When Will The Last WWI and WWII Veterans Die, And At What Ages?

[Bo]

I'm not sure this thread belongs here, but oh well.

My guess:

WWI-2012-age 111.
WWII-2047-age 123.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

I'm not sure this thread belongs here anywhere

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There are only 4 WWI veterans surviving (one of whom claims to be one but is unverified), 2 from the UK (including the unverified one), one from Canada, and one from the US. They range in age from 106 to 109. So there's a good chance next year will see the end of all of them.

[Stranger in a strange land]

In World War II, there were quite a few HJs as young as 11 or 12 who fought in the last days of the war, so the last WWII veteran might not die until the 2050s. The last World War I veteran will probably die in next year or in 2011.

[opebo]

Once they're gone we can forget the lessons of history and bring back the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  I miss that one.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The last to fight in the trenches (which is what 'really' matters) is already dead (111).

[JSojourner]

Once they're gone we can forget the lessons of history and bring back the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  I miss that one.

I'm half Hungarian.  Can I be Archduke?

[Bo]

The last to fight in the trenches (which is what 'really' matters) is already dead (111).

I don't think that's what really matters. I think that the last surviving U.S. veteran of WWI (Frank Buckles) got sent to France and drove trucks and abmulances instead of fighting in the trenches. Thus, he was a non-combat veteran, but I would still consider him a veteran.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I don't think that's what really matters.

Yes it is. If you think otherwise (and you're an American so, yeah, you presumably do) you don't understand the significance (culturally, socially, historically) of the First World War. The key point is the concept of the Front Generation. They are now all dead.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

[Bo]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Bo]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

She is considered a veteran by her country's veterans' bureau.

[Scam of God]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

Why? Wars, just like nations, don't have perfectly delineated borders.

[Bo]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

Why? Wars, just like nations, don't have perfectly delineated borders.

Actually, they do. There are dates marking when a war started and ended. Thus only people who served in a warring nation's armed forces between 1914 and 1918 (or whenever a particular country entered that war--has to be between 1914 and 1918 for WWI htough) are considered veterans of that war.

[Bo]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

She is considered a veteran by her country's veterans' bureau.

Which country is she from again, anyway? I think that her country's definition of WWI veteran is a bunch of cr*p, though.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

She is considered a veteran by her country's veterans' bureau.

Which country is she from again, anyway? I think that her country's definition of WWI veteran is a bunch of cr*p, though.

Take it up with the Belgian government.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

Why? Wars, just like nations, don't have perfectly delineated borders.

Actually, they do. There are dates marking when a war started and ended. Thus only people who served in a warring nation's armed forces between 1914 and 1918 (or whenever a particular country entered that war--has to be between 1914 and 1918 for WWI htough) are considered veterans of that war.

Uh, dates are arbitrary too.

[Scam of God]

Maité Roël is only 26 and is a victim of the First World War. I'm sure she'll live beyond 2012.

I was specifically talking about veterans of WWI, not victims. Someone could step on a landmine from WWI 100 years ago and be considered a victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Clearly that card is not hers. It is impossible for her to be a veteran of WWI if she was born 65 years after the war ended.

Why? Wars, just like nations, don't have perfectly delineated borders.

Actually, they do. There are dates marking when a war started and ended. Thus only people who served in a warring nation's armed forces between 1914 and 1918 (or whenever a particular country entered that war--has to be between 1914 and 1918 for WWI htough) are considered veterans of that war.

This is both stupid and wrong, and part of the reason why the problem of, for instance, unexploded munitions in Vietnam still wreak havoc nigh-forty years on.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

World War 1: 2011 aged 110
World War 2: 2039 aged 112

[Bo]

World War 1: 2011 aged 110
World War 2: 2039 aged 112

You're probably about correct on WWI. I'm thinking the last WWI veteran will die between 2011 and 2013. In regards to WWII, I'm a bit more optimistic based on modern trends of increasing life expectancy that at least one veteran will live over 120, thus I picked 2047 for the date the last WWII veteran will die.

[J. J.]

Once they're gone we can forget the lessons of history and bring back the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  I miss that one.

Somebody call States; he has a shot at the throne.

WWI: 2011

WWII:  2041

[Bo]

Once they're gone we can forget the lessons of history and bring back the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  I miss that one.

Somebody call States; he has a shot at the throne.

WWI: 2011

WWII:  2041

At what ages will they die, though? You just mentioned the years.

[LBJ Revivalist]

My grandpa, who was a Staff Sgt., in the European theatre, died in 1975 at age 55, so he wouldn't be the last =/