Final Exits, 8-14 August 2011

Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army 1st Lt. Charles Patrick Murray Jr. prior to an awards ceremony held in the hangar bay aboard the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, Calif., 24 May 2008. Murray and six other recipients were to receive the Midway American Patriot Award and The National World War II Museum's American Spirit Award during the black-tie gala, "Beyond the Call of Duty." Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer R. Hudson, United States Navy.

Obituaries for 8-14 August 2011

8
* Neal Abberley, 67, English cricketer, heart and lung condition.
* Ray Anderson, 77, American entrepreneur, cancer.
* Mike Barrett, 67, American Olympic and professional basketball player (Virginia Squires, San Diego Conquistadors).
* Royal Copeland, 86, Canadian football player (Toronto Argonauts), Alzheimer's disease.
* Mary Hendrick, 88, American businesswoman and NASCAR team owner, mother of racer Rick Hendrick.
* Anastasios Peponis, 87, Greek politician and author, heart problems. (Greek)
* Federico Richter Fernandez-Prada, 89, Peruvian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Ayacucho/Huamanga (1979–1991). (Spanish)
* Jiřina Švorcová, 83, Czech actress. (Czech)
* Guillermo Zarur, 79, Mexican actor. (Spanish)

9
* Wendy Babcock, 32, Canadian advocate for the rights of prostitutes, suspected suicide.
* Roberto Busa, 97, Italian Jesuit priest, pioneer in Digital Humanities.
* Jeanne Carroll, 80, American blues singer, heart attack.
* Adolphe-Maria Gustave Hardy, 91, French Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Beauvais (1985–1995).
* Jimmy Harris, 76, American football player (University of Oklahoma, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles), natural causes.
* Kolapo Ishola, 77, Nigerian politician, Governor of Oyo State (1991–1993).
* Eleanor Josaitis, 79, American activist, co-founder of Focus: HOPE, peritoneal cancer.
* Julian Kenny, 81, Trinidadian zoologist, environmentalist and politician, Senator (1995–2001).

10
* P. C. Alexander, 90, Indian politician, Governor of Tamil Nadu (1988–1990), Maharashtra (1993–2002) and Goa (1996–1998).
* Valeriu Damian, 66, Romanian businessman, suspected homicide. (Romanian) (body found on this date)
* Ignacio Flores, 58, Mexican football player (Cruz Azul, national team), shot. (Spanish)
* Norton Fredrick, 73, Sri Lankan cricketer, illness.
* Billy Grammer, 85, American country singer.
* Oldřich Machač, 65, Czech ice hockey player, heart failure.
* Babak Masoumi, 39, Iranian futsal player and coach, blood cancer. (Farsi)
* Lilia Michel, 85, Mexican actress. (Spanish)

11
* Agustín Romualdo Alvarez Rodríguez, 88, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop and vicar apostolic of Machiques (1986–1995).
* Don Chandler, 76, American football player (New York Giants, Green Bay Packers).
* Karen Drambjan, 57, Armenian-born Estonian activist, shot.
* Noah Flug, 86, Polish-born Israeli economist, advocate for rights of Holocaust survivors.
* Richard Floyd, 80, American politician and lawmaker.
* Clair George, 81, American CIA officer (Iran–Contra affair), cardiac arrest.
* David Holbrook, 88, English writer and academic.
* Jani Lane, 47, American musician (Warrant).
* Scott LeDoux, 62, American boxer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
* Richard Mannington Bowes, 68, English murder victim, beaten.
* Karen Overington, 59, Australian politician, Victorian MLA for Ballarat West (1999–2010).
* Bob Shamansky, 84, American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio (1981–1983).
* Joe Trimble, 80, American baseball player (Red Sox, Pirates).
* Paul Wilkinson, 74, British academic, expert on the study of terrorism (University of St Andrews).

12
* Austin-Emile Burke, 89, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Halifax (1991–1998).
* Geertruida Draaisma, 109, Dutch centenarian, oldest verified person in the Netherlands.
* Ernie Johnson, Sr., 87, American baseball player (Boston/Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles) and broadcaster (Atlanta Braves).
* Patricia Lourival Acioli, 47, Brazilian judge, shot.
* Dănuţ Murariu, 56, Romanian banker, CEO of Romanian International Bank Iași branch, apparent suicide by drowning. (Romanian)
* Charles P. Murray, Jr., 89, American Army colonel, Medal of Honor recipient.
* Robert Robinson, 83, English radio and television presenter.
* Francisco Solano López, 83, Argentine comics artist (El Eternauta), complications from a stroke. (Spanish)

13
* Marc Druyts, 44, Belgian cyclist. (Dutch)
* Tareque Masud, 54, Bangladeshi independent film director, traffic collision.
* Topi Sorsakoski, 58, Finnish singer, lung cancer.

