Last U.S. World War I veteran to mark 110th birthday on Feb. 1

World War I veteran Frank Woodruff Buckles wears a medal of the French Legion of Honor, installed by Jacques Chirac, president of France and Grand Master of the Order, at the French Embassy, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 1999.

Though most calendars do not indicate any special events for the first day of February, the day does hold special significance for the United States. On that day, Frank Woodruff Buckles, the only surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, will be 110 years old. He has been the subject of numerous articles and interviews, especially in the past three years since he became the "last man standing."

Born near Bethany, Mo., on Feb. 1, 1901, he moved with his family to a farm outside Walker, Mo., in 1910, where he attended school. In 1916, another move took the family to Oklahoma, but the next year Frank managed to enlist in the U.S. Army at the age of 16. Soon, he was sailing to Europe aboard the HMS Carpathia, rescuer of the HMS Titanic survivors. He was on his way to join other U.S. forces and their allies engulfed in the first World War. He eventually made his way to France and spent time escorting German prisoners back to their homeland following the Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918.

The post-war years found him in the banking and shipping trades, even spending time in Germany in the late 1930's. While working for a shipping firm in the Philippines, Frank became a prisoner of the invading Japanese army in December 1941. He would spend more than three years in P.O.W. camps before the U.S. 11th Airborne came to the rescue.

Buckles has spent the past several decades managing his Charles Town, W. Va;, cattle farm, now with the assistance of his daughter and her husband. In recent months he has been doing his part to bring attention to the relatively uncelebrated World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.

At the time of this writing, Buckles is scheduled to have a special mention on Willard Scott's birthdays segment of the Today Show on Feb. 16.