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PHOTOGRAPHER RACES CLOCK TO HONOR LAST
FEW
WORLD WAR I VETERANS -- "In my view, America has
missed the boat in documenting this part of
history.
It was such a pivotal moment in global history."
Antonio Pierro, 110, of
Massachusetts served with the U.S. military in World War I and
died in 2007. (photo: David DeJonge) |
Be sure to watch the video of this story at the
link below.
Story here...
http://www.cnn.com/2
008/US/11/11/war.vets.photos/index.html
Story below:
Your comments accepted at bottom of page.
-------------------------
Photographer races clock to honor last few World
War I vets
From Mark Bixler and Paula Hancocks
(CNN) -- Photographer David DeJonge plans to capture a vanishing bit of
history Tuesday on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
There, he hopes to photograph 107-year-old Frank Buckles, one of the few
men still alive who fought in World War I. Buckles will lay a wreath at
the grave of Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who led U.S. forces in
Europe in World War I.
The visit comes 90 years to the day after the end of World War I, an
occasion that led to Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day
in other nations.
For DeJonge, it's a poignant reminder that time is running out in his
quest to find and photograph the few surviving veterans of the war, which
raged from 1914 to 1918.
"In my view, America has missed the boat in documenting this part of
history," said DeJonge, a portrait photographer from Zeeland, Michigan.
"It was such a pivotal moment in global history."
He has raced the clock for the past two years to photograph the dwindling
number of surviving World War I veterans, a mission he embraces with a
keen appreciation for the ticking clock: Eight of 12 veterans he has
photographed in the past two years are now dead.
"It's a tragic loss: a tragic loss for the project and for global
history," he said. "These are the last breaths of the last souls who
witnessed one of the most horrific wars this world has ever seen."
DeJonge knows of only 10 living veterans worldwide who fought during World
War I.
Four live in Britain, two in Australia, two in France and two in the
United States: Buckles and 108-year-old John Babcock of Spokane,
Washington, who served with Canadian forces during World War I, DeJonge
said.
 Each
week or month that passes, it seems, brings news of an aging veteran
succumbing before DeJonge can find the time and money to photograph him.
Not long ago, he said, two Jamaicans who fought with the British during
World War I died. The last known German, French and Austro-Hungarian
veterans died in the last year as well.
"These are the last of the last," he said.
DeJonge said he became interested in photographing war veterans in 1996,
when he worked on a project to chronicle U.S. veterans of several wars.
The subjects included two men who served during World War I.
He tried to interest a photography organization in a national project to
document the remaining U.S. World War I veterans -- about 600 were alive
in the mid-1990s, DeJonge said -- but that didn't happen.
So he set out two years ago to try to do it on his own. DeJonge has
received some financial help here and there, he said, but has paid most
costs himself.
"I have paid about $100,000 of my own money," he said.
He spends about half his time at home in Michigan, taking photographs to
earn his living. He spends the other half conducting research, traveling
to points distant or photographing aging vets.
"I have an incredibly supportive wife," he said.
He is trying to find money and time to take pictures of two vets in
Australia and two in France, he said. And he would love to check out
unconfirmed reports of an elderly man in the Ukraine who says he served
with the Russian military during what also is known as the Great War and
the War to End All Wars.
In March, he donated nine portraits of World War I veterans that the
Pentagon plans to display permanently. He traveled to Washington that
month with Buckles, who drove an ambulance in Britain and France during
the war as a corporal in the U.S. Army.
In a White House ceremony in March, President Bush paid tribute to
Buckles, who said he lied about his age and enlisted at age 15.
"Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times, and one way for
me to honor the service of those who wore the uniform in the past and
those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much
for your patriotism and your love for America," he said during the March
ceremony.
DeJonge and Buckles plan to drive Tuesday from Buckles' cattle farm in
Charles Town, West Virginia, to Arlington National Cemetery near
Washington.
The photographer said he feels "just an unbelievable respect" for men and
women who served their country. And he savors the living history lessons
they provide.
"It really is like stepping back in time," he said.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
-------------------------
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