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World War II Veterans

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9 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:


Yes, but they're not notable individuals he's posting about...

 

+ There's the happy birthday thread for those kinds of posts.

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10 hours ago, wannamaker said:

 

+ There's the happy birthday thread for those kinds of posts.

 

Which is not what it was set up for.

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12 hours ago, Ulitzer95 said:


Yes, but they're not notable individuals he's posting about...


104 year old WW2 vet.

 

they are fairly notable now. Much like the dwindling WW1 survivors about a decade ago. 

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2 hours ago, Windsor said:


104 year old WW2 vet.

 

they are fairly notable now. Much like the dwindling WW1 survivors about a decade ago. 


No. Ten years ago there were very few remaining WWI vets. There are still literally hundreds of thousands of living WWII vets. While these posts are well meaning they are premature. If you were paying proper attention you could make one of these birthday posts every day. At this point these posts are just pollution in an otherwise interesting and useful thread. 

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1 hour ago, arrowsmith said:


No. Ten years ago there were very few remaining WWI vets. There are still literally hundreds of thousands of living WWII vets. While these posts are well meaning they are premature. If you were paying proper attention you could make one of these birthday posts every day. At this point these posts are just pollution in an otherwise interesting and useful thread. 


Good for a theme team then. Also good for those of our members who enjoy the low hanging fruit. 

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Just now, Windsor said:


Good for a theme team then. Also good for those of our members who enjoy the low hanging fruit. 


I wish to point out that I was not referring to testicles. 

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On 18/05/2023 at 19:22, arghton said:

As we're listing lasts...

 

Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 aka. "soomepoisid" ("Finnish Boys"). Estonian volunteers who fought for Finland. 

There were 134 at the start of 2017. This article from early 2021 says that there are 15 living in Estonia and "around twenty" outside Estonia. A very recent source says there are have been only four in Estonia since Oliver Tammsalu died a month ago. Soomepoisid facebook said in June 2022 that there should be a total of around 18 alive.

 

Addold Mossin, 103: Neopaganist and political activist. According to online telephone directories, lives in Sweden's Täby. Alive as of December 2022, but last appearance was September 2016 and he was already decrepit back then.

 

Erich Anton, 96: In good health last summer.

 

Taavi Kaups, 96: Lives in Chicago. Was using a frame in 2021.

 

Lembit Kaselaan, 98: Not in best health but was well enough to be interviewed last year.

 

Gustav Pitka, 98: Been a while since his last appearance.

 

Edgar Mänd, 98: "In good health" but not seen in years.

 

Heino Sepp, 96: As above.

 

Riho Leipalu, 99: Lives in an apartment building/care home in Rönninge, Sweden.

 

Jaanus Jahilo, 98: Able to walk without aid and still attending events frequently. Probably in the best health out of this group.

 

Artur Roopalu, 98: Still attending events but uses a walking stick.

 

Raivo Rähni, 98: Alive according to Soomepoisid facebook.

 

Endel Hert, 97: As above.

 

Harri Mutvei, 97: Paleozoologist apparently still working! Lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

Henry Heino Kivi, 99/100: Alive in 2020 according to Finland's Sotaveteraaniliitto and the Soomepoisid facebook wished him a happy birthday in 2023. 

Lembit Kaselaan died at the end of last month at 98 according to Soomepoisid facebook. That should leave 13 (give or take one or two) of the ca. 1850 JR200 volunteers.

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Rest in peace to Raymond Cassagnol (1920-2023), who was reported as the last living Haitian Tuskegee Airman who fought during World War Two, and was known as Red Tails or Schwartze Vogelmenschen” ("The Black Birdman") by the Nazis.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/2023/06/30/tuskegee-airmen-death/bbecf2de-1788-11ee-9de3-ba1fa29e9bec_story.html

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On 30/06/2023 at 19:51, Alex B said:

Rest in peace to Raymond Cassagnol (1920-2023), who was reported as the last living Haitian Tuskegee Airman who fought during World War Two, and was known as Red Tails or Schwartze Vogelmenschen” ("The Black Birdman") by the Nazis.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/2023/06/30/tuskegee-airmen-death/bbecf2de-1788-11ee-9de3-ba1fa29e9bec_story.html


We have a Tuskegee Airmen thread.  FYI.

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On 11/11/2021 at 00:48, Ulitzer95 said:

Annette Chalut (wiki), member of the French Resistance during WWII and a survivor of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, dead at 97 (in German).

Along with Francis Huré, Hubert Germain (who just got a Telegraph obit), and Justus Rosenberg, that's four WWII resistants who had English Wiki pages dead in less than a month.

13 survivors from my Wiki watchlist:

Maria Mirecka-Loryś (b. 1916, wiki)
Monique Hanotte MBE (b. 1920, wiki)
Epaminondas Stassinopoulos (b. 1921, wiki)
Jacques Borker (b. 1922, wiki)
Selma van de Perre (b. 1922, wiki)
Valérie André (b. 1922, wiki)
Jacqueline Fleury (b. 1923, wiki)
Madeleine Riffaud (b. 1924, wiki)
Pirro Kondi (b. 1924, wiki) could be dead?
Walkiria Terradura (b. 1924, wiki)
Adolfo Kaminsky (b. 1925, wiki)
Robert Hébras (b. 1925, wiki)
Simone Segouin (b. 1925, wiki)

Walkiria Terradura dead at 99.

