Did anyone survive 4 years in the trenches?

Yes,111-year-old Harry Patch (the "Last Fighting Tommy") was among the few who survived years in the trenches. While many served throughout, continuous 4-year front-line presence was rare due to rotation systems. Despite high mortality rates, roughly 80-90% of British soldiers survived the war.
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Who survived 4 years in the trenches?

Ellison had survived four years of trench warfare, including fighting in the battles of Ypres and the Somme.
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How long did people live in the trenches?

During World War I, the average lifespan of a soldier in the trenches was alarmingly short—approximately six weeks. In that brief time, many soldiers faced death by artillery fire, bayonet wounds, or the horrific effects of mustard gas, which could cause severe respiratory damage.
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Who was the 12 year old soldier in WW1?

The youngest authenticated British soldier in World War I was twelve-year-old Sidney Lewis, who fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
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Are there any WW1 survivors still alive?

No, there are no World War I veterans still alive; the last known veteran, Florence Green (UK), died in 2012, and the last American WWI veteran, Frank Buckles, died in 2011, marking the end of an era for the "Great War" generation. 
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4 Hours Of First-Hand Accounts From WW1

Who spared Adolf Hitler's life in WW1?

On September 28, 1918, in an incident that would go down in the lore of World War I history—although the details of the event are still unclear—Private Henry Tandey, a British soldier serving near the French village of Marcoing, reportedly encounters a wounded German soldier and declines to shoot him, sparing the life ...
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How old is the youngest WWII vet still alive?

There isn't one definitive "youngest" living WWII veteran, as records vary and individuals often lied about their age, but Bob Kelso, who enlisted at 13, is widely recognized as one of the youngest, while Calvin Graham, who served at 12, was the youngest combatant but passed away in 1992. Most surviving U.S. veterans are now centenarians, with the youngest being around 97 or older as of late 2025, born in 1927 or earlier.
 
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Who died 2 minutes before WW1 ended?

“Two minutes before the armistice went into effect, at 10:58 am, on November 11, 1918 (signaling the end of the war), private George Lawrence Price was felled by a bullet. Price would become the final Commonwealth soldier-and the last of more than 66,000 canadians to be killed in World War 1.
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Was there a 6 year old boy who fought in WWII?

Despite his remarkably young age, the six year old Seryozha Aleshkov was recruited into the Soviet Red Army as a soldier by his adoptive father Commander Mikhail Vorobych, and Seryozha Aleshkov became the youngest known soldier, at just six years old.
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What did trenches smell like?

Then there was the smell. Stinking mud mingled with rotting corpses, lingering gas, open latrines, wet clothes and unwashed bodies to produce an overpowering stench. The main latrines were located behind the lines, but front-line soldiers had to dig small waste pits in their own trenches.
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What was the #1 killer in WWI?

By far, artillery was the biggest killer in World War I, and provided the greatest source of war wounded.
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Why were soldiers given condoms in WWII?

Soldiers were given condoms in WWII primarily to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like syphilis and gonorrhea, which seriously threatened troop health and manpower, but they also used them creatively for other tasks like keeping sand and water out of gun barrels or waterproofing supplies. Militaries issued them as a public health measure, recognizing that abstinence was unrealistic and needing to maintain fighting strength, with the U.S. Army even providing "prophylaxis kits" to ensure use. 
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Who was the last guy killed in WW1?

All told among Allies, there were over 11,000 casualties, including 2,738 killed, on the morning of November 11. The very last of these was Pvt. Henry Gunther, a 23-year-old German American who had worked as a clerk and bookkeeper for National Bank of Baltimore before getting his draft notice.
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Does 2000 troops mean 2000 soldiers?

"Troops" (plural), in the military sense, properly refers to a LARGE number of individuals (as in, "Five thousand troops were deployed.") When "troops" is used with a SMALL number, it properly refers not to individuals but to collections of people.
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Who is the oldest WWII veteran still alive?

