Just a man

Just a 109 year old man.

Last survivor of Passchendaele (don't worry - I cannot pronounce it either).

Ok - if that does not ring a bell - how about this?

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
—By John McCrae

Last survivor of a 3 month battle which saw over 500,000 lives lost. Between the start of the campaign on July 31 and its end on November 8, an average of 5,000 men were killed or wounded.

This one survived. He is the last known survivor of the battles on Flanders fields, and one of the last know survivors to see the front lines in World War 1.

You know, ancient history right?

"I fell in a trench. There was a fella there. He must have been about our age. He was ripped shoulder to waist with shrapnel. I held his hand for the last 60 seconds of his life. He only said one word: 'Mother'. I didn't see her, but she was there. No doubt about it. He passed from this life into the next, and it felt as if I was in God's presence. I've never got over it. You never forget it. Never." — Henry Patch, last living survivor of Passchendaele, 12/07/2007

Not for him.