7-23-08 -- A very special happy birthday to Jack Babcock. Not just any birthday ... Not just any guy ...
Jack is Canada's last living World War 1 vet ... And he is now 108 years old!!! (Talk about a BadAss!)
We had the honour of spending a couple hours with Jack, his wife Dorothy & her sister Nancy. Really nice people who welcomed us so graciously into their home. For the record, Jack's a past redhead, so we took to each other right away. Several times he wanted it confirmed that I have a redheaded temper -- We assured him I do, and that brought him a big broad smile.
We were there to pay respects to Jack on behalf of the Canadian first responders from this years tour. All over southern Ontario the first responders signed a special shirt just for Jack. After the tour it was requested that the shirt be presented to Jack from his countrymen. It was an incredible honor to do this one!
Jack was born in 1900 in Ontario, Canada. He has had a colorful history, including joining the military at just over 15 years old!!!
But he will be the first to tell you that he is no hero. He did not serve in France, and this seems to be the biggest reason he denies the title. He actually served over here with the 2nd Reserve Unit at Fort Lewis & Fort Vancouver, and he will regale you with stories from the 1920's about mules and more.
We shot some video, and once the computer issue gets straightened out, I will attempt to upload some of the visit for you all to share.
He still likes to talk about his time in Sydenham, and Kingston. **Be sure to read the comment from his hometown below. When he heard me mention Sarnia right after we got there, his eyes lit up, and he asked if that was what I had said. He has strong memories and heartstrings for Canada, and it is obvious he has pride as well.
This is a pretty special guy. When was the last time you heard of someone getting their high school degree after retiring? Well, when was the last time you heard that the person in question got that degree at 95 years old?! Not only that, but it appears that he still gets the followups from the school involved to see what direction he'd like to take his education. We teased him asking what he wants to be when he grows up. lol
You can read all about Jack all over the internet, there is a great video series online done by the History Channel. But we have it on personal authority that the information contained in the Wikipedia post about him, is inaccurate.
Jack, you take care and enjoy every minute! it was an honour and a pleasure!
Thank you Dorothy, Jack (& Nancy) ... We hope to visit you again.
Happy Birthday!!!
lj
PS ... To answer the question ... Our last living American WWI veteran is Frank Buckles. He is 107 years old and lives in West Virginia. Imagine letting these two sit down to give us a history lesson as they saw it.
4 comments:
The town Jack Babcock likes to talk about is Sydenham, it is about a half an hour outside of the big city of Kingston. Sydenham is a great small town and is still the location of many of his family members. A small coffee shop I work at, in Sydenham, celebrated his birthday yesterday with Jack's local family. The event was a large success in my opinion, we sang happy birthday and CBC radio recorded us and local newspapers wrote articles about the celebration.
Thanks for catching the correction for me. Bet Jack would have loved to have been there. He speaks of this hometown with a twinkle in his eye, and I'm pretty sure "visits" there often as he looks back through his years.
Love that you had a birthday celebration for him!
lj
For a man of such greatness, his hometown would do anything for him.
Talk about chills. What an honor to get to talk with this guy. A true Hero. No matter what he claims.
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