Robley Rex

[paul guthrie]

There is a fine color photo of Rex in today's Louisville Courier-Journal dedicating a highway named Veteran's Memorial Parkway.

" In the waning days of WW1 a young soldier named Robley Rex set off for Europe in a German passenger ship converted into an American troop transport ( this probably refers to the massive Hamburg Lines Leviathian).

The 18 year old reported to his post in Brest France. He worked in intelligence translating German and felt fortunate having a desk job during a war notorious for nerve gas and bayonet fighting.

' Just seeing the trenches was bad enough without having to serve in them', Rex said.

Now 104 years old and Kentucky's only surviving WW1 veteran, Rex, of Louisville, reported for duty once again, this time to deliver the opening prayer during the dedication of Oldham County's new Veterans Memorial Parkway."

He regularly volunteers at the Louisville VA Hospital.