A visitor from Wheeling, West Virginia, was walking among the artifacts of the Jefferson County Museum when he stopped and stared into one of the glass display cases.
“Mr. Buckles!,” he said, pointing at the photograph of an elderly man in a uniform.
The man explained he had been a high school teacher and Frank Buckles had visited his school years before and shared his story of how he had lied about his age when he was 16 to join the Army during World War I.
That amazing story would take Frank Buckles to Europe where he came face to face with the horrors of the “Great War” that traumatized a generation of young men and women lucky enough to return home. The day the war finally ended, Nov. 11, 1918, would become a day of parades, celebrations, memories and lessons learned and forgotten.
Mr. Buckles would eventually move to Jefferson County where he farmed and shared his story. He would become a fighter again, to make sure that the memories of those he served with and all those in uniform would never be forgotten.
He died at the age of 110, the last survivor of World War I and he was buried at Arlington National Ceremony with full military honors.
Jefferson County has seen its own share of war and has also sent thousands of its residents to many conflicts around the world. Veterans Day was established to remember and honor the people who have served rather than the conflicts themselves.
A visit to the Jefferson County Museum will bring some of those stories to life, including that of Frank Buckles, along with others who not only battled the enemy, but also the restrictions prejudices and injustices within their own ranks. Those veterans also stand tall in the memories honored on November 11.
