Talk:List of last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars

Last veterans of the Banana Wars (1898 - 1934)
From what I have seen, I doubt there any living veterans of the Banana Wars (1898 to 1934). In addition to old age, the veterans could have been killed in other wars (WWI or WWII). Despite the majority of the marines having been born in the 1880s and 90s, the last surviving soldier that I have found died in 2004. However, there is a small possibility that there are still some around. A marine born in 1910 or 1912 could be have been able to serve in the last years of the occupations and still be alive today. Now, Seeing as there were multiple interventions that made up the Banana Wars, I've decided to list the latest deaths from each that I could find.

Last veterans of additional conflicts
Similar to the Banana Wars Section, this is a collection of the last veterans of wars or conflicts that I could find. I've also included other possible veterans on the unofficial list on my userpage, Lemunz

Debunked Confederate Veterans
Why are debunked persons listed? If they are debunked remove them from the list. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.253.155.86 (talk) 03:13, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

Alexander Imich- which war?
What war was Alexander Imich involved in? The Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 or the Polish-Soviet War of 1919. Imich said he was driving trucks to the war front in 1918 before he went back to school then he was involved in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918. Thank you-RFD (talk) 09:35, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Last British Soldier of Crimean War
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 10th Baronet was arguably the last British Army officer veteran of the Crimean War as he died in November 1936 aged 101. Edwin Bezar, then a Private, had died in February 1936. I am adding Maclean to the list and clarifying the rank distinction between the two.Cloptonson (talk) 13:23, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Charles Longden (1833 - 1938), a veteran who served in the Royal Engineers during the Crimean war, died at 105 living in Australia (Lemunz (talk) 20:34, 16 August 2014 (UTC))

Known Last Veterans Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)?
Has anyone ascertained the last surviving combatants of this war? I put forward as contender English veteran Sir Francis Knollys (also has record as oldest serving English MP) who was an Admiral with Drake in the first naval (privateering) expedition of the war, believed born 1550, died in 1648 aged reputedly 97.Cloptonson (talk) 14:15, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Thomas Parr - evidence for military service needed
Thomas Parr - the famous 'Old Parr' - is stated to have been a soldier serving under Henry VIII. I have raised a citation need as I have seen no mention of his doing military service in biographies of him that I have read.Cloptonson (talk) 19:48, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Last survivors War of the Spanish Succession?
Has anyone ascertained the last survivor of any of the combatant nations in this war? As a contender for last British survivor I put forward Field Marshal James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley who died in 1774 aged 91 or 92. Cloptonson (talk) 15:00, 15 August 2014 (UTC)


 * As for British participants, Ambrose Bennett (or Tennant) (d. 1800 at 106) served at the Battle of Malplaquet . There was also John Evans (d. 1798 at 101) who fought under the Earl of Stair during the Battle of Dettingen.
 * The Battle of Dettingen took place 1745 in the War of the Austrian Succession, much later than the lifetime of the Duke of Marlborough. While John Evans (potentially born 1697) could have fought in the campaigns of Marlborough, the citation does not indicate other battles than Dettingen.Cloptonson (talk) 21:48, 30 July 2016 (UTC)
 * My mistake. I'm not sure why I didn't notice that before. Lemunz (talk) 23:06, 30 July 2016 (UTC)

Last survivors of 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia?
I put forward as contender for last surviving British Army veteran of this campaign Adrian Jones (sculptor), born 1845, died in 1938 aged 92. He is certainly the last survivor of those veterans of the campaign who have articles in Wikipedia.Cloptonson (talk) 18:43, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Last survivors of First Boer War (1880-81)?
For contender as last known British Army survivor veteran of this campaign I put forward Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton (later a WWI General), born 1853, who died in 1947 aged 94, certainly the last survivor who is articled in wikipedia.Cloptonson (talk) 18:55, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

