"After the WW2 very young boys were still able to enlist in the American services. This went on until the early fifties. Nowadays the USA is the only country where an association called Veterans of Underage Military Service (VUMS) exists. It was formed in 1991."

"Buckles enlisted in the American army at age 16 in 1917. During his summer vacation from school he went to the Marine Corps recruiting office to enlist, told them he was 21, but he was turned down: too small. He tried the Navy: too flatfooted.

He then went to the Army and they accepted him. "The old sergeant advised me that the Ambulance Service was the quickest way to get to France because the French were begging for ambulance services".

In France he served at several locations. After Armistice Day he was assigned to a POW escort company to return prisoners back to Germany.
In WW2 while working in the Philippines, the Japanese army seized him and he stayed in a POW camp for more than 3 years.

Righthand, you have put a lot of work into these photography clips! Great job!

I'm disappointed. I sat on these for quite some time awaiting a context with which to post them. I'd seen a very good 'History' program on TV about this subject and felt that such a clip would be helped by these photos.

But here's the thing. There is little or no info on this matter on the net!!! There is some but not about WW1. It's as if it was censored! Why, I've no idea. I'm at a loss. Maybe some one can help.

This is really interesting. It hurts me to see those tiny faces all dressed up for battle and killed in combat before they even got to live. Hearing they chose to be where they were is even more interesting. The pictures are incredible! Thanks for the clip.