Music Monday: Hymn to the Fallen

In honor of yesterday's 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, this week's Music Monday is Hymn to the Fallen, composed by John Williams for the film Saving Private Ryan, but put into a WWI tribute in this video.


Enjoy!

See below for all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to suggest for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

October 29th, 2018: A Mighty Fortress is Our God
October 22nd, 2018: Hymn to Red October
October 15th, 2018:  Indian Reservation ("Cherokee People")
October 8th, 2018: Wagner's 'Columbus Overture'
October 1st, 2018: Danny Boy
September 24th, 2018: Dvorak's 'From The New World' Symphony, 4th Movement
September 17th, 2018: Deep River
September 10th, 2018: Muleskinner Blues
September 3rd, 2018: Boomer Sooner
August 20th, 2018: Psalm 23
August 13th, 2018: Ashokan Farewell
August 6, 2018: How the West Was Won
July 23rd, 2018: I Just Can't Wait to Be King
July 16th, 2018: 'Jupiter' from 'The Planets'
July 9th, 2018: Hail to the Spirit of Liberty
July 2nd, 2018: Turn The Tide
June 25th, 2018: Good Guys Win
June 18th, 2018: Watching You
June 11th, 2018: Adoration
June 4th, 2018: March from 'A Moorside Suite'
May 28th, 2018: Taps
May 21st, 2018: Listz's La Campanella
May 14th, 2018: Handful of Weeds
May 7th, 2018: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
April 30th, 2018: Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 ("Heroic")
April 23rd, 2018: Blow Ye The Trumpet
April 16th, 2018: Asturias (Leyenda)
April 9th, 2018: Old Mountain Dew
April 2nd, 2018: His Life For Mine
March 19th, 2018: See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes!
March 12th, 2018: Choctaw Nation
March 5th, 2018: Hark, I Hear The Harps Eternal
February 19th, 2018: The Olympic Spirit
February 12th, 2018: Olympic Fanfare and Theme
January 29th, 2018: Hail to the Chief
January 23rd, 2018: Waltz in A-Flat Major, Op. 39 No. 15
January 15th, 2018: Bleed The Same
January 8th, 2018: Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Maestoso)
December 25th, 2017: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
December 18th, 2017: I Saw Three Ships (The Piano Guys)
December 11th, 2017:Who Is He In Yonder Stall
December 4th, 2017: Carol of the Bells (Mannheim Steamroller)
November 27th, 2017: Joy to the World!
November 20th, 2017: We Gather Together
November 13th, 2017: Mansions of the Lord
November 6th, 2017: Träumerei
October 30th: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
October 23rd, 2017: In Christ Alone
October 16th, 2017: When I'm Knee Deep In Bluegrass
October 9th, 2017: I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb
October 2nd, 2017: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major (Brahms)
September 25th, 2017: Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique')
September 11th, 2017: Have You Forgotten?
September 4th, 2017: Bach's Double Violin Concerto
August 28th, 2017: Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord
August 21st, 2017: The Heavens Are Telling The Glory of God
August 14th, 2017: Beethoven's 5th Symphony
August 7th, 2017: 'Lift High The Name Of Jesus' medley
July 31st, 2017: Fanfare for the Common Man
July 24th, 2017: Variations on 'Happy Birthday'
July 10th, 2017: Summer (Presto) from Vivaldi's Four Seasons
July 3rd, 2017: Freelance Fireworks Hall of Fame
June 26th, 2017: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
June 19th, 2017: A Christian Home
June 12th, 2017: Ol' Man River
June 5th, 2017: Choctaw Cowboy
May 29th, 2017: Armed Forces Salute
May 22nd, 2017: Double Bass Concerto No.2 in B minor
May 15th, 2017: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major
May 8th, 2017: The Army Goes Rolling Along
April 17th, 2017: He Is Alive
April 10th, 2017: Surely He Hath Borne/And With His Stripes/All We Like Sheep
April 3rd, 2017: Here Comes Carolina
