- George Arnstein, 95, was the only World War II veteran to attend the Battle of the Bugle's 75th anniversary memorial in Washington, DC, on Monday.
- Inclement weather conditions at the Capitol reportedly prevented others from participating.
- Less than 500,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in the war were still alive as of last year.
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George Arnstein was the only World War II veteran to show up at the Battle of the Bugle's 75th anniversary at a memorial in Washington, DC, on Monday.
The 95-year-old Arnstein was drafted into the Army in 1943 and served as a gunner and radio operator in the 76th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized). He achieved the rank of a technician five, which was comparable to a corporal, according to Stars and Stripes. He left the service in 1946.
Arnstein reportedly took a taxi to get to the memorial event, where he was the only WWII veteran present. Inclement weather conditions at the Capitol prevented others from participating, Stars and Stripes reported.
"Armored cars are made of cold metal, which means that we were very conscious of the cold," Arnstein recounted of his war-time experience, according to Stars and Stripes. "We didn't have heaters or anything like that. Mechanized cavalry recognizance means hit and run, and most of the time, just explore and report what we found. We didn't have that much mobility."
"Above all, it was bitter cold," Arnstein said of the Battle of the Bulge. "It was the coldest winter in I don't know how many decades."