The last time I looked into this war, I found newspaper clippings  of a veteran named Mr. Harry Figg, (1855 - 1953), who served in the 1873 Anglo-Ashanti War, Majuba Hill and Laing's Nek during the First Boer War and also later during the Second Boer War. He is a good contender for the last. (Lemunz (talk) 19:19, 16 August 2014 (UTC))
 * Thank you. I have added him under headings of Anglo Ashanti War and First Boer War to the page.Cloptonson (talk) 14:36, 17 August 2014 (UTC)


 * I've also found a claimant named Thomas Jelley who lived in Cosgrove, Northamptonshire and passed Figg by at least one year. He served in the Northamptonshire Regiment and is mentioned as being 98 and the oldest survivor of the regiment in an article from the Northampton Mercury, May 12, 1954. According to the article, as well as this link ], "he took part in the Zulu War of 1879, the Boer War, and was present at the battles of Laing’s Nek and also Majuba Hill, in which he was wounded and taken prisoner." I'm not sure about his date of birth or his death however. This message board from Ancestry.co suggests that he was born in eithor 1855 or 1860 and died in either 1955 or 1962. Lemunz (talk) 23:51, 30 July 2016 (UTC)
 * According to Cosgrove's website, 99 year old Thomas Jelley was buried on Jan 20, 1955. A possible Boer participant might be Petrus Johannes Liebenberg (1857-1950) though I can't find any citations for this aside from his wiki page. Lemunz (talk) 03:46, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

Russian Civil War/Polar Bear Expedition
Harold Gunnes is quoted as the last survivor in this page but he was outlived by Warren V. Hileman, (1901-2005), listed in the page of World War I veterans who died in 2005, as survivor of the "U.S. Expeditionary Force in Siberia". (Hileman's entry bears no citation.) I also wonder if there is a case for putting Polar Bear Expedition survivors under Russian Civil War. The last British participant in the Russian Civil War appears to have been Boy 2nd Class Royal Navy Frank Willis Ivers (born 1902, died March 2003) and the last French Army participant Jean Piry (born 1896, also died March 2003), both listed in the wiki article on WWI veterans who died in 2003.Cloptonson (talk) 21:44, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Here are a few citations for Mr. Hileman. As for those other participants, I feel that having a sub-category within the Russian Civil War regarding the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War would a good place to put those veterans. Also, I don't see any problem adding both Hileman and Gunnes to that list as they were both apart of different forces. (Lemunz (talk) 22:00, 16 August 2014 (UTC))


 * I was looking at Hileman's entry in another page. Anyway, I concur with the suggestion.Cloptonson (talk) 13:27, 17 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Carried out.Cloptonson (talk) 20:38, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Last survivors Mahdist War (1881-99)
Any British veterans of this long war, its climax the Battle of Omdurman, known to have outlived Sir Winston Churchill (died 1965 aged 90)?Cloptonson (talk) 13:27, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

James Maynard (1875 - 1968) served in the Mahdist War as well as both World Wars. According to this link however, there was an article published in 1976 by the Daily Telegraph titled “Last survivor of Omdurman dies at 98.” This means that the last veteran of the war probably lived from 1877 or 1878 and died in 1976. (Lemunz (talk) 18:50, 17 August 2014 (UTC))

Wars of the Rough Wooing (1543-50)
Were there any surviving veterans of the Anglo-Scottish campaigns who outlived poet Thomas Churchyard (died 1604 aged 84), who took part with English troops in the Battle of Pinkie?Cloptonson (talk) 05:20, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

The Fronde (1648-53)
Any surviving veterans of the French civil wars of The Fronde known to have outlived Charles Saint-Evremond, who died in 1703 aged 90, having held command in the 1650s?Cloptonson (talk) 22:08, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

William Boyle - also last survivor Boxer Rebellion?
The page mentions no last survivors of the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901, but I notice the future Admiral was a veteran of this, as well as of the First Sino-Japanese War (mid 1890s) - which is mentioned on this talk page but not on the biography page of Boyle.Cloptonson (talk) 20:40, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

