VFW icon and veterans’ advocate Robley Rex died early Tuesday morning at a VA Medical Center in Kentucky at the age of 107. He passed away just four days before his 108th birthday.
Rex was one of the oldest surviving WWI-era veterans, and the only surviving WWI-era veteran in Kentucky.
After enlisting in the United States Army in 1919 and serving with the 28th Infantry Division in Germany as a clerk, Rex dedicated his life to helping fellow veterans. He was an advocate for veterans’ rights for more than 80 years. Even up until just a couple of years ago, Rex was a tenacious volunteer at the VA Hospital in Louisville, Ky. Rex logged more than 13,000 volunteer hours and was recognized nationally by the VFW in 2005, receiving VFW’s Outstanding Health Care Volunteer Award at the VFW National Convention in Salt Lake City.
Rex was a life member of Post 8639 in Okolona, Ky., and fellow post members say Rex never missed a meeting or Post dance.