Henry Allingham: World's Oldest Man Dies At 113

GOP's Socialist Fantasy

World War I veteran Henry Allingham, died Saturday

He went to war as a teenager, helped keep flimsy aircraft flying, survived his wounds and came home from World War I to a long – very long – and fruitful life.

But only in his last years did he discover his true mission: to remind new generations of the sacrifices of the millions slaughtered in the trenches, killed in the air, or lost at sea in what Britons call the Great War.

Allingham, who was the world's oldest man when he died Saturday at 113, attributed his remarkable longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women. (my em)"

I knew it! Hope floats! Thank you, Henry.

He was the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1918. He made it a personal crusade to talk about a conflict that wiped out much of a generation. Though nearly blind, he would take the outstretched hands of visitors in both of his, gaze into the eyes of children, veterans and journalists and deliver a message he wanted them all to remember about those left on the battlefield.

"I don't want to see them forgotten," he would say quietly. "We were pals."

As a mechanic, Allingham's job was to maintain the rickety craft. He also flew as an observer on a biplane. At first, his weaponry consisted of a standard issue Lee Enfield .303 rifle – sometimes two. Parachutes weren't issued.

I guess they had plenty of mechanics. Ulp...

In 2001, Henry took up Veterans' issues:

That's about the time he met Goodwin, a nursing home inspector who realized that veterans of Allingham's generation were not getting the care they needed to address the trauma they had experienced at the Somme, Gallipoli and Ypres and the other blood-drenched World War I battlefields. [...]

We're talking about 100+-year-old men who have been living with PTSD for over 80 years. We didn't know about it for most of those years, but they lived with it anyway.

I hope no Iraq/Afghanistan Veteran has to take up that cause for our guys in 2090. Assuming those wars are over by then.

Please go read more about Mr. Allingham. Godspeed, Sir.