Most of the obituaries of Frank Lautenberg duly mention that he was the last World War II veteran serving in the Senate. It might be tempting to take that data point merely as proof that Lautenberg was really old (he was 89). But it marks the end of nearly 70 years in which a WWII vet has held a Senate seat.
Here’s a photo of Lautenberg during World War II, where he served in the Army Signal Corps from 1942-46 (no exact date is given for the photo):
The Senate website has a list of the World War II veterans known to have served in the Senate. There are 115 in total. A few on the list served in the war after being in the Senate, but the vast majority, as you would expect, were in the service as young men and later became senators. In one case, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., served in the Senate, relinquished his seat to serve in the war, and then returned to the Senate afterward.
The first veteran to arrive in the Senate was William Jenner (R-IN), in November 1944. The Senate has had at least one World War II veteran among its members at all times from that point until today.
Late Update: FiveThirtyEight has more on the history here, including a reminder that two World War II veterans are still in the House: John Dingell (D-MI) and Ralph M. Hall (R-TX).