March 27th, 2017: 'Spring' from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'
March 20th, 2017: Symphony No. 5 ("Reformation") Finale
March 13th, 2017: The Pigeon on the Gate
March 6th, 2017: Finlandia
February 27th, 2017: When I Can Read My Title Clear
February 20th, 2017: William Tell Overture - Finale
February 13th, 2017: 'Romance' from 'The Gadfly'
February 6th, 2017: White Winter Hymnal
January 30th, 2017: Hail, Columbia
January 23rd, 2017: Hail to the Chief
January 16th, 2017: Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
January 2nd, 2017: Auld Lang Syne
December 26th, 2016: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
December 19th, 2016: I Wonder as I Wander
December 12th, 2016: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
December 5th, 2016: A Christmas Festival
November 28th, 2016: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
November 21st: Beethoven's 'Hymn of Thanksgiving'
November 14th: Hymn to the Fallen
November 7th: This World Is Not My Home
October 31st, 2016: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
October 24th, 2016: 'Mars', from 'The Planets'
October 17th, 2016: My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
October 10th, 2016: Spain
October 3rd, 2016: International Harvester
September 26th, 2016: 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars
September 19th, 2016: Awake the Trumpet's Lofty Sound
September 12th, 2016: Before the Throne of God Above
September 5th, 2016: The Hunt
August 29th, 2016: Liberty
August 22nd, 2016: Summon the Heroes
August 15th, 2016: Bugler's Dream
August 8th, 2016: Olympic Fanfare and Theme
August 1st, 2016: 'Prelude' and 'Parade of the Charioteers' from Ben-Hur
July 25th, 2016: How The West Was Won
July 18th, 2016: Six Studies in English Folk Song
July 11th, 2016: From Everlasting To Everlasting
July 4th, 2016: The Stars and Stripes Forever
June 27th, 2016: Rule, Britannia!
June 20st, 2016: Bugler's Holiday
June 13th, 2016: Ride of the Valkyries
June 6th, 2016: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54, Allegro Vivace
May 30th, 2016: Armed Forces Salute
May 23rd, 2016: Paid in Full (Through Jesus, Amen)
May 16th, 2016: Overture from 'Carmen'
May 9th, 2016: L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1 - Prelude
May 2nd, 2016: My God Is a Rock
April 25th, 2016: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
April 18th, 2016: Paganini's Caprice No. 24 in A Minor
April 11th, 2016: Fantasia on a 17th Century Tune
April 4th, 2016: Hark The Sound/I'm a Tarheel Born
March 28th, 2016: Rustle of Spring
March 21st, 2016: 'Ode to Joy' sung by a 10,000-voice choir
March 14th, 2016: Hard Times Come Again No More
March 7th, 2016: 'The Suite' from Downton Abbey
February 29th, 2016: Moonlight Sonata
February 22nd, 2016: Liebestraum No. 3
February 15th, 2016: Help Is On The Way
February 8th, 2016: God of Grace and God of Glory
February 1st, 2016: 'My Story'
January 25th, 2016: Israeli Concertino
January 18th, 2016: What Grace is Mine
January 11th, 2016: "Meditation" from Thaïs
January 4th, 2016: Praeludium and Allegro
December 28th, 2015: Appalachian Carol
December 21st, 2015: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
December 14th, 2015: O Holy Night
December 7th, 2015: Christmas Fantasy
November 23rd, 2015: Simple Gifts
November 16th, 2015: Preacher Tell Me Like It Is
November 9th, 2015: Armed Forces Salute
November 2nd, 2015: Amazing Grace
October 26th, 2015: The Harmonious Blacksmith
October 19th, 2015: Liberty Fanfare
October 12th, 2015: The Majesty and Glory of Your Name
October 5th, 2015: Elgar's 'Enigma' Finale
September 28th, 2015: Stayed on Jesus
September 21st, 2015: Great Gate of Kiev
September 14th, 2015: Nearer, My God, To Thee

Frank Buckles Buried at Arlington

Frank Buckles, the last American World War I veteran, was laid to rest today at the Arlington National Cemetery. With him is buried America's last military memory of WWI.

