Veysel Turan (1901 - 25 March 2007) was one of the last Turkish veterans of the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

(1919-1923).

Military years

He joined the newly-established army of

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. In the early period of the

(1919-1923), he carried grain from various places of the country to the soldiers in the west front. Following the Greek Summer Offensive in 1920, he was assigned to a military hospital in Kütahya. He then fought in clashes near

Polatlı Polatlı (formerly Ancient Greek: Γόρδιον, Górdion and Latin: Gordium) is a city and a district in Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, 80 km west of the Turkish capital Ankara, on the road to Eskişehir. Accordi ...

. He remembers that "they had to bury the fallen in night in order not to demoralize their comrades". After the retreat of the Greek troops, he received a horse, and became a cavalryman in the combat assault battalion of the 1st Division. Subsequently, he took part in the

Second Battle of İnönü The Second Battle of İnönü ( tr, İkinci İnönü Muharebesi) was a battle fought between March 23 and April 1, 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as the weste ...

(1921),

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya ( tr, Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi, lit=Sakarya Field Battle), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ( el, Μάχη του Σαγγαρίου, Máchi tou Sangaríou), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish W ...

(1921) and

Battle of Dumlupınar The Battle of Dumlupınar ( el, Μάχη του Τουμλού Μπουνάρ, translit=Máchi tou Toumloú Bounár, tr, Dumlupınar (Meydan) Muharebesi, lit=Dumlupınar (Field) Battle), or known as Field Battle of the Commander-in-Chief ( t ...

(1922).

Later years

In his later years, Tuyrma earned his living by farming. He lived nearly 25 years bedridden at Aydınlıkevler neighborhood of

Selçuklu Selçuklu is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Selçuklu is one of the central districts of Konya along with the districts of Karatay and Meram Meram is a town and district of Konya Province in the ...

district in

Konya Province Konya Province ( tr, ), in southwest Central Anatolia, is the largest province of Turkey. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. Its traffic code is 42. The Kızılören solar power plant in Konya will be able to produce 22.5 megaw ...

, where was he was cared by his daughter Samiye Turan. He underwent surgeries of kidney and

prostate The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...

in different times and then in August 2005 an

inguinal hernia surgery Inguinal hernia surgery is an operation to repair a weakness in the abdominal wall that abnormally allows abdominal contents to slip into a narrow tube called the inguinal canal in the groin region. There are two different clusters of hernia: g ...

. Veysel Turan had two sons and five daughters. He died at the age of 107 in

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

on 25 March 2007. He was survived by his daughter Samiye Turan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turan, Veysel 1901 births 2007 deaths People from Konya Turkish military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Members of Kuva-yi Milliye Turkish centenarians Men centenarians