Mustafa Şekip Birgöl a retired Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

, was the last veteran of the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

 (1919-1923).

Biography

He was born 1903 in Üsküdar

Üsküdar

Üsküdar is a large and densely populated municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Beykoz, on the east by Ümraniye, on the southeast by Ataşehir, on the south by Kadıköy, and on the west by the Bosphorus, with the areas of Beşiktaş,...

, a suburb of Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, into a family of naval officers. Mustafa Şekip Birgöl graduated from Işıklar Military Secondary School in Bursa

Bursa, Turkey

Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. The metropolitan area in the entire Bursa province had a population of 2.6 million as of 2010, making the city fourth most populous in Turkey. The city is equally one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the...

 before attending Kuleli High School in Edirne

Edirne

Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...

. After finishing the Military Academy in Istanbul, he joined Kuvayi Milliye under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

 to fight against the Allies

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 partitioning the Ottoman Empire

Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire

The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...

 after it was defeated in the World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. A second-lieutenant in the 45th regiment of the 15th division, he fought in the western Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

n region of Afyon and took part in the recapturing of Smyrna

Smyrna

Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...

 (today's Izmir) from Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 troops on September 9, 1922.

Following the declaration of the republic in 1923, Birgol returned to his unit at the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 city of Samsun

Samsun

Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...

, where he stayed until 1928. While he was stationed in Sarıkamış

Sarıkamış

Sarıkamış is a town and a district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 17,860 as of 2010.The town sits in a valley and is surrounded by mountains, many of which are covered with pine forests. It has very long winters, with average of 7–8 ft of...

, Bayburt

Bayburt

Bayburt is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River, and is the provincial capital of Turkey's Bayburt Province.Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient Silk Road and it was visited by Marco Polo and Turkish excursionist Evliya Celebi. Remains of its Byzantine castle still...

 and Muğla

Mugla

Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...

, he was active at some campaigns against rebellions that took place following the Independence War. Later, he served in Çanakkale

Çanakkale

Çanakkale is a town and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 106,116 . The mayor is Ülgür Gökhan ....

, Ezine and Gelibolu

Gelibolu

Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

. He retired from the army on September 13, 1952 with the rank of colonel.

Mustafa Şekip Birgöl was awarded in 1927 the Medal of Independence

Turkish Medal of Independence

Medal of Independence was a special military decoration issued in limited number by Grand National Assembly of Turkey in accordance with the Act 66 of November 29, 1920. It was awarded to military personnel and civilians, who had made important contributions to the country during the Turkish War...

 with red ribbon.

He died on November 11, 2008 at the age of 105 at the GATA Haydarpaşa Military Hospital in Istanbul. As the last veteran of the Independence War, he was honored with a state funeral

State funeral

A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...

 held on November 13 at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

, attended by President Abdullah Gül

Abdullah Gül

Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....

, Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan

Köksal Toptan

Köksal Toptan is a Turkish lawyer, politician and a member of the Justice and Development Party. He earlier served as government minister in three cabinets. He was the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey between August 2007 and August 2009.He was educated in the Faculty of Law at...

, Chief of the General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ

Ilker Basbug

Mehmet İlker Başbuğ was till August 2010 the 26th Chief of the General Staff of Turkey. In this post he is succeeded by Işık Koşaner.-Biography:...

, leaders of the main opposition parties in the parliament and statesmen, politicians and other high level officials. His remains were brought to Istanbul and interred on November 14 at Karacaahmet Cemetery

Karacaahmet Cemetery

The Karacaahmet Cemetery , located in Üsküdar district, is the oldest in Istanbul and, at , the largest burial ground in Turkey.The cemetery was named after a warrior companion of Orhan I, the second Ottoman sultan and is believed to have been founded in the mid-14th century...

 following a religious ceremony at Selimiye Mosque next to the Selimiye Barracks

Selimiye Barracks

Selimiye Barracks, also known as Scutari Barracks is a Turkish army barracks located in the Üsküdar district on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey...

.