The last known surviving veteran of World War I has died. Florence Green, 110, was a waitress in Britain's Royal Air Force.
"In a way, that the last veteran should be a lady and someone who served on the home front is something that reminds me that warfare is not confined to the trenches," Retired Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye told Time.
"It reminds us of the Great War, and all warfare since then has been something that involved everyone," Dye, director-general of the RAF Museum, told Time. "It's a collective experience. ... Sadly, whether you are in New York, in London, or in Kandahar, warfare touches all of our lives."
Green was 17 when she joined the Women's Royal Air Force in 1918, two months before the armistice, the BBC reported.
She recalled her wartime experiences in a 2008 interview, retold in Time.
"I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates," she said. "I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. I would work every hour God sent. But I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time. In many ways, I had the time of my life."
Two weeks shy of her 111th birthday, Green died in her sleep Saturday night at a home care facility in King's Lynn, Norfolk, according to the BBC.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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I think I saw her in Bruce lee's "Enter the Dragon"
I love reading the comments below. hahaha. I really do! Let's all be ignorant! Duh, what was wurld war won? Was dat on gersy shore?
Honestly, a woman serves her country in one of the only ways that a woman could in those years and the only comments that you can come up with are derogatory and just plain foolish. You should all be ashamed. I am not American and I have more respect for her than her own countrymen. May God Bless her
While I agree with you for the most part you failed to notice she also isn't American. But I know you're one of the 4 million people on CNN posts that like to generalize Americans as negative
Not that this excuses the insensitive comments, but the article clearly states she was part of Britain's Royal Air Force.
Trust me....there are more of us that see her merit......than just a handful of bored people,with empty lives, who want to poke fun and create controversy for argumentative and reaction only.
It hardly gets bigger than WWI or WWII. Momentous indeed. RIP Florence and to all those who served and to those who gave their lives for their countries. Shame to all those who make fun or petty comments.
That's what Hulk Hogan will look like at 110.
Stand and Salute the WW I Veterans and Don't Forget ! HOOAH !!!
Thank you, Florence Green, for your service. Rest well.
Ms. Green with your great service to your country and to the Western allies you make us all proud. As an US American with a grandfather who fought courageously in the trenches in WWI I salute you. Rest in peace dear Lady, rest in peace.
May you rest in peace, Ms. Greene. The Great War has now passed out of living memory.
What a sad state of affairs this world has become. The only nice thing I can say to Eric the "actor" is that he will be old someday, too....if he's lucky enough!
I thank her for her food service, but I'm curious when the last COMBAT veteran died.
Correction: I'm thankful for her 2 months of food service.
Not all men in uniform in the European theater during World War I actually went into combat. Many more were behind the lines, in support battalions. Would you not consider any of them veterans of that war?
Of course, but the really important veterans are those that sacrificed their lives, or pieces of their souls, for the war effort. Like I said, I thank her, but let's be honest, she only served food for a couple months IN ENGLAND.
You're just jealous she got the chance to serve for her country, get recognized for it, and you didn't.
Technically, she did server her country. But in reality, she served food for two months. I think it's awesome she joined at such an early age to do her part, and it's sad that she died. I just have a more grounded view of her actual contribution, and find it ironic that the last veteran to die was a waitress.
Hey, Eric the actor, get a life and show some respect. It would have been an honor for me to have known this great lady.
If that's a woman, why does she have a beard?
It's probably a man. Probably faked being a woman back in the day to avoid combat and stay in the country.
Because a woman gets hairier as she ages. She just didn't bother to pluck like the rest of us.
Hormones get out of whack as you age.
I know this might come as a shock to you, but most women get very good at plucking or shaving their heavy facial hair as they age. They don't want to look like a prepubescent idiot– such as yourself.
She's a teabagger's idea of the perfect milf.
For Eric and Alex, have you ever thought how sensitive her skin can be at that age? I think she is a very beautiful woman
She's dead. You don't have to BS everyone by saying that she is beautiful. Beauty left that women years ago, like it does for everyone. Beauty isn't forever.
God less you Florence! RIP!