World War II Veterans

[The Immortal 634]

On 01/03/2023 at 13:42, TheSpinosaurus said:

I'd say around 20 Pearl Harbor survivors left but even that seems to be optimistic.

 

Could only confirm around 10 alive as of 2022.

 

Louis Conter (101) - USS Arizona survivor

Ken Potts (101) - USS Arizona survivor

Joseph Eskenazi (105) - Oldest known survivor

Freeman Johnson (101)

Sterling Cale (101)

Horace Hamilton (98)

Herbert Elfring (100)

Bob Batterson (101)

Ike Schab (102)

Mal Middlesworth (100)

 

Mal Middlesworth dead. 

 

I reckon Schab or Hamilton will go next. Schab has been hospitalized several times for pneumonia and other respiratory problems and generally is in poor health, while Hamilton on the other hand looked skeletal in his most recent public appearance back in December.

[Sinbabad 1,110]

On 01/03/2023 at 11:06, DaDeathGuy said:

And should we also count the kids there for Bring your son to work Day? It's fair to just have it for veterans.

Maybe whe should count women who worked on the base as nurses ?

[alt obits guy 3,371]

Fred Hill, a Royal Air Force pilot, World War 2 veteran and Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, has died. He was 101.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-65111825

[I.R.Baboon 221]

On 14/11/2022 at 11:08, I.R.Baboon said:

Rudi Hemmes (99) has died. He was one of the last living Engelandvaarders , the men and women who tried to escape from occupied The Netherlands to England. Only about 1 in 10 survived the trip. You might remember the story from Paul Verhoevens Soldier of Orange .

 

They they stopped with their yearly reunions in 2018 because there were only around 10 of them left and I've found quite a few obituaries of Engelandvaarders since then.  (Bram Grisnigt, Rinus Zuidijk and Charles Bartelings died in 2019, Eddy Jonker and Jaap Hinderink died in 2020 and Jan Staal died in 2021)

 

Looks like Ellis Brandon, Bernard Uiling and Leo Hendrikx are the only ones still alive.

Leo Hendrikx (99) has died: https://nos.nl/l/2470068 . Unless some new name pops up, only 2 Engelandvaarders remain.

[I.R.Baboon 221]

Well they go even faster than I thought... cause Bernard Uiling (100) died last month (this is the only mention I can find, wasn't picked up by any media). Looks like Ellis Brandon is the last then. She'll turn 100 in 4 days.

 

(It's odd, neither Museum Engelandvaarders nor the Ministry of Defence seems to have a list of living Engelandvaarders, the Ministry did say Bernard Uiling was 'one of the last'.) 

[ThereWillBeDeaths7 720]

On 14/11/2022 at 11:08, I.R.Baboon said:

Looks like Ellis Brandon, Bernard Uiling and Leo Hendrikx are the only ones still alive.

 

Quite surprising as Leo Hendrikx and Bernard Uiling were the two men sitting on the left; when this picture was posted I did not expect them to outlive all of the other male Engelandvaarders (perhaps Hendrikx (L) but certainly not Uiling).

 

12 minutes ago, I.R.Baboon said:

(It's odd, neither Museum Engelandvaarders nor the Ministry of Defence seems to have a list of living Engelandvaarders, the Ministry did say Bernard Uiling was 'one of the last'.) 

 

Very relatable to me, there are multiple Engelandvaarders which I would presume are dead but which I haven't been able to find an obit for. The only one we can be sort of sure about being alive is Ellis Brandon, I agree.

 

Ellis Brandon (99)
8 april 1923

 

Below are Engelandvaarders which were probably alive in recent years so could be alive, but I'm not sure about it. If they died in recent years they probably lived in a nice cottage in Ruinerwold, given the lack of an obit:

 

Johannes Roest (96?)
2 april 1927

 

Jack Kerkhoff (100?)
21 juli 1922

 

Mink Ferwerda (103?)
17 november 1919

 

And these ones I'm quite sure of are dead but as above, their obits must've been published in one of PM Rutte's text messages as they seem to have vanished off the earth:

 

Jan Bastiaan (April 21, 1921)

Jan Bernard Marinus "Bob" Haye (August 28, 1922)

Ben Reynders (April 14, 1924)

Sietse Rienksma (December 26, 1915)

Hans van Zanten (1919)

 

 

[I.R.Baboon 221]

Mink Ferwerda died last year . Apart from that, he didn't succeed in reaching England .

[ThereWillBeDeaths7 720]

1 hour ago, I.R.Baboon said:

Mink Ferwerda died last year . Apart from that, he didn't succeed in reaching England .

