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World War I has been back in the news lately and not because of the recent independence of Kosovo. It’s the veterans of the Great War that have put that conflict back in the spotlight. Or what’s left of them, anyway.
It was bound to happen. Participants in a war that started almost 100 years ago will eventually succumb to the ravages of time.
The Veteran’s Administration recognized 4.7 million American men and women as WWI vets. Earlier this month, one of the last two died.
You might be thinking the same thing I thought. (It isn’t very nice but we’re not all nice folks, are we?)
Does this mean that Frank Buckles, 107, of West Virginia, wins?
One school of thought says, “It’s a war, no one ever really wins.” There is some validity to that idea. War destroys economies, ruins lives, separates families and has longer lasting effects than anyone seems to take into account when starting one.
On the other hand, war can bolster certain economies and provide a greater sense of national identity.
There are pros and cons that will be debated until the end of humanity. I’m glad it isn’t my job to decide whether to go to war or not.
I’m here to determine the winner of WWI.
Right now, it’s come down to Buckles and John Babcock, who served in the Canadian military but now lives in Spokane.
The last surviving German veteran, Erich Kaestner, died on New Year’s Day.
So the U.S.A. wins because all known survivors live in the states now.
Think of it like Olympic gold. All the medals won by former Soviets who now live in the states count as American wins.
That Nadia Comaneci perfect 10, yeah, that’s ours now. Screw Romania. Canada’s last survivor is ours, too.
That’s what war — and to lesser extent, the Olympics — is all about, right? Who is left standing when the smoke clears?
Actually, no. No, it isn’t.
It is about living history and losing that history. Buckles and Babcock won’t be around much longer.
If we don’t get the stories of these men — and the vets left from WWII, Korea and Vietnam — we all lose.
It doesn’t matter who is left standing at the end of the day. What matters is that the next generation knows what happened, from as many perspectives as possible, so that the same mistakes won’t be made again.
And don’t make the mistake that past conflicts are the only ones worth examining.
Giving Iraq and Afghanistan vets a chance to talk now, before they get to be 100 years old and can’t walk to the store down the block, should be a priority.
That way, none of them will be left standing alone.
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