Last surviving United States war veterans

This is an incomplete list of the last surviving veterans of American wars. The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon their death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.

17th century

American Indian Wars (1622–1774)

18th century

French and Indian War (1754–1763)

  • John Owen (1741–1843) — British Army. Enlisted in 1758. Also fought in the Revolutionary War.[4][5]
  • Jonathan Benjamin (1738–1841) — British Army. Also fought in the Revolutionary War.[6]

American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)

A photograph of Daniel Frederick Bakeman (1759–1869). Though not mentioned in the 1864 book The Last Men of the Revolution, he was the last surviving veteran of the American Revolution to have been granted a pension.

American Indian Wars (1775–1924)

Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787)

Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794)

19th century

War of 1812 (1812–1815)

Hiram Cronk (1800–1905), the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812.

Toledo War (1835–1836)

  • Lewis W. Pearl (1815–1914) — Michigan State Militia. Later served in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.[28][29]

Texas Revolution (1835–1836)

Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842)

Bear Flag Revolt (1846)

Mexican–American War (1846–1848)

Owen Thomas Edgar (1831–1929), the last surviving U.S. veteran of the Mexican–American War.

Bleeding Kansas (1854–1861)

American Civil War (1861–1865)

Korean Expedition (1871)

Spanish–American War (1898)

Second Samoan Civil War (1898–99)

Banana Wars (1898–1934)

Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901)

Philippine–American War (1899–1902)

20th century

Border War (1910–1919)

  • Samuel Goldberg (1900–2006) — U.S. Cavalry.[52]

World War I (1914–1918)

Frank Buckles (1901–2011), shown here in this recruitment photo, was the last verified American soldier to have served in World War I.

Pancho Villa Expedition (1916–1917)

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War (1918–1925)

American and other Allied forces were involved in the Polar Bear Expedition which began during World War I and continued into the Russian Civil War

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

World War II (1939–1945)

Richard E. Cole (1915–2019), shown second-from-right in this 1942 photograph, was a World War II veteran and the last living participant of the Doolittle Raid.

Korean War (1950–1953)

See also

Notes

  1. Conter, an enlisted U.S. Navy sailor, is the last survivor of the sinking of the USS Arizona. The last survivor of the ship's Marine Detachment was Lamar Crawford (1920–2011).[63] The last surviving commissioned officer was Joseph Langdell (1914–2015).[64]
  2. Williams was also the last surviving Marine recipient. The last surviving Army Medal of Honor recipient was Charles Coolidge (1921–2021). Coolidge was also the last surviving recipient who had been awarded the medal during the war.[66]
  3. Freeman was an enlisted soldier. The last surviving commissioned officer of Easy Company was Edward Shames (1922–2021).

References

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