Sunday, December 05, 2004
World War I Veteran Recalled For Duty In Iraq
--Never Officially Resigned Commission, Army Says
The United States Army has recalled a 106-year-old veteran of World War I for combat duty in Iraq, sources confirmed. W.B. Jennings, a retired agricultural seed salesman residing in an assisted living facility in Wheaton, Kansas, says the Army has notified him he's being recalled to active duty because he never officially resigned his commission. Mr. Jennings enlisted in the Army in 1917, and earned a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant while fighting in the Ardennes in 1918. "After the war ended", Mr. Jennings explained, "I was discharged and began starting a family and a business. I pretty much had figured my days as a soldier were over. I didn't even know about this business about officially resigning your commission, to tell you the truth." Nevertheless, Mr. Jennings is ready to go: "They told me it's like the Kaiser and his boys are in Baghdad, and that can't be good for anybody", Mr. Jennings said. Mr. Jennings has, however, requested he be assigned to a motorized unit, as he doesn't want his walking with a cane to slow down his fellow "doughboys".
A source in the Pentagon has confirmed World War I veterans are being recalled, and are in fact prized for their experience in chemical warfare, having fought through the mustard gas attacks common on the Western Front.
Has the Army told Mr. Jennings when he may be returning from Iraq? "They said about what I expected", Mr. Jennings said. "They said no one's coming back 'til it's over, over there."
The United States Army has recalled a 106-year-old veteran of World War I for combat duty in Iraq, sources confirmed. W.B. Jennings, a retired agricultural seed salesman residing in an assisted living facility in Wheaton, Kansas, says the Army has notified him he's being recalled to active duty because he never officially resigned his commission. Mr. Jennings enlisted in the Army in 1917, and earned a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant while fighting in the Ardennes in 1918. "After the war ended", Mr. Jennings explained, "I was discharged and began starting a family and a business. I pretty much had figured my days as a soldier were over. I didn't even know about this business about officially resigning your commission, to tell you the truth." Nevertheless, Mr. Jennings is ready to go: "They told me it's like the Kaiser and his boys are in Baghdad, and that can't be good for anybody", Mr. Jennings said. Mr. Jennings has, however, requested he be assigned to a motorized unit, as he doesn't want his walking with a cane to slow down his fellow "doughboys".
A source in the Pentagon has confirmed World War I veterans are being recalled, and are in fact prized for their experience in chemical warfare, having fought through the mustard gas attacks common on the Western Front.
Has the Army told Mr. Jennings when he may be returning from Iraq? "They said about what I expected", Mr. Jennings said. "They said no one's coming back 'til it's over, over there."
