From the World War I Centennial News Podcast

Remembering Veterans: Ken Buckles

In March 29th's edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 116, host Theo Mayer spoke with Ken Buckles, relative of the last surviving American WWI veteran, Frank Woodruff Buckles. Ken is the Executive Director of Remembering America's Heroes, an organization dedicated to the memory of the men and women who have served this country. The following is a transcript of the interview, edited for clarity: Ken Buckles, pictured here with President Bill Clinton

Theo Mayer: This week for Remembering Veterans, Frank Woodruff Buckles was a United States Army corporal and the last surviving American military veteran of World War 1. Frank enlisted in the US Army in 1917 at the age of only 16 and served with a detachment at Fort Riley driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe. Frank Buckles left us on February 27, 2011 at the age of 110. Many Americans have family traditions of service and so it is here. With us today is Frank's descendant Ken Buckles, who has been an educator for the Living History Day event since 1996 and is the Executive Director of Remembering American Heroes, an organization founded in 2002. Ken, welcome to the podcast.

Ken Buckles: Thank you.

Theo Mayer: Well it's nice to have you here. Let me start with a couple of questions about you personally. How are you related to Frank Buckles?

Ken Buckles: Well it's 1992, I was curious about family genealogy and my parents had given me a list of names that had eight names on it and I recognized my great-grandfather and my grandfather and of course my father, but nobody knew what the heck it was. So I found it and bam, it went to a genealogy center and found out with Robert Buckles descended from him and they had settled in West Virginia, Harpers Ferry. So I called information to see if there were any Buckles living in the area, and in those days they connected you and he answered the phone and that started about a nine-year relationship over the phone. Just an amazing, incredible man who lived a fascinating life. I could talk about him for hours, and he kept saying "when you're going to come out, when you're going to come out?" So I came out when he was 99 and then I visited him every year on his farm in West Virginia until he passed. And then of course his funeral was at Arlington National Cemetery.

Theo Mayer: That’s a great story. Your whole family has a long history of service including your father, a Marine, can you tell us that story?

Ken Buckles: Yeah my father was a Marine and was in the van but they were sent when the North Koreans crossed the border. He was in the final withdrawal of the Chosin Reservoir, veterans that were coming out that horrible battle there and I was born in '54 and all I ever knew was that he had lots of nightmares and he drank heavily for 15 years. And then of course I went into teaching and coaching and during my career when he was 54 he committed suicide. Didn't know anything about post-traumatic stress back then but I just always thought there was something different about him. It just literally destroyed my mom, who was 51 years of age and three years later she just gave up the will to live and she was gone. The ripple effect on your life is devastating and it led to me saying well, let's bring veterans into the high school to talk to the students, feed them lunch, we'll recreate a Bob Hope USO show in the gym and I never knew it would just turn into this huge undertaking. In its 23 years it's gone from being a non-profit Remembering America's Heroes and high school kids came up with that name. We've taken veterans from all over the United States to over 43 high schools, visited over 90,000 kids and what makes it so unique. My main goal is to teach young people that American men and women of all races have served and still serve this country, our country. And many famous veterans have come from Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo code talkers and Frank Buckles even flew out to Oregon in 2000 and 2001 and spoke to kids in the classroom. He was 99 and a 100 and he was going to come out the next year but his doctor and his daughter said he couldn't travel anymore- he was not happy about it.

Theo Mayer: In doing this work, can you tell us something that's happened as a result of what you did that you didn't expect? Frank Buckles enlisted in the Army at the age of 15, participated in two world wars, and lived to see his 110th birthday

Ken Buckles: Number one that I was never prepared for was the healing for the veterans. In the late 90s we had four different World War 1 veterans who attended and they were moved emotionally, crying and everything. They said they'd never been thanked or recognized for their service. None of them were able to do the ticker-tape parade in New York and when they came home nobody cared. The same thing for World War II, the Korean War vets you know we would yell out like a pep assembly "the Korean War is not forgotten" at Milwaukee high school. For the Vietnam vets it was just overwhelmingly emotional and then the other thing it led to healing, that's the number one word I want to use is the healing. Many many many have started to get post-traumatic stress counseling, mostly World War 2 and Korean War veterans and the number of lives changed has been phenomenal.

Theo Mayer: Well Ken what do you think about the National World War Memorial that we're building in Washington DC, what are your thoughts about that?

Ken Buckles: Well I know that was very important to Frank Buckles. It sure would be nice if there was a beautiful one there with all those other memorials.

Theo Mayer: Okay if our listeners want to reach out and learn more or help with your program how can they do that?

Ken Buckles: Well we have a website they can Google, Remembering America's Heroes, or Ken Buckles. The website is www.rahusa.us, and I'm going to be done with the book that's taken me 15 years. I have the stories of all these veterans that I've gotten to know that they never shared with anybody. Year after year I got it in there in that book will be called Remembering America's Heroes and there is a large chapter on Frank Buckles and his incredible life story.

Theo Mayer: Ken Buckles, descendant of America's last World War 1 veteran Frank Woodruff-Buckles. Ken is a patriot educator and founder of the remembering American heroes organization. We have links for you to learn more in the podcast notes.

Links:

http://www.rahusa.us/about/kenbuckles/
www.rahusa.us
http://arlingtoncemetery.net/fwbuckles.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Buckles