Of the 16 million Americans that fought the Axis powers in World War II, less than 70,000 remain alive today according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and their numbers are declining rapidly.
Most WWII Veterans are now in their 90s, with many over 100 years old.
The latest data based on 2023 numbers from the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics indicate the numbers of WWII Veterans will decline quickly, with the last Veteran expected to pass away in the early 2040s according to official projections of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
More than 400,00 Americans died during and right after the war, making it the deadliest war in human history. As many as 50 million people were killed worldwide during the conflict.
The last surviving WWI veteran was Frank Buckles who passed away in 2011 at the age of 110.
According the Roger Ealy, a former U.S. Marine, and longtime veterans advocate, Williams has at least one surviving World War 2 veteran. Williams resident Walter Olmstead served with the U.S. Army Air Force in World War 2 and is 102 years old.
