Ted Poe: “We have come to the end of a long chapter in American history. The lone U.S. survivor of World War I, Frank Buckles, has…”

“We have come to the end of a long chapter in American history. The lone U.S. survivor of World War I, Frank Buckles, has died at the incredible age of 110. At 16, Frank Buckles lied about his age so he could join the Army in 1917 and go ``over there'' to fight for the cause of America. He drove an ambulance in World War I in Europe. During World War II, Buckles was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines and held as a prisoner of war for 3 years. Until recently, Buckles continued to drive his tractor on his farm in West Virginia. It was Buckles' passion to have a memorial built on the Capital Mall to honor all those doughboys that served in the great World War I. We have memorials for the other three major wars of the last century, but not one for World War I. I met Corporal Buckles when we introduced this legislation that is named in his honor. It is time we build such a memorial, and it is time we also allow Frank Buckles to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. History must remember this last patriot of World War I and the 4 million other Americans that served. And that's just the way it is.”