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RIP: The First Madame
Madame Chaing Kai-Shek died yesterday. She was 106. In all honesty I had assumed she was long gone (at 106, who could blame me?) With Riefenschtal gone too, there simply can't be that many prime players in WWII left.
The fact that most of you probably don't know who this is just shows how ephemeral pop culture can be. The Kai-Sheks were hyper-celebrities of their day, fading away after WWII.
We had a volunteer at the VA who was busily passing out magazines at 103. She also gave us a list of things she wanted when her birthday rolled around. She retired after her 104 birthday. I am not making this up.
Posted by: Pat on October 24, 2003 06:03 PMI remember hearing of her husband, not her. however, I agree - thought both of them had managed to vacate their bodies years ago. As for WWII players still left alive - I don't think their are many. Most of the true leaders in the war were probably in their 40's, and would now be in their 100's, so it's safe to say they aren't here anymore. However, many of the soldier types are still here - including, interestingly enough, 3 (well, one may be dead) of the gents who raised the famous flag at Iwo Jima - the others died before making it home. Another factoid - they raised the second flag. The first one raised was deemed too small and replaced by theirs - which also the famous pics snapped, immortalizing them. The first crew is still bitter...
Posted by: ron on October 26, 2003 12:36 PM