[Deathwatch] John Babcock, Canada’s last known veteran of WWI, 108

[Notification of departing celebrities]

  John Babcock, 108; Canada’s last known veteran of WWI

By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press  | February 20, 2010

SPOKANE, Wash. - The last Canadian veteran of World War I has died at 
the age of 109.

John Babcock died Thursday in Spokane, where he has lived since 1932, 
according to a statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada.

“I was deeply saddened to learn today of the death of John Babcock, 
Canada’s last known First World War veteran,’’ Harper said. “As a 
nation, we honor his service and mourn his passing.’’

Babcock had become a celebrity in recent years, especially in Canada.

“John Babcock was Canada’s last living link to the Great War, which in 
so many ways marked our coming of age as a nation,’’ Harper said.

He said that 650,000 men and women served in the Canadian forces during WWI.

“Today they are all gone,’’ Harper said. “Canada mourns the passing of 
the generation that asserted our independence on the world stage and 
established our international reputation as an unwavering champion of 
freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.’’

The United States has one surviving World War I veteran. Frank Woodruff 
Buckles turned 109 this month in West Virginia.

Mr. Babcock was born on an Ontario farm and enlisted with the Royal 
Canadian Regiment when he was just 15, lying about his age. He trained 
with nearly 1,300 other underage soldiers in anticipation of crossing 
the English Channel and facing enemy fire, but the war ended before he 
could set foot in France.

Soon after the war, he moved to the United States, where he served in 
the US Army and became a naturalized citizen.

Mr. Babcock attributed his longevity to the physical training he 
received from serving in two armies in his youth. He did not drink much 
and stopped smoking a long time ago.

He leaves his second wife, a son, a daughter, and numerous grandchildren.

Mr. Babcock was born into a large family that scattered after his father 
died in a logging accident when the boy was 6. He lived with relatives 
and did hard physical labor on a farm while receiving only a rudimentary 
education.

According to an autobiography he wrote for his 100th birthday, he 
enlisted in the Canadian Army just after New Year’s Day in 1916. Posted 
to several training camps, he was deemed too young for combat, so he was 
given assignments in Canada.

While unloading military trucks in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he answered a 
call for volunteers to head to France.

But it was discovered in England that he was only 16, and he was 
assigned to the so-called Young Soldiers Battalion, who were held out of 
battle. Mr. Babcock ended up in Wales in 1918, but the war ended and he 
shipped back to Canada.

He worked on farms and at 19 received vocational training in electrical 
wiring. Seeking work, he paid a $7 tax to enter the United States, 
taking various jobs. He joined the US Army in 1921, even though he was 
not a citizen.

He tried to enlist in the US military again in 1941, hoping to learn to 
fly. He did not get in, but it was discovered he had never become a US 
citizen. It was not until 1946 that he was naturalized.
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