave you to work out the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckman Posted 15 November , 2004 Share Posted 15 November , 2004 As of January of this year there are less than 44 American veterans -- this number is probably further reduced. The US census stopped tracking WW1 veterans with the 1990 census Interesting Vincent, I was looking ino this a year or two ago. Had tracked down the whereabouts of a number of veterans, but most of the Govt sites I checked said that no authoratative list could be drawn up, due to poor records keeping at the time, and, no doubt, the Great Fire of St Louis in the seventies. Just curious as to where you came by this number. cheers Duckman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now