The oldest verified World War II veteran alive changes as individuals pass away, but as of late 2025, sources point to Ilie Ciocan (born May 28, 1913, in Romania) as potentially the world's oldest, following the passing of Japan's Tsuneji Oyama in early 2024. For the U.S., figures like Moses Eldridge (Ohio, 108 in mid-2025) and previous record-holders like Lawrence Brooks, who passed in 2022, were prominent, but the title shifts to the oldest individual still alive who served, making Ciocan a likely candidate globally. 
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Who was the youngest soldier killed in WWII?

The youngest known soldier to die in WWII is often cited as Reginald Earnshaw, a 14-year-old British Merchant Navy cabin boy killed in 1941, but the youngest combatant overall was likely Sergei Aleshkov, a 6-year-old Soviet "Son of the Regiment" who served at Stalingrad and survived the war. While Earnshaw was the youngest service casualty, Aleshkov was the youngest to actively serve in combat, though his role was more of a mascot/assistant.
 
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What was the maximum age to fight in WWII?

To fight in WWII, the minimum official age for U.S. draftees was 18, though 17-year-olds could enlist with parental consent, while the upper age limit for drafting generally rose from 45 to 37 as the war progressed, with some men over 40 still serving. Globally, age limits varied; some countries, like the Soviet Union, conscripted younger teens (16+) for support roles, while others had high national enlistment in emergencies. 
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Who is the world's youngest soldier?

The youngest soldier in history is widely considered to be Sergei Aleshkov, a Soviet child who served in World War II at just 6 years old after his family was killed by German forces, becoming the adopted "Son of the Regiment". Another notable case is Momčilo Gavrić, a Serbian boy who became a soldier in World War I at age 8, after his family was killed, making him the youngest in that conflict.
 
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Are WWII bodies still being found?

Yes, World War II bodies are still being found regularly, primarily through government recovery efforts (like the US DPAA) and private organizations, in former battlefields across Europe, the Pacific, and Asia, with remains uncovered by construction, farming, erosion, or specific searches, often leading to identification and repatriation decades later. 
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What war had 0 deaths?

A "war with no casualties" refers to bloodless conflicts, with the most famous being the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War (Netherlands vs. Isles of Scilly, 1651-1986) and the Pig War (US vs. Britain, 1859), where disputes ended through negotiation or forgotten declarations, resulting in zero fatalities but highlighting historical absurdities. Other examples include the Honey War and McGowan's War, demonstrating that conflicts can conclude without bloodshed, though often due to mutual disinterest or eventual diplomatic resolution.
 
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Why didn't John Wayne serve in WWII?

John Wayne didn't serve in WWII primarily due to draft deferments for family dependency (3-A) and then occupational status (2-A), as the film industry argued his movies boosted troop morale and national interest, though he expressed a desire to enlist and later regretted not serving, enduring criticism as a "draft dodger". He was 34 with a family when the war started, initially qualifying for the 3-A deferment, and later, when his status changed, his studio, Republic Pictures, successfully intervened for a 2-A deferment, classifying him as essential personnel. 
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Did Tom Selleck actually serve in Vietnam?

No, Tom Selleck did not serve in Vietnam, but he served honorably in the California Army National Guard during the Vietnam War era (1967-1973), fulfilling his draft obligation by joining the 160th Infantry Regiment, attending military academy, and completing six months of active duty, later becoming a proud veteran and advocate for fellow servicemen. 
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Why did VFW reject Vietnam vets?

Posts were divided with some not accepting Vietnam War vets. Vietnam War veterans refused to join the VFW because of its support for the Vietnam War and the vets of the new-age generation with its counter-culture perspective that fought in an unpopular war.
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Are any D-Day veterans still alive?

Yes, some D-Day veterans are still alive in late 2025, though they are very few, mostly in their late 90s or 100s, and are the focus of commemorations as their numbers dwindle, with individuals like Jake Larson (102) and Betty Huffman-Rosevear (104) still making appearances. The National WWII Museum estimates around 45,000 U.S. WWII veterans remain, but many, like those who landed on Normandy beaches, are centenarians and a precious, shrinking link to history.
 
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