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On 17/02/2022 at 12:20, arghton said:

Kazimierz Klimczak, Polish Colonel and WWII recently celebrated his 108th birthday.

gf-nSVq-A2di-ecWR_pulkownik-kazimierz-klimczak-skonczyl-108-lat-to-najstarszy-zyjacy-powstaniec-warszawski-664x442.jpg.bcc1a6812d2c893ae312f14088b57cac.jpg

(Old picture)

He was seriously wounded around 1939, must be one of the oldest "war invalids" living. 

 

Klimczak passed away on July 14.

https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2023-07-14/nie-zyje-plk-kazimierz-klimczak-najstarszy-zolnierz-wp-powstaniec-warszawski-mial-109-lat/

https://tvn24.pl/tvnwarszawa/najnowsze/warszawa-zmarl-pulkownik-kazimierz-klimczak-najstarszy-powstaniec-warszawski-7228597

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On 05/05/2020 at 21:49, Death Impends said:

 

The last surviving Monuments Woman, Motoko Huthwaite, dead of coronavirus aged 92.

 

Also, Sami died last year and Defino this year, leaving Richard Barancik as the very last Monuments Man.

Richard Barancik reportedly dead: https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/post/the-last-remaining-monuments-man-dies-at-98

 

All gone.

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Facebook post announcing the death of Vincent Speranza (wiki), aged 98.

Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient. Not really sure why he merits a Wikipedia page though...

vincent_speranza-_2015.jpg.2c7ff6a50a2466a043b1821163d276d7.jpg

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On 15/10/2021 at 19:34, arghton said:

Going through people interviewed in the "Sata tarinaa sodasta" ("One hundred stories about war") Ilta-Sanomat interviews in 2017. These 100 Finnish war veterans/people who experienced the war were interviewed, interesting to see how many are still alive:

 

Part 5:

  Reveal hidden contents

81. Jouko Eräkorpi (1921-) Senior lieutenant, war invalid

82. Ritva Tuulos (1924-2020) Lotta Svärd member, radist

83. Juhani Eskola (1922-2020) Lieutenant, pilot

84. Elisabeth Rehn (1935-) Lotta Svärd member, Undersecretary General of the United Nations 1995-1999 and Minister of Defence 1990-1995, youngest person interviewed

85. Viljo Lehtinen (1923-) Vääpeli/first sergeant

86. Jouko Korhonen (1921-) Senior lieutenant

87. Tuomas Gerdt (1923-2020) Captain, last living recipient of the Mannerheim Cross

88. Mauri Maunula (1921-) Captain, still active

89. Salomon Altschuler (1913-2019) Corporal

90. Saara Kanerva (1912-2019) Lotta Svärd (war censor), oldest person interviewed

91. Lauri Puonti (1924-) "Dieselmatruusi" seaman

92. Pauli Salonius (1919-2017) Ylimatruusi/lance corporal

93. Valto Pusenius (1925-) Jäger

94. Erik Holmström (1920-2020) Sergeant

95. Mauno Turunen (1923-) Lieutenant

96. Viljo Saari (1921-) Sergeant

97. Milja Eräkorpi (1929-) Lotta Svärd member

98. Eeva-Liisa Kumpulainen (1924-) Lotta Svärd member

99. Jaakko Valtanen (1924-) General, Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces 1983-1990, first guest to greet the President of Finland in the annual Independence Day Receptions since 2016

100. Yrjö Savola (1923-) Sergeant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4WEjrwubQE (Interviews 81-100).

 

See spoiler...(number 86)

 

Senior lieutenant Jouko Korhonen, last veteran of Finland's WWII long-range patrolsdead at 101

 

Edit: Apparently he died in a bicycle accident.

 

Edit 2: Updated the list also for the deaths of Jäger Valto Pusenius, Lt. Mauno Turunen, Sgt. Yrjö Savola and Senior Lt. Hans Andersson. 

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2 minutes ago, arghton said:

See spoiler...(number 86)

 

Senior lieutenant Jouko Korhonen, last veteran of Finland's WWII long-range patrolsdead at 101

 

Edit: Apparently he died in a bicycle accident.

i hate to say this but, that's kinda ironic...

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44 minutes ago, Insane said:

i hate to say this but, that's kinda ironic...


How?

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Dying in a bicycle accident at the age of 101 is kind of badass. Jimmy Carter would have survived the accident, though.

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4 hours ago, arrowsmith said:


How?

the Finnish used bikes heavily in ww2.

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Telegraph obit for Michael de Burgh, aged 100, "the last surviving member of any antecedent regiment of the Royal Lancers who saw active service in the Second World War" (whatever that means).

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16 hours ago, whoismakoto said:

Starr Teriitahi, French Polynesia's last living WWII veteran, dead at 99


This article is very clear that he was the second to last. This leaves Ari Won Kim as the last Tahitian (and French Polynesian) veteran. 
 

Edit: adjusted punctuation 

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