Advertisement

Saying farewell to Canada’s oldest veteran

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.


Family, friends and some Canadian dignitaries gathered in Spokane, Wash., over the weekend to honor John ‘Jack’ Babcock, Canada’s last soldier from World War I, who died Feb. 18 at 109.

Babcock died in Spokane, where he had lived since 1932. At a memorial service Saturday, Gen. Walter Natnczyk said Babcock captured the spirit and courage of the 650,000 Canadians who fought in the Great War.

Advertisement

Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs Jean-Pierre Blackburn presented Babcock’s wife, Dorothy Babcock, with the Canadian flag that was flying over the Canadian Parliament building the day he died.

Babcock was born July 23, 1900, near Kingston, Canada, and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Regiment when he was just 15, lying about his age.

The complete story about the memorial service from the Spokane Spokesman-Review is here.

-- Associated Press

Advertisement