Let last US WWI vet Frank Buckles lie in honor in Rotunda

Erick Erickson of RedState.com posted this earlier today. I concur.

Speaker Boehner, Allow Frank Buckles Into the Rotunda

I think Speaker John Boehner is making a terrible mistake.

The Speaker’s Office is blocking a request that Frank Buckles be allowed to lie in state (or in honor as the case may be) in the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Frank Buckles is not just anybody. I agree that we should not let just anybody lie in state in the rotunda. I totally understand John Boehner’s reasoning. The right should be reserved for a very special few. While I understand his reasoning, I think the last of the WWI and the last of the WWII servicemen should be given the honor.

Frank Buckles is not just a special few. He is the last of his kind. The very last.

Precisely 4,734,991 Americans served in World War I. Frank Buckles was the last of them to die. He lied to get into the Army at age 16 so he could fight the Kaiser. He is the last of a generation of Americans who heard the calling for freedom in a way others did not and rose up to fight.

He is the last of those men and boys who fought under an American flag across an ocean in a land most had never been who did so not because we were attacked or brought into a war, as we were in World War II, but because they heard the call of freedom in the first great war.

He, as the last of the embodiment of the men and boys who heard that first call for freedom across the seas, deserves to lie in the Rotunda.

The Speaker may be reached at (202) 225-0600.

I called Speaker Boehner's office to respectfully request that the last American veteran of World War I be given this honor. Frank Buckles represents millions of Americans who fought (and in 116,708 cases died) for the United States overseas. We should honor their memory and sacrifice.

Speaker Boehner's Washington D.C. office: (202) 225-0600
Sen. Coburn's Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-5754
Sen. Inhofe's Washington D.C. office: (202) 224-4721
Rep. Boren's Washington D.C. office: (202) 225-2701

I called... will you? Let's honor the memory of our World War I veterans in this small way. Allow Corporal Frank Buckles to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

Frank Buckles, last American WWI vet, dead at 110

Frank Woodruff Buckles, America's last surviving veteran of World War I, has passed away. He turned 110 on February 1st.

Born on February 1st, 1901, on a farm in Bethany, Missouri, Buckles and his family moved in 1916 to Dewey County, Oklahoma, near the small town of Oakwood. Frank worked at the bank in Oakwood, lived in the hotel and attended high school there. America entered the War in 1917.

During the summer of 1917 and at the age of 16, Frank sought to join the military. He first tried joining the Marine Corps, but was turned down because he wasn't 21 years old. He tried again later, this time saying he was 21, but didn't weigh enough. He then tried the Navy, but they said he was flat-footed, and wouldn't take him.

He then went to Oklahoma City, where he enlisted in the Army on August 14, 1917. He joined the Ambulance Service, which was the fastest way to get to France.

Buckles in 1917

Buckles and his fellow soldiers sailed to Great Britain aboard the HMS Carpathia, famous for rescuing survivors of the Titanic disaster. "While in England, I drove a Ford ambulance, a motorcycle with sidecar, and a Ford car for visiting dignitaries," Buckles told David DeJonge, a photographer and documentarist who became the family spokesman.

He finally made it to France, where he had several different assignments. After the Armistice, he escorted prisoners of war back to Germany. "After two years with the AEF (American Expeditionary Force), I returned home on the USS Pocahontas in January 1920. I was paid $143.90, including a $60 bonus," Buckles told DeJonge.

After the War, he returned to Oklahoma City, where he took shorthand and typewriting at a business school. Using those skills, he got a job in Toronto, Canada, with the White Star Line Steamship Company. This sparked an interest in the steamship industry, and although he had a short stint in banking, he soon returned to shipping.

1940 found him working for the American President Lines in Manila, Philippines. He was there in 1941, when the Japanese occupied the city right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Frank spent the next three and a half years in Japanese prison camps, and wasn't liberated until February 23rd, 1945, when the 11th Airborne Division came in.

