TOLEDO, Ohio - J. Russell Coffey, the oldest known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. The retired teacher, one of only three U.S. veterans from the "war to end all wars," was 109.
Coffey died Thursday at the Briar Hill Health Campus in North Baltimore, where he had lived for the past four or five years, said Gaye Boggs, nursing director at the nursing home. No cause of death has been determined, she said Friday. His health began failing in October.
"We're sure going to miss him," Boggs said. "He was our most famous resident, that's for sure."
More than 4.7 million Americans joined the military from 1917-1918. Coffey never saw combat because he was still in basic training when the war ended.
The two remaining U.S. veterans are Frank Buckles, 106, of Charles Town, W.Va.; and Harry Richard Landis, 108, of Sun City Center, Fla., according to the Veterans Affairs Department. In addition, John Babcock, 107, of Spokane, Wash., served in the Canadian army and is the last known Canadian veteran of the war.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071221/ap_on_re_us/obit_coffey
**First off - thanks to all these men listed for their service. Especially J. Russell Coffey....may you rest in peace.
Secondly - and I don't mean this to sound disrespectful but where it says "No cause of death has been determined"....now, I'm no expert on these matters but I think it's pretty safe to assume that the fact that he was 109 years of age was most likely a contributing factor to his demise. But hey, that's just my thought. God bless 'em.**
Posted by Mrs Muddy at December 21, 2007 11:24 PM