UPDATE: Please take a moment of silence for one of the greatest men I have EVER had the pleasure of knowing. Sadly, the inevitable has happened, and on February 18th, Jack slipped away. Guess there was this part of me that somehow thought this man would just be here forever, alas, we only had 109 years.
For those of you who follow us on Facebook, we've begun a tribute page where you can leave messages, photos and video tributes/messages for Jack and his family.
FACEBOOK TRIBUTE PAGE
If you're not on facebook, you can still leave your message here. We will make sure that Jack's beautiful wife Dot gets the messages. Jack left a large family behind and your words will surely be of comfort to each of them. Please share this with everyone you know, let's leave a strong message for this humble hero. lj
For those of you who don't know Jack ... And we're talkin' Jack Babcock, the last Canadian World War ONE Veteran ... You're missing out on one of our favorite Bad Ass Heroes. At 109 years of age, Jack is the most senior member of our Celebrity Hero Ambassadors. (He is also one of only three WWI vets left in the world ... But then, we always knew he was a treasure!)
This guy is amazing by the way. He tells us stories and jokes and shares songs from days long past during our visits - much of our visits have been recorded to be shared down the road. After getting to know both Jack & his incredible wife Dorothy, we decided that we wanted to find a way to let you "know" Jack ...
So we are collecting messages for Jack ... just because. You may not be able to meet him in person, but you most definitely can send him your special message and we will make sure he receives it. Send your message to: A message for Jack
For those of you who do not know Jack ... And you know who you are. ( ; We encourage you to check out our utube page: Lizerini
******MESSAGES FOR JACK******
Jack, (& Dot)
It occurs to me that though I am indeed the one to start the messages for Jack over the past year or so, i have not personally sent one via the site - And I want to.
I want you both to know that you are more special than you can imagine. That in the time we've known each other, I have been nothing less than proud to know you both, and call you friends. I don't know what I expected that first time we met. Talk about nervous! I expected you could be stand-offish and stuffy to this unknown guest. I expected I would be tolerated then swept out the door. Too many movies I guess.
What I found was a gracious woman who opened the door and made sure that Jack felt comfortable with this strange new person coming to visit ... I was never so happy to have red hair! When jack patted the couch for me to sit beside him I wish there had been a way to record the thoughts screaming in my head. It was a cross of funny, excited, disbelieving and awed. I was siting beside history, and when he took my hand ... No words.
The two of you made me feel so at home, and even more so when the invitation to come return was extended. Looking back, I sure hope you meant it, after all the past visits, eh? ( ; Brad, Kevin Jules & Beau all feel so very special that they got to spend time with you, and I am honored to have been at your latest birthday party ... You were indeed the rockstar!
Jack, you say you're no hero, and I understand your reasoning. But I don't believe you ever had the opportunity to experience the reverence that surfaces when you are the topic of discussions. I am not Canadian, but being there over Remembrance Day with the Sarnia Sting and all of the citizens who rose in applause and cheers when your name was mentioned, then stood in silence to catch every word of your message to them. You touched them, you are a part of them and they are proud to be any part of you. Canadian American is fitting, I think you're too much for one country, so thank for choosing ours - We're honored.
Every day you share with us is a better day, and a day that we know has been touched with love by Dot. You two are such an amazing pair. No one is guaranteed another day in this world so each hour must speak for itself in its moment and beyond. We watch you two together and it's like a manual for how to do it right.
I hope that today you shared a moment that will hold you closer, tighter until that moment has passed and your are on to one even better.
Not a hero? Really? Jack, you are MY hero. You represent every man who ever wore the uniform. My father, husband, son, brothers, and uncles. You represent the dreams that we need all try to make real. You represent doing the right thing. You represent for every soldier who came home. And for your sacrifices, doors opened, and eventually the women in my family donned the uniforms as well. Everyone needs a hero. Someone to believe in, Meeting you, I got two heroes that feel more like family. Doesn't matter if either of you fought in a war ... You don't need us as much as we need you. You show us how to grow older with dignity and grace and humility.
