Yakup Satar (1898-2008)

Turkey's last surviving World War I veteran, Yakup Satar died on April 2 at the age of 110. He was also one of the last two veterans who had fought in the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922).
    Satar was born in Crimea in 1898 and his family emigrated to Ottoman Turkey when he was a child. Drafted into the Ottoman Army in 1915, he fought the British-led forces at Basra in southern Iraq (still a hot spot) and was taken a prisoner at Kut. After his release from captivity at the end of WWI, Satar joined the forces of the Turkish National Movement under Mustafa Kemal and fought in Anatolia against the invading Greek armies supported by the Allied command. He was among the Turkish troops that recaptured Izmir, a victory that ended the War of Independence and led to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
    Yakup Satar was a national hero, and various Turkish politicians and leaders had visited him to pay their respects. He was buried with military honors in his hometown Eskisehir. The news of his death was covered widely by Turkish and international press.
    See, for example, the obituary published by: Times Online