![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y224PQTFJZCMXKDLXMZR4KUWUU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d11e9927c60cde3878ccf11baecaee803f445bc029ed10c6b222d4698cb86ab2&width=400&height=225)
A veteran has his beret adjusted before the start of an armed forces parade in central London on May 10, 2015. AFP
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A British veteran during an armed forces and veterans' parade to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day in central London on May 10, 2015. AFP
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Second World War veterans commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe in Washington, DC in 2015. AFP
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Veterans gather to watch a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in Minsk on May 9, 2020. Russia and its former republics are estimated to be home 100,000 surviving veterans because of the very young age at which soldiers were conscripted. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6OEPLUWD2BDMDBA45ZF5XFRDTA.jpg?smart=true&auth=882c7ebf936639d7ab2e38925f0ba7773690c4916f1bf3d80bc75b8dbf9f1118&width=400&height=225)
A veteran during an armed forces and veterans' parade to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day on May 10, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2MOCFZ3ZOJHYNFKSSEOUUNVBRM.jpg?smart=true&auth=3e7bb0e026f48add9d744be75705d19b82d63766aeaa089dcc19f496c67b9406&width=400&height=225)
A Royal Navy war veteran at an armed forces and veterans' parade on May 10, 2015. AFP
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French President Jacques Chirac greets veterans in Paris in May 2001, when hundreds of thousands of troops were still alive. AFP
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A Second World War veteran at the National Mall in Washington, DC, May 8, 2015. AFP
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British veterans arrive at the war memorial in Caen, western France, May 8, 2008. AFP
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Army Air Corps veteran Bernard Dupuis at the national Second World War memorial in 2015 in Washington DC. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y224PQTFJZCMXKDLXMZR4KUWUU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d11e9927c60cde3878ccf11baecaee803f445bc029ed10c6b222d4698cb86ab2&width=400&height=225)
A veteran has his beret adjusted before the start of an armed forces parade in central London on May 10, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6QUA6BLJTRE5ZLFSDC23XOR4VM.jpg?smart=true&auth=9e3c1cb2432f7631a8ec71de3da961c910f41a0a670fdd6300713ed854c0ea93&width=400&height=225)
A British veteran during an armed forces and veterans' parade to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day in central London on May 10, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/YEVDMKQCWNEP3J2RRAZGCCSY6A.jpg?smart=true&auth=15d9ee8233b8ee7f1322f56ea0539358f45501f3e7dfb447d9b672285857b07b&width=400&height=225)
Second World War veterans commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe in Washington, DC in 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XQACTTYIUJDDFJHTQF7N3TD6NU.jpg?smart=true&auth=e8bef50edb12bf3bbfe8e8b9240c2de15445ae491b16146f89e0b3fe26584776&width=400&height=225)
Veterans gather to watch a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in Minsk on May 9, 2020. Russia and its former republics are estimated to be home 100,000 surviving veterans because of the very young age at which soldiers were conscripted. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6OEPLUWD2BDMDBA45ZF5XFRDTA.jpg?smart=true&auth=882c7ebf936639d7ab2e38925f0ba7773690c4916f1bf3d80bc75b8dbf9f1118&width=400&height=225)
A veteran during an armed forces and veterans' parade to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day on May 10, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2MOCFZ3ZOJHYNFKSSEOUUNVBRM.jpg?smart=true&auth=3e7bb0e026f48add9d744be75705d19b82d63766aeaa089dcc19f496c67b9406&width=400&height=225)
A Royal Navy war veteran at an armed forces and veterans' parade on May 10, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TGZS5ZXIAFFB5MYKYA7I3KQEXY.jpg?smart=true&auth=e741bd8cb28bedadc1e4fd9988314671d965365d6b027034f1df879dd163033e&width=400&height=225)
French President Jacques Chirac greets veterans in Paris in May 2001, when hundreds of thousands of troops were still alive. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6QNMAXWC3JEXPFBDB6EOG4ZSDQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=9c587405925f8cb94344298d031987320b64421236896b3a8854b055da852758&width=400&height=225)
A Second World War veteran at the National Mall in Washington, DC, May 8, 2015. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZQUNZXJRPBH6NLDELN4QPZ4MVY.jpg?smart=true&auth=3aaa86311b8ec6d9e2542271cecb86c268544ad1e2df029e7fbeda95ea3c4258&width=400&height=225)
British veterans arrive at the war memorial in Caen, western France, May 8, 2008. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/AQBOTBIVCBACJALOO6EIXZVUPE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c39e06a1b2d10c77fb38ef354423fa0b465de63e3631b8ce2fce142bd8b0e564&width=400&height=225)
Army Air Corps veteran Bernard Dupuis at the national Second World War memorial in 2015 in Washington DC. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/Y224PQTFJZCMXKDLXMZR4KUWUU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d11e9927c60cde3878ccf11baecaee803f445bc029ed10c6b222d4698cb86ab2&width=400&height=225)
A veteran has his beret adjusted before the start of an armed forces parade in central London on May 10, 2015. AFP
The 'greatest generation' of the Second World War is now fading away
Veterans face a final battle – against old age
![James Langton](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F59aec61e-41b3-468c-8a69-57168338145b.png?smart=true&auth=20537dd68c837a65707d347b248e74bad34b378390f02a7be13b68d756185b99&width=70&height=70)
James Langton
23 September, 2022
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