He married and had three sons before retiring at the age of 41.

The French know how to live.

Dinki: The French know how to live.

Damn it! I came here to say that: Dude was retired for 69 years... That's what I call a hero...

birdmanesq: Damn it! I came here to say that: Dude was retired for 69 years... That's what I call a hero...

Well he certainly earned it.

/RIP good sir

birdmanesq: Dinki: The French know how to live.

Damn it! I came here to say that: Dude was retired for 69 years... That's what I call a hero...

n'thed. Well done old, old, old boy. Well done.

Dinki: The French know how to live.

Not wrong. "Work to live, not live to work" in it's purest form.

nekom: Well he certainly earned it.

That too.

AaaPha:
Not wrong. "Work to live, not live to work" in it's purest form taken to unrealistic extremes.

Fixed that for you.

Regardless, this guy deserves major kudos for his service in that shiathole of a war. Here's to you, old-French-WWI-guy.

I think he's with his platoon friends now. Rest, old soldier.

Calvin Coolidge: AaaPha:
Not wrong. "Work to live, not live to work" in it's purest form taken to unrealistic extremes.

Well it happened so it can't be that unrealistic.

Fair play to him. RIP.

Wow, he retired a year before WWII broke out!

Calvin Coolidge: this guy deserves major kudos for his service in that shiathole of a war. Here's to you, old-French-WWI-guy.

Indeed.

It's sort of fascinating, sort of like from the perspective of a historian, to see the last remaining parts of a generation succumb to time.

Actually in the Sequel they DID surrender.

He will be missed.

Oldiron_79
Actually in the Sequel they DID surrender.

Good job, buddy.
*pats head*

Still fighting those Nazis to the bitter end.

pe·nul·ti·mate /pɪˈnʌltəmɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-adjective
1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.


/cue Inigo Montoya

I don't want to be an ass, but is everyone who fought in a war a hero? Unless I'm mistaken, people were drafted into WWI. Lots of people are heroes due to war, but they are not heroes only because they fought in one.

That being said, it's very possible this guy was a hero - I'm too lazy to RTFA.

Lividity: Still fighting those Nazis to the bitter end.

FAIL

revrendjim: pe·nul·ti·mate /pɪˈnʌltəmɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-adjective
1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.


/cue Inigo Montoya

I came in here to ask who was the #1 then, thanks for preempting my question with the definition.

revrendjim: 1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.

Uh there's still one french vet alive, so yes, he was the penultimate veteran.

Can someone explain why this guy is a hero? He fought in WWI, but so what? Were the French the Good Guys or the Bad Guys in that war? I can't tell. They were on our side, but that doesn't mean much

Holy crap, look at all that lawn space that just opened up in France!!!

But our lord has stated many times that the French are bad, m-kay.

/keep up losers!

His secret?

Bacon.

glaurunge: Can someone explain why this guy is a hero? He fought in WWI, but so what? Were the French the Good Guys or the Bad Guys in that war? I can't tell. They were on our side, but that doesn't mean much

Well, the Germans were pretty ass-ish in that war. I think once the war started, the Allied side had the more moral causes belli.

Retired for 69 years? Farking awesome.

Tunney: Wow, he retired a year before WWII broke out!

revrendjim: pe·nul·ti·mate /pɪˈnʌltəmɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-adjective
1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.


/cue Inigo Montoya

There is still one more French WWI veteran left. Read more articles, fewer dictionaries

glaurunge: Can someone explain why this guy is a hero? He fought in WWI, but so what? Were the French the Good Guys or the Bad Guys in that war? I can't tell. They were on our side, but that doesn't mean much

Who do you consider to be a hero?

Actually, RTFA, jim.

"Mr de Cazenave's death means the last French WWI veteran is now Lazare Ponticelli, also aged 110."

So, for once, penultimate was correctly used.

DamnYankees

I don't want to be an ass, but is everyone who fought in a war a hero?

Yes.

Next question.

DamnYankees: glaurunge: Can someone explain why this guy is a hero? He fought in WWI, but so what? Were the French the Good Guys or the Bad Guys in that war? I can't tell. They were on our side, but that doesn't mean much

Well, the Germans were pretty ass-ish in that war. I think once the war started, the Allied side had the more moral causes belli.

we put guns in a civilian ship and used its destruction as justification to enter the war
/republican
//thinks it was totally justified in a more "will to power"-y sense

bigd29: Yes.

Next question.

Ok. I think that's a pretty stupid position, but fair enough.

