Art Fiala
Arthur Fiala (February 17, 1899 – November 23, 2005) was one of the last surviving American World War I veterans, and the very last in Wisconsin.
Fiala was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Fiala originally worked at the Nash auto plant in Kenosha. 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 (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. During his work of [...] 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.
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
- Veterans of the First World War who died in 2005