Arlington Cemetery Makes Historic Exception for World War I Veteran

Frank Buckles apparently doesn't intend to take the offer any time soon. At 107, he still does 50 sit ups a day and lifts weights three times a week.

Frank Buckles in an NBC television appearance. Photo courtesy: MSNBC

(MILWAUKIE, Ore.) - Ken Buckles, Executive Director of Oregon's Remembering America's Heroes, has won a long-fought battle – a battle centered around World War One.

For twelve years, Buckles has been recognizing and honoring American Vets through his program at Milwaukie High School where he is also a teacher. But this time it was personal.

Ken Buckles is related to Frank Buckles, America's last living WWI Veteran.

Last October, Ken Buckles was attending the funeral for Tuskegee Airman Richard Macon at Arlington National Cemetery and was shocked to discover that the United States is the only one of the Allied Powers that does not have a State Funeral for its last surviving WWI Veteran.

For several years the centagenarian Buckles had been one of the keynote speakers at Remembering America's Heroes Living History Day program, retiring from the program six years ago at age 101.

While "Uncle Frank" is remarkably hale and healthy at 107 at his farm in West Virginia, the Oregon Buckles felt the United States should accord the same honor to its ultimate World War I Veteran as other countries do.

"I thought it was just a travesty that the United States is the only country that doesn't honor its World War One Veterans this way," the director of RAH said. "Our mission at Remembering America's Heroes is to remember, honor and thank our Veterans. So I felt we had to do something about this."

Buckles met with the president of Arlington National Cemetery in 2007 to discuss the issue and was told that Frank Buckles did not qualify for internment at Arlington as that honor is reserved for Medal of Honor or Purple Heart recipients, or those killed in action.

Buckles petitioned Oregon Senators Wyden and Smith, and West Virginia Senator Byrd but got no response. He then approached the popular media including Oprah, Bill O'Reilly and even Kid Rock, all known as supporters of Veterans' rights, but still no one was willing to champion the cause.

Then Buckles recalled that "Uncle Frank" had met Ross Perot at the 2001 Living History Day event. He faxed his request for assistance to Perot and within minutes he had a response.

Ross Perot, former U.S. Presidential candidate, took the cause to the White House. In less than two weeks, he had succeeded in securing an internment for Frank Buckles at Arlington National Cemetery.

Perot contacted Ken Buckles personally with the good news. "This is the right thing to do. This needs to happen," Perot said. This marks only the second time in history this exemption has been made, the first was for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Frank Buckles apparently doesn't intend to take the offer any time soon. At 107, he still does 50 sit ups a day and lifts weights three times a week. He lives with his daughter in Charlestown, West Virginia. He served in the US Army in World War One, was a prisoner of War at Los Banos internment camp in World War Two.

Remembering America's Heroes (RAH) Living History Day is a program that brings together high school students with Veterans from all U.S. conflicts to give young people a deeper understanding of the meaning of service and sacrifice. The program has touched tens of thousands of Oregon students over the years and has helped ensure that, at least for these students, Veteran's Day isn't just a day off from school but a time to honor and reflect. RAH is a non-profit organization. For more information, please contact RAH at 503.659.5157

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arlington cemetary ROCKS baby i went there and i loved it

i love arlington cemetarys bcuz i love cemetary because cemetarys are so cemetaryliciouse baby yay yay!!p.s im gangsta

Alinton cemetary is the best cemetarey ever!!!

While I have the utmost respect for Frank Buckles I don't agree with him being buried in Arlington Cemetary. There are many men and women that have accomplished an extremely larger amount of service as Mr. Buckles and they won't be buried in Arlington Cemetary. Should everyone fight for their loved ones in order to be buried in Arlington Cemetary? That cemetary is reserved for a certain class of individuals and unfortunatly Mr. Buckles doesn't meet that criteria so like all other veterans he should simply be buried in a veterans cemetary. I appreciate the service that Mr. Buckles has given to this country as well as my family which includes my husband and two sons, so should they also be buried in Arlington Cemetary?

