And the Young People ask, “What are they marching for?”

Posted by Kieran Healy

The five surviving British veterans of the first world war.

posted on Saturday, November 10th, 2007 at 3:52 am
comments

  1. Minnesota Public Radio re-broadcast this show, from 2006, today. Powerful stuff. I didn’t fact-check it, but according to the Amazon comments, there are only three of the ten U.S. veterans interviewed for that show still living (as of August 2007).

    It’s pretty astonishing that any are still around.

    Posted by joel turnipseed · November 10th, 2007 at 5:40 am

  2. … couldn’t let it rest: Of the 14 total surviving U.S. veterans of WWI when the documentary was made, there are now 4 who remain alive.

    Plus: You can listen to the documentary at the MPR web site.

    Posted by joel turnipseed · November 10th, 2007 at 5:48 am

  3. Pretty fascinating, I agree that it’s amazing there are several who are still alive, in both cases.

    Posted by Eszter · November 10th, 2007 at 12:43 pm

  4. 2 out of 5 were apprentice plumbers??

    there were many more plumbers in edwardian england than we think?

    being a plumber’s apprentice confers astounding anti-aging properties?

    wtf?

    Posted by kid bitzer · November 11th, 2007 at 1:08 am

  5. I would have saved that title for April 25th rather than November 11th. But remarkable stories, yes.

    Posted by loren · November 11th, 2007 at 3:23 am

  6. 4: apparently two out of five of them are also the last living veteran of Jutland. Better editing needed, I think.

    Posted by ajay · November 12th, 2007 at 10:53 am

  7. 4 who remain alive

    The NY Times has a piece today on the only one of those 4 who saw combat.

    Posted by The Modesto Kid · November 12th, 2007 at 9:23 pm