Józef Kowalski

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Józef Kowalski
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/branchPolish Army
Years of service1919–1921; 1939
RankCaptain
Unit Polish Army 22nd Regiment Ułanów
Battles/warsPolish-Soviet War
September Campaign
AwardsOrder of Polonia Restituta; "Pro Memoria" Medal

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]

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).

References[change | change source]

  1. "Zmarł najstarszy Europejczyk. Kpt. Józef Kowalski miał 113 lat" [The oldest European died. Captain Józef Kowalski was 113 years old.] (in Polish). TVN. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  2. "Pan Józef ma 107 lat i czuje się znakomicie" (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska 2007-02-02. 2 February 2007. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  3. "200 lat dla pana Józefa! Najstarszy Lubuszanin mieszka w Tursku" (in Polish). Gazeta Lubuska 2009-02-02. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  4. "Pan Józef ma 107 lat i czuje się znakomicie" (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. 2 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-16.