# Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade A 2007 photograph of a weeping elderly Russian veteran at a St. Petersburg Victory Day parade began spreading on Reddit in May 2013, usually captioned as the last surviving member of his World War II battle group marching alone. The image was taken by photographer Aleksandr Petrosyan, and by April 2016 a HypeDojo Facebook repost of the captioned version gathered more than 800,000 shares in a month. ## Origin Russian photographer Aleksandr Petrosyan took the picture on Nevsky Prospekt during the May 9th, 2007 Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg, Russia[1]. Petrosyan told BBC Trending that he recalled snapping the crying veteran that day but never spoke to the man, so no name was recorded and the subject stayed anonymous[1]. For several years the photograph circulated on Russian-language sites around the Victory Day holiday each May before an English caption pushed it into the wider meme pool[5]. The specific "last veteran of his WWII battle group marching alone" wording appears to have attached to the image in English-language social reposts around 2013, with no confirmed original author[2]. - **Platform:** Russian web (source photo) / Reddit (viral English spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview Captioned versions of the image typically present the weeping decorated veteran with text claiming he is the sole living member of his wartime unit, marching the parade route alone while bystanders reach to steady him[2]. English-language captions almost never mention Russia, Victory Day on May 9th, or the actual 2007 setting, which let the picture travel as a generic tribute post[1]. Viewers from several Allied countries read him as one of their own, with the same photograph circulating as a British, Australian, and American veteran in different reposts[1]. His identity was never confirmed, though Dr. Igor Sutyagin of the UK's Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies identified one of his medals as the Order of the Patriotic War, a Soviet decoration given to Red Army service members of World War II[1]. That medal is the detail that locks the image to a Soviet veteran rather than any Western army, even as the Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group caption keeps erasing it. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade? It is a viral captioned photograph of an elderly Russian veteran in dress uniform wiping tears from his face while walking down a street, usually accompanied by text claiming he is the only surviving member of his World War II battle group[1]. ### Where did Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade come from? Photographer Aleksandr Petrosyan took the picture on Nevsky Prospekt during the May 9th, 2007 Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg, Russia[1]. It went viral in English after r/pics posts in 2013 and 2015 and a HypeDojo Facebook repost in April 2016[2][4]. ### What does Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade mean? The caption frames the image as a lone WWII survivor marching without his comrades, but a RUSI military expert told BBC Trending the medals on his jacket, including the Order of the Patriotic War, mark him as a Soviet Red Army veteran, not a British, Australian, or American one[1]. ### How do you use Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade? Users commonly share the photograph on social platforms around Victory Day in May or Memorial Day in the United States, pairing it with sentimental text about a lone surviving veteran, often without identifying the Russian setting[5]. ### Is Last Veteran of WWII Battle Group Marching Alone in Victory Day Parade still popular? The image resurfaced each May for years around Victory Day commemorations, and BBC coverage noted its recurring annual pattern on Russian and English-language social media[1]. ## References 1. [http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36029894]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1dy92x/emotional_wwii_veteran_at_a_victory_day_parade_in/]() 3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/35dy8w/emotional_wwii_veteran_at_a_victory_day_parade_in/]() 4. [https://www.facebook.com/hypedojodotcom/photos/pb.1460057804285959.-2207520000.1462256760./1579457845679287/]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/last-veteran-of-wwii-battle-group-marching-alone-in-victory-day-parade]() 6. [https://soundcloud.com/theworld/the-unidentified-world-war-ii-veteran-whos-become-an-internet-meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/last-veteran-of-wwii-battle-group-marching-alone-in-victory-day-parade Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library