Art Fiala
Encyclopedia
Arthur Fiala was, at age 106, one of the last surviving American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 veterans, and the very last in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

Biography

Fiala was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin
Kewaunee, Wisconsin
Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,806 at the 2000 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County....

. Fiala originally worked at the Nash auto plant in Kenosha
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...

. After his co-workers fabricated a story that he was about to unionize the work force, Fiala was fired from the plant.

Art Fiala served in World War I as member of the 20th Engineering Battalion, and was stationed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (March - June 1918). While stationed in the French Alps, the soldiers of Fiala's battalion had little more than their uniforms and blankets to keep them warm - a shipment of warm clothes had caught fire and burnt during the transfer across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

During his work of cutting logs for the trenches Fiala was injured. This occurred when the team of horses he was driving went over an embankment. He became a cook after the injuries.

In 1999, Fiala received the French Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

.

In the final years of his long life Fiala resided in a Wisconsin nursing home, still taking part in several parades a year.

See also


External links

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