Oldest living vet feted in D.C.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- The man thought to be the last known U.S. veteran of World War I was honored Thursday at the White House and at the Pentagon.

Cpl. Frank Buckles, who lied about his age to enlist, visited with President George Bush in the Oval Office, where Bush called him "the last living doughboy" of WWI. Buckles said he was 18 years old when he really was 16.

The 107-year-old Buckles later was feted at the Pentagon, where a commemorative portrait was unveiled.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the war was fading into history.

During the 18 months U.S. troops fought in World War I, he said, "they suffered more deaths than in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined."

Asked to say a few words, Buckles said he was honored to be at the Pentagon representing WWI veterans. He was an ambulance driver during WWI, and was a civilian who spent three years in a prison camp after being captured by the Japanese during World War II.

Buckles was born in Missouri but now lives in West Virginia.