Quantumbunny: revrendjim: pe·nul·ti·mate /pɪˈnʌltəmɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-adjective
1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.


/cue Inigo Montoya

I came in here to ask who was the #1 then, thanks for preempting my question with the definition.


Thanks for not reading the article before posting so I can point and laugh.

/points
//laughs

///In case you STILL fail to read the article or STILL fail to notice who the last French survivor of WWI is after reading it, his name is Lazare Ponticelli.

Calvin Coolidge: Fixed that for you.

Unless your work involves owning and operating your own farm, or hunting for your own food... no, you actually didn't fix that for him.
It's an archaic slave-labor-creating idea to work for your entire life (not do the things you need to do to survive, such as find food, care for your home, care for your children, assist in the care of others in the community who need it, etc), and it's creating some rather apparent issues for young folk who have no "parents", just a couple of old folks who f*cked and created a child.

Anyway, this guy is a hero for going into WWI, from France, and SURVIVING. Balls of steel (or a cushy position in the force) must have helped.

I'm really more amazed that he lived with his son, who has to be about 85. I just can't imagine an 85 year old taking care of a 110 year old.

charlesmartel11235: DamnYankees: glaurunge: Can someone explain why this guy is a hero? He fought in WWI, but so what? Were the French the Good Guys or the Bad Guys in that war? I can't tell. They were on our side, but that doesn't mean much

Well, the Germans were pretty ass-ish in that war. I think once the war started, the Allied side had the more moral causes belli.

we put guns in a civilian ship and used its destruction as justification to enter the war
/republican
//thinks it was totally justified in a more "will to power"-y sense

And the political strawman of the thread award goes to...
*opens envelope*

charlesmartel11235!


Way to go Chuck! It was enormous!

Calvin Coolidge: AaaPha:
Not wrong. "Work to live, not live to work" ... taken to unrealistic extremes.

Fixed that for you.

Just came here to second that THIS is a completely dumb statement.

It happened = unrealistic?

/when did they change the meaning of real to impossible?

puffy999: Anyway, this guy is a hero for going into WWI, from France, and SURVIVING. Balls of steel (or a cushy position in the force) must have helped.

In WWI, 1.7M French died out of the 40 million in the population. IOW, 95% of French survived. You don't need balls of steel to survive. Some people survive due to that, but most just get lucky.

revrendjim: pe·nul·ti·mate /pɪˈnʌltəmɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-adjective
1.next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.


/cue Inigo Montoya

today, I learned something on fark.

DamnYankees

Ok. I think that's a pretty stupid position, but fair enough.

The key term that I picked up on in your question was 'fought in a war'.

That takes courage and a lot of sacrificing on the part of the soldiers.

Thus the definition of a hero.

bigd29: The key term that I picked up on in your question was 'fought in a war'.

That takes courage and a lot of sacrificing on the part of the soldiers.

Thus the definition of a hero.

Why? If your option is fight or be executed/court-marshaled for desertion, I really don't see the heroism.

mikaloyd: Thanks for not reading the article before posting so I can point and laugh.

/points
//laughs

///In case you STILL fail to read the article or STILL fail to notice who the last French survivor of WWI is after reading it, his name is Lazare Ponticelli.

Ya ya ya...

FAFA He has refused an offer of a state funeral, saying it would show disrespect to war victims who never got the same honour.

So maybe they are genuinely respectable people. They both refused medals and honors that some of their comrades never had.

FAFA He described patriotism as "a way of making people swallow anything" and war as absurd and useless. "Nothing can justify it, nothing," he said.

Okay okay, he is to be respected, and is a wise old dude.

\Sorry last count I had seen was like half a dozen were left, but I guess that was over a year ago.

The man is a hero. But,like everyone eventually, he did surrender to the grim reaper.

His last words? "This brie is very good... a bit more wine, please..."

That's a nice way to go.

You know who else was a hero in WWI?

good night, frenchyman

/pardon

DamnYankees: bigd29: The key term that I picked up on in your question was 'fought in a war'.

That takes courage and a lot of sacrificing on the part of the soldiers.

Thus the definition of a hero.

Why? If your option is fight or be executed/court-marshaled for desertion, I really don't see the heroism.



Fine, if your little darlings will not face German Bullets they will face French Bullets

/pardonexcusez-moi

//sorry, no habla

When I was a little kid there was a TV show called "You Asked For It" (not the 80s remake). One time they had on the last two surviving veterans of the Civil War - one North and one South, as it so happened. I don't remember what they said but they were both so old they may have just made in their pants and said, "Clean me."