LONDON — Florence Green never saw the front line. Her war was spent serving food, not dodging bullets.
WAR VETERAN. In this Feb. 19, 2010 photo released by the British Ministry of Defense, MOD, shows Florence Green, left, on her 109th birthday being presented with a birthday cake by LAC Hannah Shaw on behalf of the RAF at her home in King's Lynn, east England. AP
But Green, who has died at age 110, was the last known surviving veteran of World War I. She was serving with the Women’s Royal Air Force as a waitress at an air base in eastern England when the guns fell silent on Nov. 11, 1918.
It was not until 2010 that she was officially recognized as a veteran after a researcher found her service record in Britain’s National Archives.
Green died Saturday at the Briar House Care Home in King’s Lynn, eastern England, two weeks before her 111th birthday, the home said.
Retired Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye, director-general of the RAF Museum, said it was fitting that the last survivor of the first global war was someone who had served on the home front.
“In a way, that the last veteran should be a lady and someone who served on the home front is something that reminds me that warfare is not confined to the trenches,” Dye said.
“It reminds us of the Great War, and all warfare since then has been something that involved everyone. It’s a collective experience … Sadly, whether you are in New York, in London, or in Kandahar, warfare touches all of our lives.”