Harry Richard Landis (12 December 1899 – 4 February 2008)Social Security Death Index
SSN ''236-01-5869'' was, at age 108, the older of the last two

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veterans. The final one was Frank Buckles, who died in 2011. John Babcock, a naturalized American, served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

during the war, and also survived Landis.

Biography

Landis was born to Jason and Alice Landis in Miller Township, Marion County, Missouri, between

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

and Palmyra, where he grew up on the family farm. He was the seventh of eight children. Landis joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in October 1918, and joined the Student Army Training Corps while attending Central Methodist University in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He did not complete basic training due to the war ending less than a month later. His experience of mopping the floor at an army hospital included exposure to the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, which was actually the leading cause of death worldwide in the year 1918, killing about 75 million people. Landis was discharged in December 1918, one month after the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. Attempting to try to enlist in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

after the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

in 1941, he was rejected as "too old". Landis retired in 1959. He and his wife Eleanor, both died at

Sun City Center Sun City Center is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in southern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located south of Tampa and north of Sarasota on I-75. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,952. The ZIP Co ...

in 2008. Harry died on 4 February, and Eleanor on 8 December aged 101.Social Security Death Index
SSN ''272-42-6206''

References

External links

Interview from The Ledger Online

MSNBC report on Landis's deathBay report on Landis's 108th birthday
1899 births 2008 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I American men centenarians Central Methodist University alumni People from Hillsborough County, Florida People from Marion County, Missouri United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Missouri {{US-army-World-War-I-bio-stub