The last surviving member of a generation has been honored.

Chester Frantz, 100, a Summit Hill native, was recognized on Saturday at the WWII Last Man’s Club Remaining Member Recognition Dinner as the last surviving member of the Lehighton American Legion Post #314 WWII Last Man’s Club.

Frantz, T/4 U.S. Army WWII, 397th Infantry Regt, 2nd Batallion, HQ Co. 100th Infantry Division, said he was humbled by the honor.

“It was a lot; I’m still digesting it as it were,” Frantz said via phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “I’m having trouble sleeping because I keep thinking of what went on.”

Frantz, who currently resides in South Tamaqua, said he was taken aback by the kindness bestowed upon him.

“I was given a flag that flew over the capitol, several different politicians brought papers from the capitol,” he said. “It was a lot for me to digest when I had no idea what was going to happen exactly.”

Frantz served in several campaigns during the war, including Colmar Pocket (France); Bitche (France), 100th Infantry earned the moniker “Sons of Bitche;” and Battle of the “Bulge” (Germany).

He said he often thinks back to those days.

“Like I told the others, what bothers me is we were in combat six months, and we had 4,000 casualties,” Frantz said. “You look at the Civil War, they had 20,000 casualties in one day.”

Frantz said he served for 2 1/2 years, and recalls the time he returned home.

“I got off the train at Mauch Chunk and was waiting on the corner for the bus to come and (Mr. and Mrs. Porvaznik) from Porvaznik’s Flowers in Lansford, picked me up and they drove me to Summit Hill, that was it,” he said. “There was no commotion.”

Frantz said he’s been a member of American Legion Post 314 in Lehighton since 1946, and recounted what it was like to go there during his heyday.

“On a Saturday night, the place to be in the 1940s was the Lehighton Legion; you’d dance, there was food,” he said. “In the late 1940s, the place to be on a Saturday was the Lehighton Legion.”

Frantz added, “I have a lot of memories, and that’s what keeps me awake at night.

“Memories are a gift of God that you can’t destroy,” he said. “You always have memories.”