Buckles lived in California for a few years after the war, and married his wife Audrey. They moved to West Virginia in 1954, where they then operated a small cattle ranch. They lived in an area which one of Buckles' ancestors originally settled in 1732. Audrey died in 1999. Frank was the Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation, which was founded to call on Congress to refurbish the District of Columbia WWI Memorial and rededicate it as a National Memorial. World War I is the only major historical conflict to not have an official national memorial (the D.C. memorial was built by the City, and was to memorialize the 499 DC citizens who died in WWI).

Due to special arrangements made by the White House in March of 2008, Buckles will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Both France and Great Britain have previously made arrangements to send delegates to his funeral.

Frank was the last living, first-hand military memory of the Great War. With him passes an age where men fought using centuries-old tactics, but with modern weapons. World War I was a bloody, brutal conflict that changed how wars are fought, and changed forever the face of Europe. It was the War to End All Wars, but did not accomplish that goal. It wiped out an entire generation of young men, and led to future, greater conflicts.

I saw this quote about Frank, which I thought was very profound: "Today most kids lies about their age in order to buy a pack of cigarettes or a case of beer. Buckles, only 16 at the time, did so in order to enlist in the Army."

We should never forget the men like Frank Buckles, who fought to guard and protect freedom in the West. We should remember the lessons that they learned, and never fail to pass on their memory.

Just two individuals now live who were enlisted during World War I. Royal Navy seaman Claude Choules (who witnessed the surrender of the German Imperial Navy), and Women's Royal Airforce waiter Florence Green are the lone survivors.

[many thanks to David DeJonge; much of the above information was adapted from his website Pershing's Last Patriot, which is about Frank and a planned documentary about his life and story]

The Last of the Canadians

John Babcock, 1900-2010

Canada has lost its last living veteran of the 'War to End All Wars', World War I. John Babcock Joined the army as an underage 16 year-old, and the war ended before he could go to the front lines. Shortly after the war, he moved to the United States, eventually joining the U.S. Army and advancing to the rank of sergeant.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the following statements on Babcock's passing:

"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. Today they are all gone. 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."

Babcock was one of a handful of veterans of the Great War still living.

Frank Buckles, 109 - the last American 'Doughboy', who is crusading for a National Memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the First World War (currently, the City of Washington has a poorly-maintained monument to their citizens who served in the conflict).
Claude Choules, 108 - British sailor, who moved to Australia in 1926.
Florence Green, 109 - Last known female veteran of WWI. Served as a waitress in the RAF.

Harry Patch, the last combat veteran, passed away in July.

These living testaments to a bygone era will not be here for long. History is about to lose the last first-hand eyewitnesses of one of the world's saddest chapters.

The Last Tommy

Harry Patch, 1898-2009

Today marks the end of an era in Great Britain. Harry Patch, the last British infantryman (or 'Tommy') of World War I, has passed away. He was 111.

Patch was drafted into the British Army in 1916, two years after the 'Great War' began, where he served as an assistant gunner in a Lewis Gun section. He was deployed to France in June of 1917, and was wounded at Passchendaele (also known as the third battle of Ypres) in September of that year.

With his death, only three veterans of World War One are still living, and none of the remaining veterans saw land combat. Just a few weeks ago, Henry Allingham of Great Britain passed away at the age of 113.

The final living veterans are:

Frank Buckles, 108 - the last American 'Doughboy', who is crusading for a National Memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the First World War (currently, the City of Washington has a poorly-maintained monument to their citizens who served in the conflict).
Claude Choules, 108 - British sailor, who moved to Australia in 1926.
John Babcock, 109 - Canadian infantryman (too young for combat), moved to the U.S. in 1924.

This November 11th will mark the 91st anniversary of the end of the War. It is remarkable that there are still veterans alive from that war, though it has been matched before. The last veteran of the War of 1812 died 90 years later, and his counterparts in the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War died 91 and 94 years later, respectively.

With the passing of these last living monuments goes the first-hand memory of a tragic chapter in history. The end of an era is coming.