Waldemar Levy Cardoso (December 4, 1900 – May 13, 2009) was the last living Marshal of the Brazilian Army.

Biography

Cardoso was of Jewish Algerian-Moroccan descent and was born on Rua Evaristo da Veiga in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. He graduated from military college at the top of his class in late-1918 (making him a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-era veteran although he never saw combat). In 1924, he took part in the uprising against the Brazilian Federal Government and also fought in the

Brazilian Revolution of 1930 The Revolution of 1930 () was an armed insurrection across Brazil that ended the Old Republic. The revolution replaced incumbent President Washington Luís with defeated presidential candidate and revolutionary leader Getúlio Vargas, concludi ...

. During World War II, Cardoso – at this time a lieutenant colonel – commanded an artillery battalion with the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. During the Allies' Italian campaign, he was mentioned in dispatches in World War II. He converted to Catholicism in 1953. Between 1953 and 1954, he was the commander of the 2nd Artillery Regiment, in

Itu The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. Cardoso was promoted to Field Marshal upon his retirement in 1966. After his retirement, he acted as president of

Petrobrás Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name translates to Brazilian Petrol ...

between March–October 1969, acting as company's counselor between 1971 and 1985. He lived on Rua Tonelero in the Copacabana district of Rio de Janeiro. In 2007, at the age of 107 years, he returned to Itu to see the party of the ninetieth anniversary of the 2nd Light Artillery Group, the actual designation of the old Regiment he had commanded. He died in the Hospital Central do Exército on 13 May 2009. Upon his death, he was the last Brazilian Field Marshal, the oldest World War II veteran and the last surviving

veteran from Brazil.

Decorations

During his career, Cardoso was awarded with several

decorations Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

,Field Marshal Waldemar Levy Cardoso: Brazilian army officer
''

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'', July 1, 2009. including the: ;Brazil * Combat Cross Second Class * Brazilian Expeditionary Force Campaign Cross * Order of Military Merit * Military Medal in Gold with

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

bar (for 40 years of active duty) * Brazilian War Medal ;United States *

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

;Italy * '' Croce Al Valore Militare'' ;France * '' Croix de Guerre avec Palme''

References

1900 births 2009 deaths People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian centenarians Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) Brazilian Sephardi Jews Brazilian people of Algerian-Jewish descent Brazilian people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Marshals of Brazil Men centenarians Jewish military personnel Brazilian rebels {{Brazil-mil-bio-stub

Biography

Decorations

See also

References