As the granson of a decorated WW1 veteran (Massachusetts Yankee Division) it is a remarkable life Mr. Buckles has lived and God willing will continue living.

Why don't you read between the lines and see that the fact that O'Really could care less is duly noted here. I too was a little put out by the setup on O'Really but the overriding element is that he could care less about this veteran.

"including Oprah, Bill O'Reilly and even Kid Rock, all known as supporters of Veterans' rights" Since when is Bill O'Reilly a supporter of Veterans' rights? He has gone out of his way to deny the problem of homeless veterans in America... the VA says there are currently 200,000 homeless vets, but when John Edwards brought that up around Christmas, O'Reilly ridiculed the number as false and said "there's not many of them out there." It's a moral scandal that so many people who have fought for this country come home to find themselves forgotten. People like Bill O'Reilly who use their public forum to deny the problem make it worse. That's some kind of "supporter."

The fact of the matter is that Arlington is not large enough to hold everyone who has served in our country in wartime. That is why they have the rules that currently exist. No disrespect intended for the gentleman's service, but I fail to see why the fact that he has lived so long should qualify him for burial there over someone who "only" earned the nation's second highest medal.

"In less than two weeks, he had succeeded in securing an internment for Frank Buckles at Arlington National Cemetery." You get interned when you're sent to jail. Interred is the word you're looking for.

"Internment" is correct in the second to last paragraph. Interment is burial under ground. Internment is confinement during war.

Nice to see the government do something worth a damn for a change. By the way, it's interment, not internment.

It's at times like this I'm glad the Army has a saying that sums up my personal approval of this, as well as the fact that Mr. Buckles is still going strong at 109 years:

HOOAH!

Amazing. My mother was 22 when she got out of Los Banos; my father 35, and they both passed over 20 years ago. Keep on, good Mr. Buckles

the british government has no plans for a state funeral for the last of its great war veterans (there are five left). nor should it. several years after the last of the boer war veterans was said to have died, another one was found hale and hearty (trooper ives). he lasted another decade.

The Canadian government has said it doesn't plan to have a state funeral for its last surviving First World War vet (who happens to have moved to the US many years ago and now lives in Spokane Washington.)Officials say the funeral won't happen because the remaining veterans (now just one) turned it down.

it's sad to read things like this when men and women put there life on the line for our county and in this case after almost 100 years you would have to go though same thing like this. Also in this case he would have to go to some one other than the people that have been put in office to protect our rights, but yet he had to go to some out side that office to receive help and make the change! This should be a wake up call for all American's. The son of a American Hero ! Chauncey E. Spencer II is the son of Mrs. Anne Howard Spencer and Mr. Chauncey Edward Spencer The famed American pilot, who along with Mr. Dale L. White, helped influence then Senator Harry S. Truman, to fight for establishing funding for the training of so-called African American pilots at Tuskegee Institute for the Army Air Corp. He is also the Grandson of famed Poet Anne B. Spencer of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The first chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. Was also form at the Edward and Anne Spencer Home in 1917 for the state of Virginia. Chauncey’s background is in Automotive Administration, he is the owner of Spencer Automotive, Inc. Chauncey Spencer is presently 2nd Vice President Cental Region Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Chauncey is on the board of directors of the Detroit Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc. He is a member of the speaker’s bureau for the Detroit Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc. He is a member of the Anne Spencer Foundation, Inc. a board member of the Linwood-Davison Association, and he is the Chief Operating Officer of the Chauncey Spencer Education Services. In late 2005, Chauncey E. Spencer II organized the Chauncey Spencer Project to advance the publics Understanding of the history of African Americans in aviation. Named after his father, the famed aviator, Mr. Spencer had long been aware of the lack of public awareness of his father’s contributions to aviation and Civil Rights. As he delved deeper, he found that many more African Americans in aviation had also received scant attention in public programs, a concern shared by many scholars and others familiar with the history. Like his father, who refused to complain, he joined with other like-minded individuals and organized the Chauncey Spencer Education Services, LLC.

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