Nathan E. Cook is probably the last surviving veteran who saw action in both the Boxer Rebellion as well as the Philippine–American War. As for the last veteran of the First Sino-Japanese war, the longest-lived veteran I have found so far was a man by the name of | Kenji Igarashi (1877 - 1972) who was 17 when he enlisted and lived to be 95. Lemunz (talk) 20:56, 26 October 2014 (UTC)

This leaves Boyle as potentially the last British service survivor of the Boxer Rebellion.Cloptonson (talk) 18:58, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Bay of Pigs Invasion problems
I think we should remove this section from this list, or at least remove the growing list of partipants and replace them with a link to a list of living participants of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Seeing as it was only 55 years ago, the majority of survivors who were involved are probably still in their 70's-80's so it might be another 25 years before we get down to the very last survivors. Also, this list so far includes mostly veterans with wiki articles (except for two) so an accurate list of living participants, including those who do not have their own articles, might contain over a hundred names. Lemunz (talk) 00:12, 29 July 2016 (UTC)
 * If sources don't really talk about Bay of Pigs veterans as the last few remaining then this would make a lot of sense. Briefly looking at news coverage, it doesn't seem to have reached the stage where there's precious few remaining veterans. – FenixFeather  (talk)(Contribs) 01:00, 29 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I agree.Bkatcher (talk) 04:29, 29 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I also agree. Is is far too early for a last survivors list. Mtpaley (talk) 23:28, 18 September 2016 (UTC)

Francisco Núñez Olivera - Oldest Living Combat Veteran in the World
Hello. I am an American photographer who lives in Spain. During the course of a 7 month long photographic essay on the oldest living Spanish people, I met Francisco Núñez Olivera, who is verified and documented as the world's fourth oldest living man, born on December 13th, 1904, currently age 111 and 7 months. At 18 years old, he joined the Spanish Army and was sent to fight in the 1920-1926 Rif War. He is lucid, and has told me stories about his war experiences, and what he learned about being a "real man" from his commanding officer. He is not only the sole survivor of this war, but the world's oldest living combat veteran as well. I believe he deserves mention here, as well as his own wikipedia page. I would be happy to contribute any information available to me. I have direct contact with his family, and can assist in obtaining any further information required. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.220.186.82 (talk) 23:02, 31 July 2016 (UTC)
 * He is also on both the lists of oldest verified men and the oldest living people and has El Mundo, one of the Spain's largest news sources, reporting on his time spent in the Rif War . While I haven't found a link stating that he was the last veteran of the war, I'll added a section for him considering that he is one of, if not the last, soldier to participate in the war that ended 90 years ago. Lemunz (talk) 01:38, 1 August 2016 (UTC)

More on Francisco Núñez Olivera - is he the oldest combat veteran in human history?
I believe he is the oldest confirmed combat veteran in human history. He was front line infantry.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_veterans_of_military_insurgencies_and_wars):

The only two male military veterans older than him, never actually participated in combat, although one, Henry William Allingham, was present at the Battle of Jutland as a mechanic.

Second Boer War: 111 years and 146 days - George Frederick Ives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frederick_Ives) - fought in combat with as part of the Imperial Yeomanry

WW1: 113 years and 42 days - Henry William Allingham (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Allingham), *was at Battle of Jutland, although as a mechanic*

WW1: 111 years and 38 days - Harry Patch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Patch), saw front line action as infantry soldier in trenches

WW1: 115 years and 156 days - Emiliano Mercado del Toro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Mercado_del_Toro) *never deployed, war ended while he was at a training camp*

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.220.186.82 (talk) 21:51, 2 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I think you would need to find a source that directly says he's the oldest combat veteran. Piecing sources together and analyzing them would be original research. –  FenixFeather  (talk)(Contribs) 23:29, 2 August 2016 (UTC)

