The Odd Couple Blocks Signal Honor For Last WWI Vet Frank Buckles.
“Today, we pause to pay proper respect to the heroes who have donned the uniform of our country and — along with their families — sacrficied so much so that we may enjoy the blessings of freedom,” the Ohio Republican said. JB, Nov. 11, 2010
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Senate Resolution honoring Frank Buckles, the last U.S. World War One veteran who died on Feb. 27, 2011
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I had the good fortune a short time ago, when we had a ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol, to meet Mr. Buckles and talk
to him. It is amazing he had such vitality at such an old age. I am happy this matter is completed.
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“Like everyone else, Sen. Reid honors Mr. Buckles for his service to our country, which is why last night the Senate passed a resolution honoring him,” said Reid’s spokesman, Jon Summers
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/04/national/main20039136.shtml
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Why do Boehner anad Reid not speak directly to the issue, surely their objections are explainable – for example, we all understand that not everyone ought to lay in honor in the Rotunda. Yet, Buckles is not just anyone, he represents a generation.
“war to end all wars.“
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http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/03/04/speaker-boehner-allow-frank-buckles-into-the-rotunda/
Precisely 4,734,991 Americans served in World War I. Frank Buckles was the last of them to die. He lied to get into the Army at age 16 so he could fight the Kaiser. He is the last of a generation of Americans who heard the calling for freedom in a way other did not and rose up to fight.
He is the last of those men and boys who fought under an American flag across an ocean in a land most had never been who did so not because we were attacked or brought into a war, as we were in World War II, but because they heard the call of freedom in the first great war.
He, as the last of the embodiment of the men and boys who heard that first call for freedom across the seas, deserves to lie in the Rotunda.
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http://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/news/ght-n-buckles-030511,0,1802820.story
http://pershingslastpatriot.com/frank/
www.frankbuckles.org
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I’m about to agree with a Tea Partier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judson_Phillips
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50576.html
Frank Buckles died Sunday on his farm in Charles Town, West Virginia, at the age of 110.
Unknown Soldier of World War I
November 9-11, 1921. Chosen to honor and perpetuate the memory of the heroes who gave their lives in World War I. The body was that of an unknown American who served as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Congress was in session, 67th Congress, 1st Session. No resolution.
March 4, 2011
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner:
I am writing to request that you schedule a vote on H.Con.Res. 20 as soon as the House reconvenes next week. H.Con. Res 20 will authorize the use of the rotunda of the Capitol to honor Frank W. Buckles, the longest surviving United States veteran of the First World War, who died at the age of 110.
World War I was the first war in history that was truly a global conflict. It involved soldiers from more than 30 countries across five continents. More than 70 million military personnel were mobilized, including 60 million Europeans. American soldiers sailed overseas to fight in aid of our beleaguered democratic allies including Great Britain, Canada, and France. At the high point of American involvement in 1917-1918, there were 600,000 American soldiers serving in Europe. More than 116,700 Americans gave their lives to secure freedom in Europe. There were 205,690 Americans who were wounded. World War I also became the vector for the world’s first global pandemic, a deadly flu that struck in 1917-18. Millions of Americans in the United States died.
The honor to lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol is not for an individual, but in recognition of extraordinary service to our country. As the last surviving veteran of WWI, Mr. Frank Buckles is the last representative of an extraordinary generation of Americans who answered the call to serve, defend and preserve democracy in the world. Approval of H.Con. Res 20 is the last opportunity that Congress has to honor the selfless sacrifice of the nearly five million individuals who served in the military for the United States during WWI from a population of 92 million.
Sincerely,
Roscoe G. Bartlett
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“Boehner is going against the will of the people,” DeJonge said, adding that various groups from across the country want to pay their respects to Buckles at the Capitol. He said everyone from motorcycle clubs to representatives of 2,000 war re-enactors already contacted him about participating in a ceremony to honor the nation’s last link to WWI, and Arlington National Cemetery won’t be able to handle such a huge crowd.
Buckles’ daughter, Susannah Buckles Flanagan, issued a statement Thursday through DeJonge, before Boehner’s position was announced.
Hoping that her father would be able to be honored at the Capitol, Flanagan said, “How beautiful it is that the United States of America would have the opportunity to participate – that all the colors of the rainbow would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder to honor Papa.”
DeJonge added Thursday evening that the family and hundreds of supporters were bitterly disappointed about Boehner’s opposition to the resolution – and they, as well as Manchin and Rockefeller, hope the speaker will change his mind.
“The colors of the rainbow had now been clouded by one person,” DeJonge said.
DeJonge said information he received suggests a public service at Arlington’s amphitheater possibly taking place at 4 p.m. March 15.
Capacity for the amphitheater maxes out at around 5,500 people. That’s nowhere near large enough to handle the numbers DeJonge believes will show up to honor the last Doughboy.
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Although he did not enlist in World War II, he was captured by the Japanese while working as a civilian in a Manila shipping firm. He spent over three years in one of their prisoner of war camps until he was liberated in 1945.
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That opportunity, DeJonge said, is not unlike similar honors extended to the last WWI veterans in other countries.
An online ITN news report dated March, 2008, indicates France honored its last surviving veteran of World War I, Lazare Ponticelli, who died at the age of 110, with a state funeral attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“The solemn homage that the whole nation offers to Lazare Ponticelli today is a homage to all his comrades in combat, most of whom were unknown to him but who all became brothers in pain and suffering,” Sarkozy said.
