There were three deaths in 2007 that went largely unnoticed.

In March, Charlotte Winters died at the age of 109 in Maryland. Two days later and just a few miles away, Lloyd Brown passed away at the age of 105. Then, on December 20, Russell Coffey died at age 109, in Ohio. With their passing, only two American veterans of World War 1 remain: Harry Richard Landis, 108, of Sun City Center, FL, and Frank Buckles, 106, of Charles Town, WV.

Worldwide, only 18 veterans of the Great War survive, in an amazingly near-perfect national distribution. On the side of the Entente Powers, England, France and Australia each have 3 veterans. Italy and the U.S. have 2 each, and Canada has 1. For the Central Powers, Germany claims 1 veteran, the former Austro-Hungary has 1, and Turkey has 1. Poland, which gained independence after the war, has 1 also. Russia, whose last veteran died in 2004, is the only major power with no remaining veterans.

These centenarians are the last witnesses to a disastrous conflict that claimed over 20 million lives, and they are slipping away quietly. But not without one final coda. Queen Elizabeth has declared that, twelve weeks after the passing of the last veteran, a final memorial service will be held at Westminster Abbey.

On that day, the “war to end all wars” will finally be over.