Are there any First World War veterans alive?

[Al B. Sure!]

Are there any left? An eighteen year old who enlisted in the last days of the war would be 103 now so there's probably half a dozen left.

but why is it that that war has never gotten any attention? as much as we hear about WW 2 (greatest generation and what not), you'd think with the last of the WW 1 veterans dying out, they'd have movies about it, tv specials, etc. especially since WW 1 was far more brutal of a war with greater percentage casaulties.

so why do we ignore WW 1?

thanks

[Sava]

so why do we ignore WW 1?

1. Nobody won
2. It led to WW2
3. There were massive human rights abuses on all sides
4. There are no color pictures or movies of it (if it's not on TV, then Americans don't know it happened)

[GePap]

A bigger war came afterwards, and the ending of the first did not have the "feel good, made for movies" ending of the sequel. Too ambigious for us today.

[Ecthy]

there actually are coloured pics by that russian guy, but you never know, there's next to no elaboration on that one, so it might be fake

as for the vets, I think there are a few left, but they die out

Ernst Jünger, the last living guy with l'ordre pour le merite, the highest prussian order ever, died in '98 me thinks... another guy without any fame died a few years ago, as one of the oldest Germans.... so I doubt we'd have any left

[Cruddy]

Still a few around... yes they are very old...

Went to a memorial celebration in France a few years ago... very sad, the bugler was so past it he could barely parp out a note... sad but very funny at the same time.

Still not sure how I kept a straight face.

[Al B. Sure!]

Sava:

there aren't that many colour pictures of WW2 either though... although there are probably several times more pictures and a dozens of times more footage from that war than the first so i guess so.

i mean it explains why the History channel for example never talks about it because their documentaries are filled with footage.

so i guess you're right about the fourth one. thats probably right.

[General Ludd]

Re: Are there any First World War veterans alive?

Originally posted by Albert Speer
Are there any left? An eighteen year old who enlisted in the last days of the war would be 103 now so there's probably half a dozen left.

but why is it that that war has never gotten any attention? as much as we hear about WW 2 (greatest generation and what not), you'd think with the last of the WW 1 veterans dying out, they'd have movies about it, tv specials, etc. especially since WW 1 was far more brutal of a war with greater percentage casaulties.

so why do we ignore WW 1?

thanks

WW1 isn't ignored. WW2 is just hyped and remembered.

Watcht he history channel, for instance, and you'll see alot about WW1 - and alot about the remaining veterans, aswell.

[Ecthy]

oh, many of them died in ww2 too

[Dis]

there was a less clear cut idea of "good" guys vs. "bad" guys as in ww2.

I remember there being some around 10 or 15 years ago. But I'm not sure about today.

[Al B. Sure!]

the only recent movie i can think of about ww1 was that 1980's tv-movie All Quiet on the Western Front... has there been anymore movies in the past 20 years?

Osweld:

i have never seen the history channel have a show about WW1 nor commercials for it...

[Imran Siddiqui]

I always thought there should be some more movies on WW1... they'd be much more interesting. Less good guy v. bad guy and more shades of grey invovled.

[Sava]

i have never seen the history channel have a show about WW1 nor commercials for it...

there are lots... but again, most are based upon written accounts or black and white pictures. The amount of motion picture footage from WW2 is staggering compared to WW1.

[Dis]

I remember seeing something about that on history channe. But that may be part of the history of warfare special they had a few years a back.

The carnage is unbelievable. Such a brutal war.

[GePap]

WW1 has been ingored since WW2, and TV has nothing to do with it. The lack of films that focus on WW1 is a good indicator. Most WW1 filam happened pre-WW2, and after that, the only famous WW1 film I can think of (that is not a remake) is Paths of Glory and Lawrence of Arabia. A few films have incuded it, like Doctor Zhivago 12 Monekys or A River runs Through It, but for plot points.

WW1 has come to be known for mindless bloodshed, for surreal scenes and clueless generals, and that odes not play well in the US, specially since out time in it was short, and we seemed to gain little form the whole enterprise.

[Al B. Sure!]

GePap:

nah... 12 monkeys barely included it at all. i wouldn't think that would count... there's even some brad pitt movie that my sister told me about that opens with a ww1 scene but those are just setting the times scenes not nothing significant.

by the way, have you seen the Thin Red Line? whoever the director of that movie is, i'm surprised they haven't done a ww1 movie. it would fit their style i think