Buckles, Russell are legends who deserve some coverage

Two great Americans died recently – Frank Buckles, the last American World War I veteran, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, and Jane Russell, a movie star, on Thursday, Feb. 28. The news may have escaped some people, as many outlets instead focused on another person: the always-in-trouble Charlie Sheen, the recently-fired star of a CBS show that for beyond reasons I understand is massively popular.


Buckles died at his home in Charles Town, W.Va., of natural causes at the age of 110. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I, at the age of 16, in 1917, and served in England and France, driving ambulances and motorcycles for the Army’s 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment.

His most terrifying war experience came not from that war, though, but during World War II while living in the Philippines. The Japanese captured the island in 1942 and he was imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.

After becoming the lone World War I surviving veteran in 2008, at the tender age of 107, he became the country’s most prominent veteran, serving as honorary chairman for a number of foundations and committees and receiving numerous awards. Shortly before his 110th birthday, he was still giving media interviews and meeting important dignitaries, including presidents. A documentary about his life is currently in production.

Russell’s moment in the spotlight occurred when she was much younger than Buckles, as she was a sex symbol at the height of her film career in the 1940s and 1950s.

A Minnesota native, she made her film debut in 1943’s “The Outlaw,” a film about Billy the Kid. Although Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett are the subjects of the film, Russell was the star playing Rio McDonald, mainly because her skimpy costumes didn’t leave much to many guys’ imaginations.

During her career, she performed with such legends as Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx and Clark Gable. She and Monroe put their imprints in the cement at the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater during a joint ceremony in 1953.

I’ll be honest and note I knew very little about Russell, especially compared to Monroe, but I can assure you my grandfathers probably know many things about her. Looking at photos of her, she was a bombshell that easily compares to Monroe.

Why am I writing about her and Buckles then? A gentleman called this week and asked why their deaths weren’t covered in the media. These people were important to him and he thought they deserved more than a brief mention on television news.

I explained The Gazette is a newspaper that concentrates mainly on local news that pertains specifically to Portage County, and we don’t have access to Associated Press material that covers areas outside our county.

I did tell him I’d look for a way to get something in the paper about these two individuals, and after thinking about it for a few days figured this column was the most appropriate place.

My decision was easy after seeing all the coverage of Charlie Sheen’s ongoing disaster. While he made some decent films early in his career, Sheen isn’t worthy of even holding one of Buckles’ many service medals or Russell’s sexy costumes from her heyday. They are legends, and he is not and never will be.

Hopefully, some of the news outlets will realize this and stop covering his every cocaine snort, porn star conquest and warlock reference. Then maybe they can focus on the news that deserves some coverage.