The Soldiers Long Goodbye

Frank W. Buckles was a 16-year-old Missouri farm boy when he joined the Army in July 1917 as one of more than 4.7 million Americans enlisted during what was known then as the Great War. Today, the 104-year-old Mr. Buckles, a retired West Virginia cattle farmer, is among at least 50 American World War I veterans still living, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Those few dozen are among the nearly 25 million surviving U.S. veterans, which includes about 18.4 million war veterans. The rest served during peacetime.

As one of the oldest surviving veterans, Mr. Buckles may attend ceremonies today marking Memorial Day. He recalls one such commemoration that took place six years ago when French President Jacques Chirac presented him and three other World War I veterans with the French Legion of Honor. "The French Embassy even sent a stretch limo to my farm to pick me up. That was a surprise," says Mr. Buckles, who was interviewed for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress five years ago.