“Young people of France, always remember what you owe to the women and men who were so strong in times of hardship and grief.”
Ponticelli had initially refused former President Jacques Chirac’s offer of a state funeral, but relented shortly before he died, saying he would accept a simple ceremony in homage to his dead comrades.
Flanked by four Foreign Legionnaires and draped in the French flag, Ponticelli’s coffin was placed before the altar of the soldiers’ cathedral of Saint Louis des Invalides in a ceremony broadcast live on French television.
According to an online BBC news reported dated Nov. 2009, England honored its last WWI veterans at Westminster Abbey where the Queen and prime minister marked the passing of a generation with a two-minute silence following the deaths of the final three veterans living in Britain. The British Legion called for a state funeral and thousands lined the streets to pay honor to England’s last “Tommy”, Harry Patch, who died at 111.
DeJonge said he hopes America will equally honor its last Doughboy.
DeJonge recalled the tenacity of a 108 year-old Buckles, who willed his fragile body into the car to travel to Washington, D.C., to testify before the U.S. Senate. Buckles remains the oldest person to ever testify before that chamber.
During his last days, Buckles had reportedly inquired about the status of the National Memorial that he did not live to see dedicated. DeJonge said Buckles alone represented his comrades, fighting courageously for their honor — an honor that may never take place.
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“surrounded by honored veterans of every American war.”
Steel has not explained what the opposition is to honoring Buckles at the rotunda, but has indicated Reid also has had a hand in it. Reid’s office has not confirmed that.
H.CON.RES.23
Latest Title: Authorizing the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to honor the late Frank W. Buckles, the last United States veteran of the First World War, as a tribute to and in recognition of all United States military members who served in the First World War.
Sponsor: Rep Capito, Shelley Moore [WV-2] (introduced 2/28/2011)
Rep Benishek, Dan [MI-1] – 2/28/2011
Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-3] – 2/28/2011
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] – 2/28/2011
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] – 2/28/2011
Rep Grimm, Michael G. [NY-13] – 2/28/2011
Rep Hanna, Richard L. [NY-24] – 2/28/2011
Rep Huizenga, Bill [MI-2] – 3/2/2011
Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [NC-10] – 2/28/2011
Rep McKinley, David B. [WV-1] – 2/28/2011
Rep McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [WA-5] – 2/28/2011
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] – 2/28/2011
Rep Olson, Pete [TX-22] – 2/28/2011
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] – 3/2/2011
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] – 3/2/2011
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] – 2/28/2011
Rep Rahall, Nick J., II [WV-3] – 2/28/2011
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] – 2/28/2011
S.CON.RES.5
Latest Title: A concurrent resolution authorizing the use of the rotunda of the Capitol to honor Frank W. Buckles, the longest surviving United States veteran of the First World War.
Sponsor: Sen Rockefeller, John D., IV [WV] (introduced 2/1/2011) Cosponsors (16)
Related Bills: H.CON.RES.20, H.CON.RES.22, H.CON.RES.23
Sen Begich, Mark [AK] – 2/1/2011
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] – 2/1/2011
Sen Brown, Scott P. [MA] – 2/3/2011
Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] – 2/1/2011
Sen Burr, Richard [NC] – 2/1/2011
Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] – 2/1/2011
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] – 2/1/2011
Sen Landrieu, Mary L. [LA] – 2/1/2011
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] – 2/1/2011
Sen Manchin, Joe, III [WV] – 2/1/2011
Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 2/1/2011
Sen McCaskill, Claire [MO] – 2/28/2011
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] – 2/28/2011
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] – 2/1/2011
Sen Udall, Mark [CO] – 2/28/2011
Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] – 2/1/2011
Judson Phillips “The hard left is going to try and silence the Tea Party movement by blaming us for this. Clinton used the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to “blame conservative talk radio, especially Rush Limbaugh” and “The tactic worked then, backing conservatives off and possibly helping to ensure a second Clinton term.” Phillips continued, “The left is coming and will hit us hard on this. We need to push back harder with the simple truth. The shooter was a liberal lunatic. Emphasis on both words.”
In a post (behind a sign-in wall) headlined, “The Honeymoon Is Over: It’s Time To Primary John Boehner,” Phillips tells Boehner:
“You look like a fool… Charlie Sheen is now making more sense than John Boehner…
“Early on, the GOP promised to cut $100 billion from the budget. The Republicans in the House quickly went squishy on that and had to be cajoled into cutting only $61 billion. Now, John Boehner is saying when the Senate comes back and they start negotiating…the $61 billion figure is not safe…
“Where are the calls for the cutting of ‘hundreds of billions?’ They certainly are not coming from Boehner. Boehner is simply going to the old tried and true Republican tactic of saying, ‘we promised you we would vote on it, and we did!’
“No, John. You were not put in the Speaker’s chair simply to have votes and pat yourself on the back. You were put in the Speaker’s chair to do something.”
“There is no other way to put this. The Tea Party movement should find a candidate to run against John Boehner in 2012 and should set as a goal, to defeat in a primary, the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
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Charlotte Winters http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/03/30/charlotte_winters_109_was_veteran_of_wwi/
chuckles choules
http://www.1310news.com/news/world/article/191751–one-of-last-2-known-wwi-veterans-chuckles-choules-celebrates-110th-birthday-in-australia
