Rene Riffaud

PARIS (AP) - Rene Riffaud, one of France's last World War I veterans, has died at age 108, leaving just three known French survivors of the 1914-18 conflict.

Riffaud died overnight Tuesday, said Marie-Georges Vingadassalon, a spokeswoman for the National Veterans Office.

Of the three surviving World War I veterans, the oldest - Louis de Cazenave - is 109, according to the veterans' office.

Only belatedly, in 2006, did France recognize Riffaud as a veteran of the war, giving him an official veteran's card after his granddaughter brought his case to the government's attention.

The Veterans Office said he was born Dec. 12, 1898, in Tunisia and joined a colonial artillery unit in April 1917.

He told the AP he was in a village in eastern France when the war ended on Nov. 11, 1918.

Commemorations nationwide are expected to mark the death of the last member of France's revered club of officially recognized "poilus" - meaning hairy or tough - as it calls its veterans from the 1914-18 war.

Incredible. I can't even begin to imagine all the changes he must have gone through in his life, and all the things he saw.

Hi,

I had the same thougths Rodger. This man saw the first cars, transistors and TV, plane etc and went through two horrible wars....
Let's imagine what we will discover in the future, when our grand-grand-sons will tell "hey this guy saw the year 2000, and the first internet !!".
The only thing I hope is that we will never experience a war, and humans will take care of this planet before it become too late.

Pace

Julien