The last veteran.

• Position: Florence Green - World War I - Brief article

Until she died in February--two weeks shy of her 111th birthday-Florence Green of England was the only known surviving veteran of World War I (1914-18). She joined the Women's Royal Air Force in 1918 at age 17, serving tea and meals to officers at an air base in England until the war that pitted the Allies--including the U.S., Britain, France, and Russia--against Germany ended that November. The women's branch of the R.A.F. recruited women for noncombat work to free up men for combat duty (see p. 10 for women's military history in the U.S.). Few people knew of Green's veteran status until a researcher discovered her records in Britain's National Archives in 2010. Shortly...