Communities across the U.S. are moving faster to honor World War II veterans as their ranks shrink. A new posthumous ceremony for Springfield, Mo., D-Day veteran Jack Hamlin is putting that urgency into focus.
Springfield officials and residents gathered March 21 to honor Hamlin, a U.S. Coast Guard D-Day veteran who died in July 2024 at age 102, turning a local remembrance into part of a broader national push to preserve the stories of the rapidly fading World War II generation. Hamlin had already been honored in Springfield on June 6, 2024, when he was presented a key to the city as part of the proclaimed “Jack Hamlin Day.”
Hamlin was the last remaining Springfield survivor of D-Day, according to local officials. After his death, McClure said Hamlin’s passing marked “the end of an era” and called him a giant who served his city, state and fellow veterans long after the war ended.
Hamlin told local Springfield NBC affiliate KY3 in June 2024 that the memory of D-Day never left him.
June 6, 1944, may be 80 years ago, but it will never escape my mind. It will always be with me.
Hamlin’s military story gave the tribute added weight. Coast Guard history identifies him as a boatswain and rescue swimmer with Rescue Flotilla One, the small-boat force sent into the waters off Normandy to pull wounded troops from the surf during the June 6, 1944, invasion. The service said Hamlin later helped rescue soldiers from the torpedoed troopship Leopoldville on Dec. 24, 1944, when more than 800 American troops died in the sinking.
The Last of the ‘Greatest Generation’
Across the United States, an estimated 45,418 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II were still alive as of 2025, according to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data compiled by the National WWII Museum. That is less than 0.5% of those who served, with the number falling each day as the youngest members of the generation approach their late '90s.
“Preserving the stories of the men and women who served in World War II has been at the heart of our institution since its founding,” Stephen J. Watson, president and CEO of the National WWII Museum, said on the museum’s website. “We have the enormous responsibility to ensure that the memories and experiences of the war will not be lost as those who lived through it leave this world.”
That urgency is playing out across the country. In Normandy, residents and veterans marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day described how memory of the invasion still lives through the people who saw it and the communities that continue to honor it.
In Texas, a recent gathering brought together 10 World War II veterans for a birthday celebration—a rare moment that underscores how few members of the generation remain.
The effort to preserve World War II history also continues through recovery and identification missions. This month, officials identified a Marine Raider killed in the Solomon Islands more than 80 years ago as part of ongoing work to account for those still missing from the war.
Hamlin had been expected to travel to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024 but instead was honored in Springfield after injuries kept him from making the trip. More than 100 people attended that hometown ceremony, reflecting the deep local connection to his story.
That mix of personal memory, public recognition and disappearing firsthand history is what gives stories like Hamlin’s national weight. Springfield’s March 2026 ceremony did not change the facts of his death. It changed the frame, renewing attention on one veteran’s service at a moment when the country is moving from living memory of World War II to preserving what remains.
