Józef Kowalski
Polish soldier / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Józef Kowalski (2 February 1900? – 7 December 2013)[1] was the last Polish veteran who served just after World War I, and believed to be the oldest living military veteran in the world, following the death of Gertrude Noone.[2][3]
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Józef Kowalski | |
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Born | (1900-02-02)2 February 1900? Smerekivka, Lviv, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine) |
Died | (2013-12-07)7 December 2013 (aged 113 years, 308 days?) |
Allegiance | Poland |
Service/branch | Polish Army |
Years of service | 1919–1921; 1939 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Polish Army 22nd Regiment Ułanów |
Battles/wars | Polish-Soviet War September Campaign |
Awards | Order of Polonia Restituta; "Pro Memoria" Medal |
Close
He fought in the Polish-Soviet War which was linked to World War I and lasted from 1919 to 1921.
He lived in Tursk, near Sulęcin, in a care home.[4] He died on 7 December 2013, just 8 weeks and one day before his claimed 114th birthday, and claimed to be the oldest living man for around a half-year after 116-year-old Japaneseman Jiroemon Kimura's death in early-summer of 2013 (although the GRG and the Guinness World Records never verified him as the oldest living man).