100

Written by Jenifer Chrisman on March 30, 2017.

“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

– General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

April 6, 2017 marks the 100th anniversary commemorating America’s formal entrance into World War I. With approximately sixty-five million troops deployed between Allied forces and Central Powers from over forty countries and more than eight million deaths and twenty-one million casualties, the toll the war took across the globe was devastating. U.S. losses, compared to many of the other countries who joined battle, were surprisingly low.

President Woodrow Wilson requested a declaration of war against Germany before a joint session of Congress on April 2, 1917. Two days later the joint session (U.S. Senate: 82 to 6; U.S. House of Representatives: 373 to 50) voted in support of the measure.

This decision broke America’s neutrality. Although there were numerous reasons for President Woodrow Wilson’s push to declare war, two factors played key roles:

Sussex Pledge (May 4, 1916)

Wilson’s primary reason was the breaking of Germany’s pledge, which was to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare. In effect, this served to protect unarmed passenger ships and to allow merchant vessel enemy crews to abandon ship prior to attack. The note of rescindment was presented to Robert Lansing, U.S. Secretary of State, by Count Johann von Bernstorff, German Ambassador to the United States, on January 31, 1917, effective the following day.

Zimmerman Telegram (published March 1, 1917)

Secondary was Germany’s attempt to coax Mexico into an alliance and declare war on the United States. The Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted in January of 1917 and deciphered by British Intelligence. Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, instructed Count Johann von Bernstorff, German Ambassador to the United States, to offer substantial financial aid against the United States if Mexico became a German ally. Wilson became aware of the contents of the telegram on February 26, 1917, and proposed the U.S. start arming its ships. On March 1, 1917, the Zimmerman Telegram made newspaper headlines across America, effectively turning the tide of public opinion against Germany.

In 2011, just over five years shy of America’s one 100 year anniversary of its initial involvement, Corporal Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last living U.S. World War I veteran died at the age of 110. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Buckles was one of over four million U.S. military deployed from 1917 to the end of the war on November 11, 1918. His story, unlike so many of his comrades, will live on through the ages.

LAST WORLD WAR I VETERANS

Date of Death	Name	Age	Country
September 14, 1993	Danilo Dajković	98	Montenegro ^[1]
November 6, 1995	Matsuda Chiaki	99	Japan ^[1]
April 11, 1999	Wallace Pike	99	Newfoundland ^[1]
March 30, 2000	Norman Kark	102	South Africa ^[1]
September 9, 2000	Senekerim Arakelian	98	Armenia ^[1]
January 12, 2002	Robert Francis Ruttledge	103	Indian Empire ^[1]
March 5, 2002	Zhu Guisheng	106	China ^[1]
February 13, 2003	Bright Williams	105	New Zealand ^[1]
May 5, 2003	José Ladeira	107	Portugal ^[1]
August 9, 2003	Alois Vocásek	107	Czechoslovakian Legions ^[1]
October 9, 2003	Yod Sangrungruang	106	Siam ^[1]
June 22, 2004	Aleksa Radovanović	103	Serbia ^[1]
September 16, 2004	Cyriel Barbary	105	Belgium ^[1]
March 4, 2006	August Bischof	105	Austrian Empire ^[2]
January 9, 2007	Gheorghe Pănculescu	103	Romania ^[1]
January 1, 2008	Erich Kästner	107	German Empire ^[2]
January 12, 2008	Stanisław Wycech	105	Polish forces ^[2]
April 2, 2008	Yakup Satar	110	Ottoman Empire ^[2]
May 27, 2008	Franz Künstler	107	Hungarian Kingdom ^[2]
October 26, 2008	Delfino Borroni	110	Italy ^[1]
November 20, 2008	Pierre Picault	109	France ^[1]
December 26, 2008	Mikhail Krichevsky	111	Russian Empire ^[1]
May 13, 2009	Waldemar Levy Cardoso	108	Brazil ^[1]
June 3, 2009	John Campbell Ross	110	Australia ^[1]
February 18, 2010	John Babcock	109	Canada ^[1]
February 27, 2011	Frank Buckles	110	United States ^[1]
February 4, 2012	Florence Green	110	United Kingdom ^[1]

^[1]Allies ^[2]Central Powers

MacArthur’s quote about soldiers just fading away holds a profound truth. Their stories, unless recorded, slowly vanish as the years pass and those who knew them also succumb to time. Soon, all that remains are their names and dates of birth and death, with possibly a notation of their years of service and rank. Their stories become part of a distant past that eventually becomes forgotten.

This loss of human element turns the history of a war into a dry recitation of facts and figures. These fundamental components of human emotions, thoughts, strengths and weaknesses are key to future generations understanding, not only of the conflict, but how the conflict shaped who we are today. It is the people who fought and sacrificed, the friends and families who loved them and the peoples of nations that stood behind them that make history come alive and are the true measure of a war’s successes and failures.

Like Buckles, not all their stories have been lost. Among the most famous was the conscientious objector, Sergeant Alvin C. York. One of the most highly decorated heroes of World War I, York’s heroics where honored with multiple awards and honors, countless stories, a biography and a movie.

But for every story that remains, far more have irretrievably vanished. In the words of Gary Shteyngart, “The fading light is us, and we are, for a moment so brief (…) beautiful.” Do not let this become their truth.

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