September 27, 2022: Calvin Leon Graham. 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
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. 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.
Momčilo Gavrić, in Serbian military from age eight; youngest soldier in World War I in any of the nations which fought in World War I. John Condon, from Waterford, Ireland: incorrectly believed to have been the youngest Allied soldier killed (age 14), but later found to have been age 18 at his death.
The BBC reported recently that at 14 years, 152 days, Reginald Earnshaw was the youngest known Commonwealth service member to have died in action during World War II.
Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during World War II and was one of the few known child soldiers to fight on behalf of the United States in the conflict.
The number of World War II veterans is quickly dwindling. Of those that grew up during the Great Depression and served during the war, the veterans are mostly between the ages of 96 and 102.
James (Jim) Martin was 14 years old when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He served as a private in World War I. Arriving at Gallipoli in early September 1915, he served in Wire Gully and Courtney's Post among other places.
The first world war left 360,000 children fatherless. Very few now survive, the youngest are in their 90s. These are the last of those who lost a father in the trenches of the western front, on the beaches of Gallipoli or in the deserts of the Middle East.
Soldier Boy (Russian: Солдатик, romanized: Soldatik) is a 2019 Russian-language film. It is based on the real-life story of the youngest soldier in World War II, Sergei Aleshkov, who was only 6 years old.
This provided all Australians with the opportunity to stand together to remember and thank an incredible generation of Australians for their service during the Second World War. Almost one million Australians served during the War. Remarkably, some 12,000 Second World War veterans are still with us today.
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.
The Draft and WWII
On September 16, 1940, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history.
Jean Thurel finally died in 1807, following a short illness. He was 108. After nine full decades as a soldier, he remained a private throughout, never dropping off the regiment's active duty list.
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. In Norway, there were also Lebensborn children.
War Child or Warchild may refer to: Child soldiers, children who are used in war, as soldiers or in combat support. Military brat, military slang for a child or teenager of a military family. Refugee, children who are refugees of war.
On 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima - bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old. "Soldier Boy" is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac.
James Charles Martin (3 January 1901 – 25 October 1915) was the youngest Australian known to have died in World War I. He was only 14 years and nine months old when he succumbed to typhoid during the Gallipoli campaign.
As far as the Australian War Memorial is concerned Captain Brian Pockley and Able Seaman William Williams, who were killed in September 1914, are the first Australians to have died in the Great War.
A few thousand D-Day veterans may be still alive; the youngest are in their late 90s. A few dozen are in Normandy for the 79th anniversary.
World War II Accounting
At the end of the war, there were approximately 79,000 Americans unaccounted for. This number included those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost at sea, and missing in action. Today, more than 73,000 of those lost Americans remain totally unaccounted for from WWII.
Only one former Australian WWI veteran now remains alive. Wireless operator John Campbell Ross, 106, of Bendigo in Victoria, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1918 but the war ended before he saw active service.