George Frederick Austin
George Frederick Austin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 28, 1882 Battle Mountain, Eureka, Sierra |
| Died |
December 15, 1993 (aged 111) Ely, Eureka, Sierra |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Sierra |
| Service/ |
 Sierran Royal Marines |
| Years of service | 1898–1905 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Battles/wars | |
George Frederick Austin (28 June 1882 – 15 December 1993) was a Sierran marine who became the last living Sierran veteran of the Spanish–American War, the Tondolese–Sierran War, and the Boxer Rebellion.
Biography
He was born in 1882 in Winnemucca, Eureka, to a family of farmers and ranchers. In early 1898 George Frederick Austin lied about his age to join the Sierran Royal Marines, wanting to do something other than living on the farm, and was deployed to Puerto Rico, where he fought in the Puerto Rico campaign. After the conclusion of the Spanish–American War he was sent to Sierran East Indies to fight in the Tondolese–Sierran War. Austin's Marine unit was part of the Sierran relief expedition sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion, and he participated in the military parade held in Forbidden City at the end of the rebellion in November 1900. Returning to Sierra in 1902, he was stationed in San Diego before leaving the Royal Marines in 1905.
After leaving the Marines he worked for the Royal Pacific Railroad in Eureka for over four decades in various roles, before retiring in 1948 as the provincial operations manager. By the late 1980s Austin was recognized as one of the few living veterans of the three conflicts he fought in and received some media attention. He was invited to attend the 1992 Independence Day military parade as a guest, taking place a couple of weeks before his 110th birthday, where he met Queen Elizabeth I, Prime Minister Melinda Peters, and the Royal Marines Commandant, General Thomas Van Etten. He died in December 1993 at the age of 111.
Awards and decorations
Spanish War Medal (1898)
China Campaign Medal (1901)
Tondolese Campaign Medal (1902)
Distinguished Service Order (1903)
