WASHINGTON - A Texas congressman who worked with the last surviving World War I veteran to try to create a national memorial to "The Great War" is calling for the late Army veteran Frank Buckles to lie in repose in the Capitol Rotunda -- a setting usually reserved to honor those who have been president.
Honoring Buckles at the Capitol "is our chance to say thank you to the last of a generation," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who served in the Air Force Reserves in the 1970s. "It is the final legacy of those who fought 'Over There.'"
"Frank Buckles is the last one -- the last American Doughboy," Poe said.
Buckles' daughter, Susannah Buckles Flanagan, also has requested the additional honor for her late father who died last month at the age of 110. "If the last American soldier surviving is not suitable to serve as a symbol around which we can rally to honor those who served their country in the Great War, then who can serve that purpose? There is no one left," said Flanagan, who took care of her father at his farm in West Virginia.
The congressional leadership, headed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has balked at having Buckles lie in repose in the Capitol and instead is urging the Pentagon to have Buckles' funeral at Arlington National Cemetery's majestic amphitheater.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has criticized Boehner for his decision and urged him to reconsider.
A date has not yet been set for the funeral, said Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va., whose district includes Buckles' home.
She said she is hoping for action by next week on pending House and Senate resolutions that would allow Buckles to lie in repose in the Capitol.
