Deaths of World's Oldest Men Leave Few WWI Vets

July 25, 2009 — -- Millions of soldiers died in World War I, but for decades, millions more survived to share memories of heroism and history.

Today, with the recent deaths of two of the world's oldest men, both WWI vets, that number may be down to less than a handful.

Harry Patch, the last British army veteran of the war, died today at age 111. Last week, Henry Allingham, the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, died at age 113. Both men held the title of "World's Oldest Man" before their passing.

"When you're getting to that age, unfortunately, these occurrences happen more frequently," said Denise Rendina, a spokeswoman for the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

"When you lose people who were part of that history, you can still rely on the museum to tell that story, but it is different than having the participants themselves" share their experiences, she said.

Rendina said the museum could confirm that at least two World War I vets are still alive today: Frank Woodruff Buckles, a 108-year-old West Virginia man presumed to be the only suriving American veteran of the war, and John Babcock, a 109-year-old Canadian veteran who now lives in Washington state.

It's unclear how many others, if any, live in other countries.

Allingham, the Royal Air Force veteran, was a teenager during the war. He and his peers flew "flimsy" aircraft, he once wrote, according to The Associated Press.

"To be honest, all the planes were so flimsy and unpredictable -- as well as incapable of carrying large fuel loads -- at the start of the war that both British and German pilots would immediately turn back rather than face each other in the skies if they did not enjoy height supremacy," he wrote. "But I remember getting back on the ground and just itching to take off again."

Vet: WWI Death Not 'Worth It'

Patch, the last British WWI vet, fought in the trenches as a machine gunner. He was badly wounded and three of his best friends were killed by a shell explosion at a bloody battle near the Belgian town of Ypres, according to the AP.

He only began speaking of his experience at age 100. He told The Associated Press in 2007 that the deaths he witnessed weren't justified.

"I met someone from the German side and we both shared the same opinion: we fought, we finished and we were friends," he said. "It wasn't worth it."

The war's centennial will begin 2014. Rendina said that a bill pending before Congress would create a presidential commission that would work on ways to commemorate the war, including an emphasis on WWI history lessons at schools.