WW 2
Surely it is too soon to have a section on last survivors of WW2. Having last survivors of individual raids opens this up to endless entries, one from every encounter in any battle. The WW2 entry is "Richard E. Cole (born 1915) - United States. Last veteran of the Doolittle Raid" There must be thousands of attacks/defenses/retreats of importance but listing one of them now seems wrong when there are so many survivors. The title implies that there can only be one and for WW1 there is a legitimate one per country/power group/ethnicity but for WW2 the "List of last surviving veteran" seems terribly premature. If the last survivor of the Doolittle Raid is notable then so are thousands of others. WW1 has 4 entries all of whom are dead, surely the last survivors of WW2 should wait until this is notable. Mtpaley (talk) 23:21, 18 September 2016 (UTC) The youngest combatants in WW2 are about 90 years old so while they are fading fast it is too early for 'the last' to be meaningful. Mtpaley (talk) 23:32, 18 September 2016 (UTC)
 * I agree. The closer we get to modern times, the more well-documented the final survivors will be, and there were thousands of WWII battles. There are still some veterans as young as 86, and probably younger, as the Third Reich drafted kids as young as 12 there at the end. I say we leave it to the last survivor of each combatant nation, as with the first World War. In the future, however, the last survivors of each major battle might warrant their own article (last survivor of the Normandy Invasion, Pearl Harbor, etc). Bkatcher (talk) 23:42, 18 September 2016 (UTC)


 * I completely agree. It is probably another 20-25 years before we start moving into the "last of the last" territory. Lemunz (talk) 00:00, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * How about as a general guideline that the number of survivors should be in single digit territory before a entry is made in this page. Mtpaley (talk) 20:09, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Eligibility
A place to discuss which wars are eligible for a 'last survivor' section. As a starting point I would suggest that the number of known survivors is less than about 10 which would rule out any war that ended after about 1930 (age 100 and fought at age 15). WW1 came into the last survivor territory in about 2005 and came to the inevitable conclusion in 2012 with Florence Green. WW2 ended 27 years later which implies that we are at least 10 years away from the point at which last survivors start to become notable. Comments? Mtpaley (talk) 20:22, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * One must take account of under age enlistments, and that people were continuing to be inducted in the war's last months. To give an idea, compare ages between 1945 and 2017: a 17 year old would now be 89, a 15 year old 87, while (as far as UK concerned) conscription age was 18 (90 in 2017 for one reaching that age in 1945). I argue we are more than 10 years away from the youngest veterans becoming centenarians.Cloptonson (talk) 22:05, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

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Last surviving solders of World War 1 in 2018
Is There any solders in World War 1 that are alive today in 2018? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk • contribs)
 * No, see List of last World War I veterans by country Emk9 (talk) 23:46, 29 May 2018 (UTC)

Last surviving solders of World War 1 in 2018 But there is got to be someone else who is still alive from the war! Anybody! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk • contribs)
 * Anybody still living would have to have been under 18 during the war. The war ended in 1918, 100 years ago. The oldest verified living person was born in 1901, so they would have been 17 when the war ended. The oldest living man is only 112, so he would have been 13 when the war ended, so it's unlikely any men who served are still living. It's possible that somebody is out there, but countries that tracked veterans for pension and benefit reasons have confirmed that nobody is still living. Emk9 (talk) 02:44, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

Oldest Living Veterans Can you make a list of the oldest living Veterans for me? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk) 03:06, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
 * For what war? The List of surviving veterans of the Spanish Civil War might work, but it's presumed incomplete, since most veterans remain unknown to the general public. Richard Arvin Overton is the oldest verified living veteran from the United States. Emk9 (talk) 03:29, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

Oldest Living Veterans from any wars I meant the Oldest Living Veterans from Any War in History! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk) 03:42, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
 * The oldest two I know of are Richard Arvin Overton and Gustav Gerneth who are both 112 and both served during World War II. It's possible that there are older veterans but you'll have to look elsewhere for them, as I don't know of any others. Emk9 (talk) 04:16, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

Oldest Living Veterans I know you can do it! Search the oldest living solders from any war in History in 2018! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk) 04:42, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Likewise I imagine you could also do it Emk9 (talk) 05:11, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