Thanks, bit of an oversight by me. 

 

Kerkhoff served in the foreign legion during the war, which cost him his Dutch citizenship and he later wasn't a member of the Genootschap van Engelandvaarders. Might be an explanation why the organisation wouldn't be made aware of his passing, if it did happen.

 

Johannes Roest I'd say is more likely to be alive given he would still be a youngster at 96, compared to most other Engelandvaarders. But something we have to remember is that not everyone makes it to 96 

 

According to my research, about 15-16 Engelandvaarders passed away since the final yearly meeting of Engelandvaarders in 2018. Even if there are some names which have gone unnoticed until now, the total number of living Engelandvaarders would most likely not be higher than 3 or 4.

[alt obits guy 3,371]

(Also posted in 'The Dutch thread.)

 

Leo Hendrikx, one of the last Dutch Spitfire pilots to join the Royal Air Force to fight the Second World War, has died. He was 99.

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2023/04/dutch-wwii-spitfire-pilot-leo-hendrikx-dies-aged-99/

[drol 11,912]

6 minutes ago, alt obits guy said:

(Also posted in 'The Dutch thread.)

 

Leo Hendrikx, one of the last Dutch Spitfire pilots to join the Royal Air Force to fight the Second World War, has died. He was 99.

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2023/04/dutch-wwii-spitfire-pilot-leo-hendrikx-dies-aged-99/

[Sir Creep 7,070]

On 07/04/2023 at 10:12, drol said:

Check the Dutch thread maybe this happened there too!

[arghton 6,695]

On 04/10/2022 at 17:21, arghton said:

Osman Abdrahim is still alive at 101. Here a week ago with three other WWII vets , ages 100 to 101 (Abdrahim is the guy with the glasses):

 

Also read a while ago that there are around 10-15 veterans of the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 still living. (From wikipedia: unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany)

Among the living ones are Taavi Kaups (96, lives in the US), Erich Anton (96), Lembit Kaselaan (98), Jaanus Jahilu and Artur Roopalu (both 97)

Osman Abdrahim, one of the last Finnish Tatars who fought in WWII, dead at 102.

[apoyta 0]

8 hours ago, arghton said:

Osman Abdrahim, one of the last Finnish Tatars who fought in WWII, dead at 102.

He has been mistakenly reported as the last Tatar veteran by the media, however, Fazlulla Fethulla (1924–) is very likely still alive – he participated in the Independence day reception last year and the last interview of him is from the last month. It is likely that there are some female veterans living as well.

[Gisooo 3,297]

On 04/10/2022 at 16:21, arghton said:

Osman Abdrahim is still alive at 101. Here a week ago with three other WWII vets , ages 100 to 101 (Abdrahim is the guy with the glasses):

 

Also read a while ago that there are around 10-15 veterans of the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 still living. (From wikipedia: unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany)

Among the living ones are Taavi Kaups (96, lives in the US), Erich Anton (96), Lembit Kaselaan (98), Jaanus Jahilu and Artur Roopalu (both 97)

 

What are the name of two female veteran in this photo?

[Sinbabad 1,110]

What about the battle of Midway ? Are there any livings veterans ? Pilots ?

[Alex B 83]

On 21/04/2023 at 17:15, Sinbabad said:

What about the battle of Midway ? Are there any livings veterans ? Pilots ?

There are a few veterans still alive today from the Battle of Midway, however the last known living dive bomber pilot of Midway died back in 2016, his name was Norman Kleiss (March 7th, 1916- April 22nd, 2016)

 

There are some veterans still with us today, one passed away very recently, his name was Truxton King TK Ford (May 1st, 1923 - March 29th, 2023)

 https://northplattepost.com/posts/15fd384a-6110-4e8c-a303-345f1ddda0d1, but i will list the few that i know of, including Ervin "Judge" Wendt (1916-) https://thelogbookproject.com/ervin-wendt/ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2022-06-04/80th-anniversary-battle-midway, Charles Monroe (1924-) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11879472/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-25/midway-museum-founding-president-mclaughlin-retire, John L. Patton (1923-) https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/military/veterans/2023/04/04/st-johns-county-honors-world-war-ii-navy-veteran-of-midway-and-more/70076126007/, and Hank Kudzik (1926-) https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/macungie-honors-veterans-on-77th-anniversary-of-vj-day/article_cc6dd1e8-1cd2-11ed-8a22-97243f06e029.html

Edited April 25, 2023 by Alex B
Adding

[Sinbabad 1,110]

Thank you for your answer.

