At six feet tall, no one questioned his age. He was in fact, only 13 years old. SAN ANTONIO — On this Veteran's Day we are honoring the youngest living World War II veteran. Like many Americans, Bob Kelso signed up to fight in World War Two.
He joined the Army at age 15 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge at age 16. But he wasn't the youngest to serve. That honor belongs to Calvin Graham, who joined at age 12. And his story is one of the saddest you'll ever hear.
The people listed below are, or were, the last surviving members of notable groups of World War II veterans, as identified by reliable sources. About 70 million people fought in World War II between 1939 and 1945 and, as of 2022, there are still approximately 167,000 living veterans in the United States alone.
In 1942, Calvin Graham was an 11-year-old living in an abusive situation that forced him and his brother into a Texas boarding home. It was there that he hatched a daring escape plan: Join the U.S. Navy and fight Nazis.
The GI Generation and many of the Silent Generation gave birth to the Baby Boomers, who were born between 1945 and 1964. They were also called “War Babies,” because the men returning from WWII really missed their wives and sweethearts. The Boomer birth peak came in 1957 with 4.3 million live births.
The term "war child" is most commonly used for children born during World War II and its aftermath, particularly in relation to children born to fathers in German occupying forces in northern Europe.
Almost one million Australians served during the War. Remarkably, some 12,000 Second World War veterans are still with us today.
Public memory often centres on the scale of death and loss: nearly 20,000 British dead on the first day of the Battle of the Somme; 300,000 French and German dead at Verdun. Yet soldiers who served in the First World War did not all die; they also lived.
The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.
Like many Americans, Bob Kelso signed up to fight in World War Two. But - he was only 13 years old. He was sent into battle and wounded - one of the youngest Americans ever to receive the Purple Heart.
Navy Veteran Calvin Leon Graham became the youngest World War II soldier at the age of 12, and the youngest recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. During World War II, it was not unusual for American boys to lie about their age in order to enlist.
Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during World War II. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy from Houston, Texas on August 15, 1942, at the age of 12.
Hershel W. "Woody" Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, whose heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the Battle of Iwo Jima made him a legend in his native West Virginia, died Wednesday. He was 98.
Today, Vietnam Veterans range in age from 61 to 103 years old.
Today in 1916 Lt Henry Webber was killed at the Somme. At 67 he was the oldest soldier to lose his life during WW1. He had three sons who were in the British Army. All three of them outranked him, so he was thrilled that he had to salute them.
By far, artillery was the biggest killer in World War I, and provided the greatest source of war wounded.
A man with war in his blood, Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart was of Belgian heritage but fought for the British Empire during WW1. Throughout his stints at war, he was injured multiple times, and despite the severity of his wounds, survived. He became known as the 'man who could not be killed'.
Australia lost 34,000 service personnel during World War II. Total battle casualties were 72,814. Over 31,000 Australian became prisoners-of-war. Of these more than 22,000 were captured by the Japanese; by August 1945 over one third of them had died in the appalling conditions of the prisoner-of-war camps.
According to a study by family search website Ancestry and YouGov, 7800 remain. It found that half (48 per cent) of Australians are concerned about losing touch with their family's military history, while almost a quarter of Australians (23 per cent) don't feel that retaining the nation's military history is important.
Reuben Sinclair (born 5 December 1911) of Canada is the current oldest living veteran of World War II.
America and the world went through a transformative period in the 1960s and 1970s. Pells points out that many of the people causing the changes were actually members of the War Baby generation (born between 1939 and 1945). War babies were instrumental in changing culture, music, movies, and politics.
The word "warrior" is often used when describing members of our NICU community. From the parents to their babies and the medical teams that support them... its a strong word that means " a brave or experienced soldier or fighter."
an illegitimate child born in wartime of a parent in the armed forces.