George Echols; Oldest American War Veteran
The nation’s oldest known war veteran, George E. Echols, died last week at 105, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday.
Echols, who served in World War I, died Thursday at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center here after a brief illness.
Echols, who was born in Athens, Ga., served with the Army in France. His death means that the oldest war veteran now is Nathan E. Cook, 104, who is also the only known living veteran of the Spanish-American War.
Cook lives at the Carl Hayden Veterans Affairs Nursing Home in Phoenix, Ariz.
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