Sorry for my rambling message, it's late.
Sweet dreams sweet hearts,
Liz
******
Hi Jack
I haven't met you in person , but i've heard alot about you , & our entire family wants to thank you so very much for great service to help us all & others in this world. Our son Ryan Preston served in Afghanistan in 2006 in the 2nd P.P.C.L.I. , We were so lucky & grateful he came back safe to us. Thanks again Jack from us all & take care of yourself. From the Prestons Calgary , Alberta
******
For fun, we did a web search to see what someone else might write about Jack, and found the following article ...
ROD MICKLEBURGH
From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Tuesday, Apr. 07, 2009 02:34AM EDT
Unlike hundreds of thousands of other young Canadians of his generation, Jack Babcock never got the chance to go “over the top” in France during the terrible four years of the First World War.
Lucky him. Mr. Babcock was under age when he arrived in Britain with the Royal Canadian Regiment, and was deemed too young to be shot at. Superiors kept him far from the front.
But more than 68,000 Canadians did die in “the war to end all wars.” Many, if not most, were mowed down by the withering hail of machine-gun fire pouring from enemy lines as cold-blooded commanders sent waves of human beings into a battlefield slaughterhouse, often for little more than a few hundred metres of mud.
Yet, even today, 90 years later, still relatively hearty at the age of 106, Mr. Babcock says that if the order had come to head out over the top, he would not have hesitated.
“I trained in England with a lot of soldiers who'd been there [France],” he said in an interview this week. “Quite a few of them had been wounded and they told me how things were.
“But I felt that I had not completed what I set out to do. I had not done what a soldier should do. I wanted to fight,” said the feisty old combatant.
“If I had been a little older, I might have gone to France and been ordered over the top. I knew what that meant, but nevertheless, I would have gone, just like all of the rest of them did.”
Mr. Babcock headed to the United States a few years after the war. He has lived there ever since, a long-time resident of Spokane, Wash.
But he is feeling a bit more Canadian these days. Several years ago, through a chance encounter at a wedding, he was identified as one of the country's last surviving veterans of the First World War.
Now, he gets a hearing disability pension from the Canadian government, and last fall, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson dropped by to present him with a commemorative war medal.
“I am a naturalized American, but I was born in Canada, and I still have love for Canada,” Mr. Babcock said, noting how much he appreciated the vocational training Canada provided for its returning veterans. “I went to the States because I could get work there.”
Age barely slowed the onetime Ontario farm boy. At 65, he earned his pilot's licence. At 76, after the death of his first wife, he married nurse Dorothy, 29 years his junior, whose loving care has allowed him to remain at home.
By the time Mr. Babcock turned 96, he had earned his high-school diploma.
Mr. Babcock's own assessment? “I am 106 years old and my mind is as good as it ever was, but my back is kind of rickety.” The rare living relic of “the Great War” doesn't think much of his service there, however. “I certainly didn't do anything spectacularly well,” he declared.
“Well, you survived,” his listener offered.
At that, Mr. Babcock let out a loud laugh of agreement.
Seems pretty accurate though we did get a chuckle out of this tribute to a veteran that fails to mention that one those employment opportunites Jack found in the States was with the United States Army, stationed here at Fort Lewis. Another accolade I would like to add to this is from a conversation Dorothy shared with us ... She recalled how proud she was when a customer recognized Jack at his favorite restaurant - Where he still eats his french fries & tartar sauce - but this wasn't for his age or his service time in either of our countries. This man's recollection was of Jack's business ethics in the years following his military duty. He told her that Jack was the most honest business man he had ever met. Even in the retelling of this moment in the life of Jack it was hard for her to hide her pride ... And you know, she didn't even try. (Can you tell that we love her too?)
Canadian, American, no matter who, we want to let you share this birthday with Jack.
Send those messages so we can remind him how special we all know he is! lj
