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Title: France's oldest WW1 veteran dies
Source:
BBC
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7199127.stm
Published: Jan 20, 2008
Author: BBC
Post Date: 2008-01-20 13:16:34 by robin
Keywords: None
Views: 79
Comments: 2
One of the last two surviving French World War I veterans has died aged 110. Louis de Cazenave, who fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, died in his sleep at his home in Brioude, central France, his son, Louis, said. Mr de Cazenave's death means the last French WWI veteran is now Lazare Ponticelli, also aged 110. President Nicolas Sarkozy sent the "nation's condolences" to Mr de Cazenave's family and paid tribute to all those who were killed in the war. Peaceful end Mr de Cazenave, born on 16 October 1897 signed up in 1916 and served with a number of different infantry and artillery regiments, including the fifth Senegalese battalion. After the liberation of France and the end of the war he returned to civilian life and became a railwayman. He married and had three sons before retiring at the age of 41. "He died as he wanted to, at home," his son said. "He had stopped speaking yesterday, he had a peaceful death. He didn't suffer at all." Mr de Cazenave will be buried on Tuesday in a simple ceremony in Brioude. Mr Sarkozy said his death was an occasion "for all of us to think of the 1.4m French who sacrificed their lives during this conflict, for the 4.5m wounded, for the 8.5m mobilised". "This generation has only one remaining representative today," he said in a statement.
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This generation has only one remaining representative today 
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