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Chicago Tribune
February 5, 2005
103-Year-Old Vet Last Of A Breed
World War I-era soldier buried; no others believed left in state, officials say By John McCormick, Tribune staff reporter
The 20th--and last--name will soon be inscribed near the statue of a soldier that sits on the north end of the cemetery in Anna, Ill., a monument to the city's World War I veterans. The name belongs to Warren V. Hileman, laid to rest Friday with full military honors under an unusually warm February sky in southern Illinois. State officials say Hileman, 103, was the state's last veteran from the World War I era, a soon-to-be extinct group now estimated at less than 100 nationally. "It marks the end of an era of World War I veterans," Roy Dolgos, director of the state's Department of Veterans' Affairs, told those gathered for the funeral. "It is highly unlikely that we will see another World War I veteran in Illinois." Hileman joined the U.S. Army in 1919, just after the end of World War I. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia from September 1919 to March 1920, an invasion that continued after the Armistice sent the doughboys in Europe home. As a member of Company B, 27th Infantry, Hileman was involved in a hostile encounter in Posolskaya, a battle that earned him the World War I Victory Medal, awarded in January 2004. "He has seen some hard days," said Dennis Clayton, 72, a fellow resident of the veterans' home in Anna, who had heard many of Hileman's war stories. "He never flew in an airplane, but he rode in a boat all over the world." In the 1950s and 1960s, Hileman lived in Waukegan and worked as a security guard at the veterans hospital in North Chicago, according to his grandson, Chris Hardin. He moved back to his native southern Illinois in the mid-1970s, along with his wife, Mae, who died in 1989. Hileman always had stories about the cold in Siberia. "He told us it was so cold that when they were standing in line for their food, it would freeze right on their plates," said Dolgos. At the veterans home, Hileman was known for reading the newspaper every day. His daughter, Janet Hardin, said she believes his lifelong curiosity is what kept him alive so long. "He always wanted to see what was over the next hill," she said.
Hileman joined the U.S. Army in 1919, just after the end of World War I. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia from September 1919 to March 1920, an invasion that continued after the Armistice sent the doughboys in Europe home.
FMCDH(BITS)
I used to sit with a WWI vet and his wife when we occasioned the Phoenix Giant baseball games back in the 70's. Dick and Jackie were both in their 80's then. They met while both were in the military. He was an officer and she was employed in some position in the military.
After the war they had a chicken farm in California but lost it when a disease went through the entire flock.
He would reminisce of the days in Europe (old Europe) and get a tear when he thought of friends long gone.
I was a kid in my 30's and I think he enjoyed having an audience that truly appreciated what he had done for this country.
I cried when I heard he had passed away just as I cry now in rememberance!
That`s amazing. I can`t believe there are still WW1 vets around. My Grandfather was Scottish and fought in it, but he died in 1983 at the age of 85. He lied about his age to get in the army. He was 16 and they found out, sent him back and he got in the next year. I can`t imagine anyone younger than 100 alive today who was in that war, unless they were 10 year old kids. He called it the great war, and never ever talked about his own personal experiences. I remember his friend who was in it as well had half a foot, and he use to show it to me when I was a kid. He would take off his shoes and socks and all he had was a heel and half a foot.
The passing of a 103 Vet **PING**
What an honor to have this opportunity to thank this man for his service to our country.
Wow
Liberty Memorial.. WW1 National Monument.. Kansas City, MO..
http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org/
Hello again FMC. It sad that there are less then 100 vets of the Great War (to end all wars) left in this country.
It's also kind of neat that there are some who are actually STILL alive...amazing.
I can remember when I was a kid back in the late seventies and early eighties, that there was this old gentleman who lived in my home town who was in the SPANISH AMERICAN WAR!
My family lived out in the country here in Eastern Kentucky, and my mother volunteered at our church which was the "county seat" of the county we live in. During the summer, she would "drag", (literally)me to town with her every Friday while she put in her 4 hours of volunteer work. Well, naturally, at that age I was "bored", so she'd let me walk the two blocks to the county library by myself, where I would read about the "great fighter pilots of WWII", and anything else I could get my hands on.
Anyway, this "old codger" always sat on the front porch of this HUGE, beautiful OLD home of his, and wave at EVERYBODY(lonely I guess), so one day I decided to to "chat" with him, and ended up spending more time talking with him about the "good old days", than I spent in the library. He told me some GREAT story's about his exploits...I later found out that he had participated in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider's charge up San Juan Hill, and just before his death in the early 80's I found out that he was the last surviving VET of the Spanish-American War! In my hometown! Neat.
I cried like a baby when I found out he passed away! It was like I lost a grandparent.