This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 8, 2011 - WASHINGTON - When he died in July 1948, a soldier from northern Missouri who had served with distinction in World War I was granted the honor of lying in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
That soldier was John Joseph Pershing, who rose from humble roots in Laclede, Mo., to become general of the Armies of the United States, commanding the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I.
On Feb. 27, the last of Pershing's 4 million "doughboys" -- Frank Buckles, who had been born on a farm near the northern Missouri town of Bethany -- died at age 110. But, despite the request of his family and several U.S. senators, the longest-lived World War I veteran will not lie in state in the Rotunda.
That decision was made this week by the respective leaders of the U.S. House and Senate -- House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. -- whose spokespersons said only a few distinguished Americans have been granted such an honor. (Click here to see a list of individuals who have lain in state in the Capitol Rotunda.)
According to the New York Times, the Buckles family in West Virginia -- where he owned a farm and lived for most of his life -- has kept his remains at a funeral home in Washington in the hope that congressional leaders might have a change of heart. But that appeared unlikely on Tuesday.
Senators who backed a resolution to allow Buckles' remains to lie in state in the Rotunda included the two Democrats from his home state of West Virginia, Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; and former Senate Minority Leader (and a highly honored World War II veteran) Bob Dole of Kansas, who is a Republican.
"It was a war that changed the world, in effect, and it should be recognized. I hope and I think it is going to happen," Dole told the National Journal this week. A spokeswoman said Tuesday that McCaskill was "disappointed" in the Rotunda decision.
Even if Buckles' casket does not lie in state in the Rotunda, congressional leaders have asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to allow the Buckles family to hold part of the funeral service at the ampitheater of Arlington National Cemetery, where Buckles will be buried with full military honors this month.
In the meantime, a memorial ceremony for Buckles is planned for Saturday morning at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. Organized in part by the Memorial and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the ceremony will include music from the American Legion Band, a presentation of colors, the laying of a wreath, and a speech by retired Gen. Richard B. Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Buckles had visited the Liberty Memorial as a guest of honor on Memorial Day, 2008, when he recalled meeting "fellow Missourian" Gen. Pershing after the war -- describing him as "the most military figure I have ever seen."
Buckles' family moved from Missouri to Oklahoma when he was a boy. He was 16 years old when he enlisted in the Army in August 1917, Buckles was sent to Fort Riley in Kansas for training. "I was gung-ho," he told the Kansas City Star later. His Army unit went to Europe in December 1917 and Buckles drove ambulances in England and France, honorably discharged after the war as a corporal.
While the Rotunda honor does not appear to be in the cards, McCaskill and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., want to honor Buckles and other veterans of the Great War by granting "national memorial" status to Kansas City's Liberty Memorial -- which would be designated as the "National World War I Museum and Memorial" -- and the World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. That bill is awaiting action in Congress.
"The passing of the last American World War I veteran should remind us all how important it is to have a national memorial honoring the brave men and women who served during that time," said McCaskill. "Mr. Buckles was able to keep the memory of the Great War living for so long, but now that he's gone, we need to make sure that the sacrifices of this extraordinary generation will be memorialized for all generations to come."
Even without the Rotunda honor, Buckles seems likely to be remembered for a long while -- as is another distinguished World War I veteran from Missouri who went on to even greater heights than Pershing: President Harry S Truman.
When the former president died in Kansas City in 1972, Truman's wife, Bess, had the option of sending his remains to the nation's capital to lie in state in the Rotunda. Instead, Truman was laid to rest after a relatively small funeral service at the Truman Library complex in Independence.