14
* Marcos Barreto, 51, Brazilian actor, heart attack. (Portuguese)
* Shammi Kapoor, 79, Indian film actor and director, renal failure.
* Fritz Korbach, 66, German football player and manager, laryngeal cancer. (Dutch)
* Paul Reeves, 78, New Zealand Anglican archbishop, Primate (1980–1985), Governor-General (1985–1990), cancer.
* Friedrich Schoenfelder, 94, German actor. (German)
* Shawn Tompkins, 37, Canadian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. (body found on this date)

Former US Joint Chiefs Chairman Shalikashvili Dies

General Shalikashvili greets President Bill Clinton. (Photo: U.S. Army)

Former US Joint Chiefs Chairman Shalikashvili Dies
Saturday, 23 July 2011

Retired U.S. General John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has died at age 75.

There were no immediate reports on the cause of Shalikashvili's death. He suffered a stroke in 2004.

General Shalikashvili served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 1993 to 1997 under then-President Bill Clinton. He made decisions on U.S. military involvement in Bosnia, Haiti and other troubled spots in the world.

Shalikashvili was born in Poland in 1936 and came to the U.S. as a teenager. He rose through the ranks in the Army and succeeded former General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, in 1993.

Following word of Shalikashvili's death Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama said the general's “extraordinary life represented the promise of America.” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called him an “extraordinary patriot who faithfully defended his country for four decades, rising to the pinnacle of the military profession.” The current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen, said during Shalikashvili's tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he “skillfully shepherded” the U.S. military through the early years of the post-Cold War era.

General Shalikashvili spent his later years living near Fort Lewis in the western U.S. state of Washington.

Last American World War I Veteran Dies

Portrait of Frank Buckles, taken 28 February 2011, at the Pentagon, where anonymous workers placed white roses and a handwritten note in his memory. Buckles, the last known American veteran of World War I, died Sunday at age 110. He attended the portrait's unveiling three years ago. The handwritten note reads, 'Thank you for your service to our country. May you and your generation rest in peace.' (Photo: VOA - A. Pessin)

Last American World War I Veteran Dies
Al Pessin
Pentagon
28 February 2011

The last known American veteran of World War I died Sunday at his home in West Virginia.  Former U.S. Army Corporal Frank Buckles was 110 years old. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin had the chance to speak to Mr. Buckles several years ago and filed this remembrance.

"I did not lie [laughter].  Nobody calls me a liar! [laughter]”

Mr. Buckles had us laughing that day in March of 2008, when he came to the Pentagon for the unveiling of a set of new portraits of himself and other World War I veterans. He admitted he exaggerated his age, twice, in order to join the Army in 1917, when he was just 15 years old. But with a wink he said that did not make him a liar.

“I had added some years onto my age and was 18. He [the recruiter] said, ‘Sorry, but you have to be 21.’ So I came back later and I had aged. I was 21. [laughter]”

And he was still lying about his age, just a little bit.

“I do not feel that I am any older than you are [laughter],” said Buckles.

In fact, he was more than twice as old as any of the Pentagon reporters who interviewed him that day.

On Monday, anonymous Pentagon workers put white roses and a handwritten note on his portrait. The note reads, "Thank you for your service to our country. May you and your generation rest in peace."

Three years ago, Buckles captivated the crowd from his wheelchair in the Pentagon auditorium, as speakers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, offered their praise and thanks.

“We cherish the memory of those who have passed away," said Gates. "We cherish the chance to say thank you in person to Corporal Frank Buckles. We will always be grateful for what they did for their country 90 years ago, and feel glad, too, for the longevity that they enjoyed on this earth.”

Buckles also was welcomed at the White House that week, by then-president George W. Bush.

“It has been my high honor to welcome Mr. Buckles, and his daughter, Susannah, here to the Oval Office," said Bush. "Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times. And one way for me to honor the service of those who wear the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism and your love for America.”

Buckles wanted to serve when World War I broke out, and his lie to the recruiter made it possible. Shortly afterward, at age 16, he deployed to Europe as an ambulance driver. He saw the horror of war close up, ferrying the wounded from the trenches to primitive field hospitals. Later, he drove German prisoners back to Germany.

Buckles left the army in 1920 and years later he went to work for a shipping company in the Philippines. When World War II broke out, he and other Americans there were put in prison camps by the occupying Japanese forces. Although he was not a soldier at that time, he spent more than three years in the notorious Los Baňos prison. The cup he ate out of for all that time is in the background of his 2008 portrait, which now hangs with eight others along one of the Pentagon’s many corridors.

In a statement issued Monday, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle praised Buckles, saying he continued to serve America until his death, as the Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation. The Obamas said they join the Buckles family “in celebrating a remarkable life that reminds us of the true meaning of patriotism and our obligations to each other as Americans.” 

In one sense, Frank Buckles was not much different from millions of other World War One veterans. With his enthusiasm to serve and his longevity, however, it certainly was possible to say about him what he said about that Pentagon ceremony three years ago.

“Really, it was remarkable. I enjoyed every minute of it here.”