(no truth to the rumor that the world's second oldest man has been spending the past couple years making daily phone calls to a number in England and when the phone is picked up, he yells, "BOO!")
d1g1t
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/18/henry-allingham-worlds-ol_n_239141.html
<script type="text/javascript"> threeup_js('World', '239141', '1'); </script> <!-- Modal --> <script type="text/javascript"> document.write('Your request is being processed...'); </script>Your request is being processed...
<!-- /Modal --> <!--ASKCRAWL--> <!-- Entries --> <!-- Reporter --> <!-- Entry --> Henry Allingham: World's Oldest Man Dies At 113
LONDON — The world's oldest man, 113-year-old World War I veteran Henry Allingham, died Saturday after spending his final years reminding Britain about the 9 million soldiers killed during the conflict.
Allingham was the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1918. He made it a personal crusade to talk about a conflict that wiped out much of a generation. Though nearly blind, he would take the outstretched hands of visitors in both of his, gaze into the eyes of children, veterans and journalists and deliver a message he wanted them all to remember.
"I want everyone to know," he told The Associated Press during an interview in November. "They died for us."
Only a handful of World War I veterans remain of the estimated 68 million mobilized. There are no French veterans left alive; the last living American-born veteran is Frank Woodruff Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia.
"It's the end of a era – a very special and unique generation," said Allingham's longtime friend, Dennis Goodwin, who confirmed Allingham's death. "The British people owe them a great deal of gratitude."
Born June 6, 1896, Allingham left school at 15 and was working in a car factory in east London when war broke out in 1914.
(remainder at url link above)
d1g1t
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/18/henry-allingham-worlds-ol_n_239141.html
<script type="text/javascript"> threeup_js('World', '239141', '1'); </script> <!-- Modal --> <script type="text/javascript"> document.write('Your request is being processed...'); </script>Your request is being processed...
<!-- /Modal --> <!--ASKCRAWL--> <!-- Entries --> <!-- Reporter --> <!-- Entry --> Henry Allingham: World's Oldest Man Dies At 113
LONDON — The world's oldest man, 113-year-old World War I veteran Henry Allingham, died Saturday after spending his final years reminding Britain about the 9 million soldiers killed during the conflict.
Allingham was the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1918. He made it a personal crusade to talk about a conflict that wiped out much of a generation. Though nearly blind, he would take the outstretched hands of visitors in both of his, gaze into the eyes of children, veterans and journalists and deliver a message he wanted them all to remember.
"I want everyone to know," he told The Associated Press during an interview in November. "They died for us."
Only a handful of World War I veterans remain of the estimated 68 million mobilized. There are no French veterans left alive; the last living American-born veteran is Frank Woodruff Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia.
"It's the end of a era – a very special and unique generation," said Allingham's longtime friend, Dennis Goodwin, who confirmed Allingham's death. "The British people owe them a great deal of gratitude."
Born June 6, 1896, Allingham left school at 15 and was working in a car factory in east London when war broke out in 1914.
(remainder at url link above)