[Alex B 83]

You're welcome 

[Sir Creep 7,070]

22 hours ago, Alex B said:

There are a few veterans still alive today from the Battle of Midway, however the last known living dive bomber pilot of Midway died back in 2016, his name was Norman Kleiss (March 7th, 1916- April 22nd, 2016)

 

There are some veterans still with us today, one passed away very recently, his name was Truxton King TK Ford (May 1st, 1923 - March 29th, 2023)

 https://northplattepost.com/posts/15fd384a-6110-4e8c-a303-345f1ddda0d1, but i will list the few that i know of, including Ervin "Judge" Wendt (1916-) https://thelogbookproject.com/ervin-wendt/ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2022-06-04/80th-anniversary-battle-midway, Charles Monroe (1924-) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11879472/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-25/midway-museum-founding-president-mclaughlin-retire, John L. Patton (1923-) https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/military/veterans/2023/04/04/st-johns-county-honors-world-war-ii-navy-veteran-of-midway-and-more/70076126007/, and Hank Kudzik (1926-) https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/macungie-honors-veterans-on-77th-anniversary-of-vj-day/article_cc6dd1e8-1cd2-11ed-8a22-97243f06e029.html

Since literally NO ONE comes barrelling onto DL with a post like this, allow me to say hello to whoever you are, alt ID.

[Alex B 83]

23 hours ago, Sinbabad said:

Thank you for your answer.

Oh hello Sir Creep, I apologize if my post wasn't part of the rules here, I just wanted to help answer Sinbabad's question about surviving Midway veterans, just helping out a fellow brother

[Ulitzer95 12,576]

12 hours ago, Alex B said:

Oh hello Sir Creep, I apologize if my post wasn't part of the rules here, I just wanted to help answer Sinbabad's question about surviving Midway veterans, just helping out a fellow brother

Ignore Sir Creep. He’s the resident Billy-no-mates cunt on here.

 

Welcome!

[Alex B 83]

8 hours ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Ignore Sir Creep. He’s the resident Billy-no-mates cunt on here.

 

Welcome!

Ah i see, will do 

[Hurri Khan 36]

On 07/04/2021 at 23:40, arghton said:

I was wondering how many recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross are alive or could be alive...

What I found:

 

 

WIKIPEDIA: Hugo Broch (born 1922) Luftwaffe ace. Still looked great at 95. Most likely won't die off radar.

 

Heinz Rafoth (born 1923) According to warrelics.eu, was alive in 2020

Lorenz Neumayr (born 1926) Mentioned possibly alive on the same site. However in a later post it is mentioned that he is probably dead.

 

Ones that have died since January 2020:

Jakob Kuchar (1923-2020) Mentioned alive in 2020, but I can't find any other source confirming this Died on 1st of January 2020.

Paul-Georg Kleffel (1920-2020) Died on 19th of February 2020.

Ludwig Bauer (1923-2020) Died on 20th of May 2020.

WIKIPEDIA: Karl-Günther von Hase (1917-2021) German Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1970-1977. Died on 9th of May 2021.

Gerhard Zoppoth (1923-2021) Mentioned alive by warrelics eu in 2020. Died on 13th of September 2021.

Johann Hans Trummer (1920-2022) According to the same site, was alive in 2020. Died on the 1st of March 2022.

Helmut Wieselhuber (1922-2022) Once rumored to have died in 2007. Mentioned alive by the axishistory forum in 2010 and by warrelics.eu in 2020. Died on the 20th of May 2022.

 

On 26/10/2021 at 15:57, Ulitzer95 said:

As you said, Neumayr is possibly living.

Neumayr died on March 15, aged "only" 96.

https://trauer.augsburger-allgemeine.de/traueranzeige/lorenz-neumayr

https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/76828/Neumayr-Lorenz.htm

[Alex B 83]

On 28/04/2023 at 11:41, Hurri Khan said:

 

Neumayr died on March 15, aged "only" 96.

https://trauer.augsburger-allgemeine.de/traueranzeige/lorenz-neumayr

https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/76828/Neumayr-Lorenz.htm

As far as i know through much studying to find out how many Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients are still alive as of today, only 3 came up so far

Hugo Broch (1922-)

Heinz Rafoth (1923-)

Leo Rinkowski (1924-)

[Ulitzer95 12,576]

16 minutes ago, Alex B said:

As far as i know through much studying to find out how many Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients are still alive as of today, only 3 came up so far

Hugo Broch (1922-)

Heinz Rafoth (1923-)

Leo Rinkowski (1924-)

According to this book, Rinkowski is deceased.

I'm convinced there are just two left now – Broch and Rafoth.