(Christmas: continued from Page 1)
He filled every sea bag with presents
galore,
And left us all leave papers, right by the door.
One look at his watch and he started to frown,
"This mid watch is certainly getting me down."
With "Anchors Aweigh" he climbed back
into place,
A broad smile creeping all over his face.
Then out to the breakwater and into the night,
The gig started fading, the landscape was bright.
"I can't share the Grog with you, you
see!"
"I must finish my rounds before reveille."
"So, Thank You for serving" he said pulling away
"Merry Christmas to all - Have a great Navy Day!"
(WWI: continued from Page 6)
Long-lived veterans are common among America's warriors. The last veteran to fight in the American Revolution died at age 109 in 1869, according to Defense Department statistics.
Other wars and the ages of their last veterans the year they died: the War of 1812, 105, 1905; the Indian Wars, 101, 1973; the Mexican War, 98, 1929; the Civil War, 112, 1958; and the Spanish-American War, 106, 1992.
The ranks of all World War I veterans grow thinner as the months pass. One of France's seven remaining veterans died two weeks ago, and the last Australian to serve in a war zone died a week earlier.
In the U.S., the last known American veteran wounded in the war died at 108 in January 2004. West Virginia's last veteran passed away in October 2004, and Iowa lost its only remaining Great War veteran two months later. An Alabama veteran of the war died last March at 110.
With each death, what was called "the war to end all wars" fades in American memory.
"It's a war that's out of mind," says Sean Flynn, who teaches World War I history at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. "The U.S. entered it late and we have no real connection to it."
Unlike the wars that followed, World War I doesn't have the visual record so important to becoming part of American consciousness, Flynn says. Yet its impact can be linked to many problems facing the world today, including conflict in the Balkans and the rise of Arab nationalism that occurred after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
"We learn about war through television and through film," Flynn says. "There's just not a lot of moving-picture footage of World War I. There's no visual image there for the public to identify with."
Lloyd Brown spends little time thinking about the days his ship escorted convoys in North Atlantic waters threatened by German submarines. Living alone in a house in southern Maryland, just a few blocks from his daughter, Nancy, he does not believe that his war has been forgotten and feels satisfied with the attention paid to its veterans over the years.
"You can't celebrate World War I year after year after year, because there are other events taking place," says Brown, who watches the news each day to keep up with the world. "You have to honor them."
