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Oldest Living World War Two Veteran, world record set by (Retired) Major Ilie Ciocan from Romania

October 20, 2024

Bratia in Vale, Galicia, Vâlcea County, Romania --Retired Major Ilie Ciocan (born in the village of Cremenari, Galicea, Vâlcea County, Romania on May 28, 1913) participated in the Second World War as a machine gunner and courier, on the Eastern Front, in Odessa and in the Don bend, but it also reached the Western Front and even as far as Czechoslovakia; he sets the world record for being the Oldest Living World War Two Veteran, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"Ilie Ciocan (b. 28 May 1913, Cremenari, Romania) is a Romanian supercentenarian who is currently the oldest living person in Romania and the Balkans, as well as the oldest living veteran of World War II from the world. He is also the second oldest Romanian ever documented, after Dumitru Comănescu (1908–2020).

"Ilie Ciocan was born in the village of Cremenari, Galicea, Vâlcea County, Romania on May 28, 1913. He had a hard life, having been orphaned first by his father at the age of 6, and then by his mother at the age of 12 years. He had to start working at a young age to survive. He worked as a shepherd in the village for a "piece of bread". Until the age of 14 he worked with "cows". At 18, he married Floarea Obogeanu, who was seven years older than him, and they were officially married on January 28, 1932 in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Together they had six children, three daughters and three sons. (Wikipedia)

"He was mobilized in the army at the age of 22, then he was incorporated in the 6th Pitesti Artillery Regiment in 1935 and went to the front in 1941. He participated in the Second World War as a machine gunner and courier, on the Eastern Front , in Odessa and in the Don bend, but it also reached the Western Front and even as far as Czechoslovakia. In 1945 he was released home from the army on the grounds that he had many children. He managed to return unscathed from the front. After World War II, he received veteran status.

"Following the general promotion orders issued after 1990 by the Ministry of National Defense of Romania, Ciocan reached the rank of major. His wife Floarea died in 1992, at the age of 87.

"He rode his bike until he was 90. At 93, he slipped in the snow and broke his leg, successfully recovered, although he refused to let the doctors put his leg in a "cast". Until the age of 103, Ciocan could read the Bible and the newspaper without glasses. In three years he lost his hearing and sight. Ilie Ciocan currently lives in the village of Bratia in Vale, Galicia, Vâlcea County, Romania at the age of 111 years, 144 days." (Wikipedia)

"From the president of the Vâlcea County Council, Ilie received a cart, with which he could be taken for a walk in the air. "We don't take it out now, in the heat. But we were walking him before. I also received some help from Galicia City Hall. But that's it. The others brought us only medals and diplomas. He has about 40 diplomas. He doesn't even know he received them," the daily Libertatea.ro reports.

"To prove it to us, Cătălin brings the awards stored in the bags and displays them angrily on the small table in the yard. "Decorations, orders, Military Virtue. Since he turned 100 years old, it's been raining with these. He needs bed rails, diapers, medicine."

"The three grandchildren, who have their own families, take turns at the bedside of old man Ilie. They keep him from fidgeting and falling out of bed. I wipe it on my forehead if I sweat. They lean over and talk to him as they change his sheets. "He doesn't understand us, we don't understand what he says. Now he points to his stomach, that it's enema day..."

"Perhaps not by chance, it comes from the county with the highest life expectancy in our country - 81 years, the only one where the age limit exceeds 80 years, being followed by Bucharest with 78 years, in the context where Vâlcea is located at bottom of the ranking when it comes to salaries and purchasing power, i.e. at the poverty line - with the fifth lowest average net salary in the country - 3,694 lei and with the lowest salary increase in Oltenia, according to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics," the Adevarul says.

"And the locality from which the war veteran comes, Galicea (Vâlcea), located on the eastern bank of Olt, approximately 25 km away from the municipality of Râmnicu Vâlcea, boasts an increased longevity, having more inhabitants, out of the more than 3,300 villagers, which have exceeded a century of existence. The longest-serving governor of a central bank in the world, Mugur Isărescu, also comes from Vâlcea.

"Until the age of 103, the war veteran read the Bible and newspapers without glasses, being a subscriber to several national publications. Three of his six children are still alive today and he also has 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren."

"The oldest war veteran in Romania is from Vâlcea and he turned 110 years old on Sunday, the other day he was also decorated by President Klaus Iohannis with the Order of "Military Virtue" in the rank of Knight with the sign of peace and advanced to the rank of major," the Romanian News Agency Agerpres reports.

"Retired major Ilie Ciocan was born on May 28, 1913, in the commune of Galicea, where he still lives with his daughter-in-law and grandchildren after his eldest son, who have taken care of him for more than 20 years. He was part of the 6th Pitesti Artillery Regiment, and spent four years at the front, during the second world war. He returned home after falling ill, from Cotul Donului, but never told his family much about what he experienced on the battlefield.

"For several years, the veteran from Vâlcea can no longer see or hear, which is why he doesn't speak much anymore. He communicates only with those close to him, whom he recognizes by touching their hands or face, and only when he needs to ask for the strictly necessary. The man's grandchildren and daughter-in-law say that his old age and the hardships he had in his life have had their say in recent years."

"I was incorporated in 1935 at the 6th Pitesti Artillery Regiment. In the period 1941-1945, I participated in the Second World War, as a cannon and courier servant, on the Eastern Front, in Odessa and the Don Bend," The Romanian Ministry of National Defense says.

"When I ran out of ammunition, I was the one who left for supplies, I rode for a day and a half to the ammunition depot, I was not afraid of the enemy. My horse escaped me every time, he was faithful, neighing and shaking his head in the sign of the cross three times, as if he was praying that something bad wouldn't happen to us.

"He was also crawling on his knees to get out of the mud, out of the fights. My horse was the closest creature to me in the war and protected me like a "divine shield".

"Vâlcea enters a book of records less written, that of the fighters from the second world conflagration, thanks to the longevity proved by lt. (r) Ilie Ciocan (110 years old), meanwhile becoming the world's longest-living combatant in the Second World War," the Ziarul de Valcea reports.

""In Galicia lives the oldest war VETERAN in the world, from the Second World War! He is also the oldest person alive in Romania!

"It is an honor for us, we are proud of Mr. Ilie Ciocan and we congratulate the dance family for the special care they take", said the mayor of Galicea, Florin Mărăcine."

"Ilie Ciocan, the oldest Romanian, turned 111 years old in May. Also, the old man can boast of several records: he is the oldest Balkan, but also the oldest war veteran in the world, and also worldwide he is in the list of the longest living people on the planet, alive, being in fourth place," the Gandul.ro says.

"One of his grandsons, Cătălin Ciocan, takes care of the old veteran. She said that the old man suffers from Alzheimer's, but despite the disease, "supercentenarian" Ilie Ciocan, a term used by American gerontologists for those who exceed the age of 110, is often aware that he is no longer in his home, for more than a year and a half, and insistently asks to be taken home.

"However, relatives revealed to us some of the ingredients that helped him and are part of the secrets of his incredible longevity, in addition to exercise: “Eat and cheese. But he likes the hunting roll. We also give it to him raw, but more recently I saw that he eats it cut into slices, fried.

"He eats alone in his quiet times. My sister keeps buying him some coconut butter because she found out it's good for the brain. Spread it on the bread. He also eats a boiled egg on his own, because you have to give him a fried one like with small children. He also eats milk, but not sweet, but kefir, sana, yogurt. In general, however, he eats alone."