“The Last of the Doughboys” by Richard Rubin – The Tales of a Lost Generation

If you take a look at any kind of media today, whether it be books, video games, television shows or movies, you will find that a surprising amount of them focus on the Second World War. Considering its recentness I guess it’s only appropriate, but perhaps it is a shame that it overshadows the exploits of those who fought during the First World War, which was a downright bloody conflict in its own right.

Being determined of capturing the stories of those involved and rightfully immortalize them, Richard Rubin, a writer set out to find the last remaining survivors of the First World War and take interviews with, discussing the people themselves and what they remember going through. The result of his extensive probing was The Last of the Doughboys, a collection of tales coming from a lost generation.

What kinds of stories can you expect to read in the book? Well, I won’t spend too much time revealing the content, but amongst the stories are that of an immigrant drafted to France whose life was saved by a horse, a Yankee who volunteered to participate in every single battle the United States fought, a girl from the Bronx drafted to work for the government, a sixteen year-old who became one of the most famous survivors of the war, and many more.

I have to say that even though the stories do get a tad mundane on some occasions and you cannot verify their accuracy, the book was still a marvelous read that actually put things in a bit of a weird perspective for me. But before talking about that, let me just say that those of you who are simply looking for exciting war stories will definitely find that here; though the war may be old, millions gave their lives away during the conflict, ensuring there would be no shortage of tales to tell.


The Last of the Doughboys by Richard Rubin (Book cover)
As for the perspective thing, it may be a bit hard to explain, but reading these stories from the last survivors of an immense war that took place almost a hundred years ago will move you in a lot of ways. Though I felt sorry for them on some level, that they had to go through what they did and are now on the verge of being forgotten, I had the impression they wouldn’t have wanted their lives to unfold in any other way. 

These were the last survivors of a conflict which shaped the 20th century, and though their names may be forgotten over the years, their exploits will remain immortal. A book I recommend for anyone seeking information on the First World War, or simply first-hand accounts of events that took place during it.

Richard Rubin (1967)

Richard Rubin


Personal site

Richard Rubin is an American writer hailing from New York who has published countless essays, articles and other types of shorter works in an array of newspapers and magazines. It is fair to say that at the moment his greatest literary success has been the penning of Confederacy of Silence, and more recently, The Last of the Doughboys, a trek through the WW1 experience of its last surviving veterans.



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