How many WWI and WWII veterans are still alive?

Today, 6 June 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, with some leaders of the governments who formed the Allied powers in World War II coming together to commemorate the historic maritime invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

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The First World War

As of 2011, there are no surviving veterans of The Great War. Despite more than 4 million soldiers being mobilized and more than 65,000 being killed in a short amount of time, the fact that the war ended more than 100 years ago makes it impossible that someone called up to fight could be alive today. Frank Buckles, an ambulance driver on the Western Front, was the last soldier living. He was a part of the United States Army 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment, joining in 1917. He lived in Charles Town, West Virginia, and died on 27 February 2011. President Obama was present at his funeral.

While the last US veterans died in 2011, the last surviving veteran of any country was Florence Green, a British woman who served in the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). She died on 4 February 2012.

The Second World War

Due to its being much more recent than World War I, thousands of veterans, of the millions that served in the Second World War, are still alive today.

According to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 119,550 of the more than 16.4 million Americans who served are still alive as of 2023. The brave souls who risked their lives are aging rapidly, with historians eagerly hoping to record their stories from the war before they pass.

In total, more than 70 million soldiers from all nations fought in the Second World War. Some of those still alive were invited to Normandy, France, to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and were recognized for their valent service by both US and European leaders. Notably missing were Russian soldiers who did not take part in D-Day but whose sacrifice in defeating the Nazis on the Eastern Front should not be underappreciated or forgotten.