On the recordJune 16, 2022
Today I rise to share the story of an American patriot from Charles Town, West Virginia, which is where I live. Corporal Frank Buckles lived to be 110 years old. He died in 2011 and was America's last known World War I veteran. Buckles had enlisted in the Army by giving his age as 18 rather than his actual age of 16. He drove an Army ambulance in France in 1918 and came to symbolize a generation of embattled young Americans as the last of the World War I doughboys. Buckles later spent 3 years as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II after being captured in the Pacific while serving as a U.S. contractor. Buckles lived on a 330-acre West Virginia cattle farm, where he drove a tractor until 102 years old. I am honored to introduce legislation to designate the United States Postal Service located in Charles Town, West Virginia, as the ``Corporal Frank Buckles Post Office.'' He was a true patriot and is most deserving of this honor in the town he called home for 50 years. ____________________
