WWII Veteran Dies of COVID-19 100 Years after His Twin Brother Died Due to Spanish Flu

The novel coronavirus is taking away a lot of our veterans. One of them lived to be 100 after losing his twin brother to the Spanish flu a century ago.

Philip Kahn grew up without his twin brother, who died from the Spanish flu 100 years ago. Now, Kahn's grandson Warren Zysman sees the meeting of the two as the only silver lining in his grandfather's death.

Dr. Corey Karlin Zysman shared Warren's tribute to Kahn in a lengthy Facebook post which included several pictures of the late WWII veteran. The post is found below.

WWII veteran worked on Twin Towers

People reports that Kahn was born in 1919. He served in the Air Force in Japan during the Second World War. Later, he worked as an electrical foreman to help build the Twin Towers.

"He earned several battle stars and medals while fighting in Japan. One of the pictures he took while fighting in Japan is on display at the intrepid museum in NYC," Warren writes.

Kahn's other hobbies and family

Kahn also danced professionally and danced in roller skates. He stayed healthy by swimming for miles every day. He further taught his kids and grandkids to swim.

Warren recalls how he learned a lot of history through Kahn, who also taught him life lessons and passed on wisdom. Kahn will be remembered for teaching his prodigy to be "hard-working and loving individuals."

History repeats itself

Kahn passed away on Friday in his home in Great Neck, New York. His family held a small funeral for him on Monday. Warren told CBS New York that his grandfather kind of saw another pandemic coming.

"He always had a motto that history will always repeat itself," the grandson noted. Back in 1918, the Spanish flu killed over 50 million people. Our condolences go out to Kahn's family.

Another elderly with Spanish flu victim sibling

A similar story took place in Texas, where a 96-year-old woman also succumbed to COVID-19 years after losing her sibling to the Spanish flu. Selma Esther Ryan lost her sister, Esther when she was just five.

Ryan's daughter Vicki Spencer said she would stay near the window of Ryan's assisted living facility in her final days. The deceased also left behind a son Mike, three grandkids, and four great grand-kids.

Thankfully, some elderly persons somehow managed to beat both deadly viruses for a second time. One of them is a man identified as Mr. P, who is 101 years old and lives in Italy.

Old-timers who have beat the coronavirus

Mr. P was born during the Spanish flu pandemic. He was admitted into an Italian hospital in March where he stayed for a few days. Mr. P's survival was deemed history in a country plagued by deaths due to the crisis.

Over in Oregon, a 95-year-old veteran also beat the virus and recovered after a 14-day home quarantine from his family. Bill Kelly became sick around mid-March.

He formerly served in the South Pacific during World War II. Kelly's granddaughter Rose Etherington described her grandfather as "pretty hardcore" for pulling through COVID-19. We certainly agree.