Paul Ooghe (17 May 1899 – 8 September 2001) was a Belgian soldier who, and at the time of his death, was incorrectly believed to be the last surviving Belgian soldier to have seen combat in

World War I 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 ...

. The actual last surviving veteran, Cyrillus-Camillus Barbary, who had emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, died in 2004.

World War I service

In 1916, he escaped from German-occupied Belgium and traveled to the Netherlands, England, and finally France to join the Belgian Army which was fighting at a northern section of the Western Front, known as the

Yser Front The Yser Front (french: Front de l'Yser, nl, Front aan de IJzer or ), sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ...

. At the age of 16, Ooghe lied about his age in order to enlist. He first joined the cavalry (5^e régiment des Lanciers), then the grenadiers (1^er régiment des Grenadiers). As he was in charge of the maintenance of the telephone and telegraph lines, Ooghe was often in the front line, also involved in action. At the end of March 1917, he participated in an attack against a German bunker in

Rekkem Rekkem is a section of the Belgian city of Menen, in the province of West Flanders. Until 1977, it was an independent municipality. It was called ''Retchème'' in Picard. In 1173, the village was still called Rekkem, similar to Reclinghem in Art ...

and was very nearly killed. On 11 November 1918, while on duty and eager to celebrate the armistice, the Germans bombarded the positions where Ooghe was stationed and ten of his companions perished before the bugle sounded the end of the conflict. This was a traumatic experience that Ooghe would not forget.

Post War activities

Ooghe was a recipient of numerous honors and awards and was until his death often regarded as the last living Belgian survivor of World War I. He was a regular participant in the annual commemorations of the war and was often willing to speak at length about his experiences and the futility of conflict. His aim was to infuse a civic sense in young people, as well as the importance of keeping the memory of the conflict alive.

Death

Ooghe died on 8 September 2001 due to weakness after having suffered from bronchitis for several months. He was 102 years old. Up until a short time before his death, he was widely announced as being the last surviving Belgian World War I veteran. The last Belgian veteran of the war, Cyrillus-Camillus Barbary, died in the

in 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ooghe 1899 births 2001 deaths People from Laeken Belgian military personnel of World War I Belgian centenarians Men centenarians