Oldest Living Veterans I Want to know about the oldest living veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk) 19:07, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Richard Arvin Overton and Gustav Gerneth are the oldest living veterans from the US and Germany who served during WWII. I don't know what to do for Korea, since most of the officers from the war will have died by now. For the other three wars, I'd suggest looking up generals and other high ranking officers first, then working down by rank. That will likely give you the oldest veterans for those wars, especially since high ranking officers are more likely to have good documentation. Emk9 (talk) 20:03, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

Oldest Living Veterans So who is the Oldest Living Veteran in the World? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.200.46 (talk) 21:05, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
 * The oldest two I know of are Richard Arvin Overton and Gustav Gerneth. There may be older veterans that I don't know of and possibly are not publicly known, but you'll have to look somewhere else for that since it's likely not on wikipedia. Emk9 (talk) 22:39, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

No surviving solders of World War 1
There are no veterans of WW1! That is so sad!

Guy Putnam, while serving aboard a USN vessel, adjacent to the Spanish Civil War, was a neutral, not a veteran
Putnam was covered in a recent article in the Virginian-Pilot.
 * At 100 years old, Norfolk man is still dancing – and driving, Claire Mitzel, The Virginian-Pilot, May 31, 2018
 * {| class="wikitable"


 * "His first four years in the Navy were spent in Spain helping evacuate American refugees during the Spanish Civil War."
 * "His first four years in the Navy were spent in Spain helping evacuate American refugees during the Spanish Civil War."

So, Putnam was not a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. The USA was officially neutral. Did his ship ever sending landing parties to help US citizens get aboard? Possible. Likely? I dunno. While Italy and Germany encouraged individuals to aid Franco's side, it is my understanding that the USSR was the only country that didn't put impediments in the way of its citizens volunteering for the elected government's side.
 * }

Putnam seems to have enlisted, at 18, in 1936. The article says the WW2 need for more officers lead to his being commissioned as an ensign, even though he lacked a college degree. It seems to state all his WW2 experience was served safely ashore, in the USA. He did earn a degree, and retire, after 22 years, as a Lieutenant Commander.

Still, not a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Not even an official observer.

Sounds like he was still healthy, in May 2018. So, good luck to him.

So, I trimmed him. Geo Swan (talk) 18:45, 13 October 2018 (UTC)

Penultimate veterans
I've recently trimmed the list. There were a lot of veterans listed who were second to last, or third to last, etc. One guy died twenty years before the last veteran. I've only left people who were the last veteran, the last veteran of a particular side or regiment, the last veteran of a specific battle, or other notable last achievement. Bkatcher (talk) 03:56, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

I disagree, why not include more than one? The title is "last surviving veteranS". I don't see the necessity to ignore the penultimate or so AndrewZanelato (talk) 00:47, 24 August 2021 (UTC)


 * I agree with Bkatcher. Having the last two, three, four+ veterans adds nothing but clutter to this list if they were not the last known person to do something or be apart of something that is significant to the conflict. The criteria mentioned in the original post provides more than enough reason to add any penultimate veterans as long as they were the "last" in one of those categories. Lemunz (talk) 05:10, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

Ok AndrewZanelato (talk) 21:08, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932
I've just added a combattant who died days ago (the last boy scout/messenger) but he wasn't yet the last one, I asked a historian from the veterans association and he told me there are others still alive. Also since the list is becoming too long I propose a separate article about them. AndrewZanelato (talk) 21:17, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

"known"
Sure we should state that these are the last  known  veterans of these wars. This is particularly because the in many cases (particularly the early ones) our knowledge is very incomplete. FOARP (talk) 15:24, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

Last American revolutionary War Veterans?

 * Jessie Bright. According to Freeman Bureau records the ex-slave and freeman died at Howard Hospital, Lauderdale, Miss July 29, 1867 at age 105 and claimed to have been at the Battle of Brandywine Creek at the age of 15.
 * James Bowes (or Boaz) who died in Falmouth, Maine in 1872 reported to have been an African American Veteran of the American revolution
 * The guy who posted this said he has no way of knowing if this story was true. A lot of old men exaggerated their ages and claimed to have been at historical battles. You'd need more than a third hand story. Bkatcher (talk) 05:52, 22 November 2023 (UTC)