Stanislaw Dardzinski, the oldest surviving soldier of the 33rd Infantry Division, has turned 104 years old today.

He has lived through three wars and in the Second World War he defended his beloved hometown of Lomza, northern Poland.

Throughout his whole life he left his native region only twice. “Only when I served in the army for two years and then beginning in 1939 I spent 5 years in captivity, and 10 months in Dachau, Dusseldorf and Dortmund,” he says.

Head of the Lomza Registrar Office, Helena Kiersztan says that although there usually are problems with documenting precise age with apeople born so long ago, this time there is no doubt that Stanislaw is 104 years old. “We have no doubts, I have checked that in old parish books and there is a record there that he was born on the 24 September 1905,” she said.

Stanislaw Dardzinski has never had children. Since he became a widower, he has lived alone, managing the house on his own and cooking his favorite milk dishes. He regularly appears at patriotic anniversaries, always wearing the 33rd Infantry Division Uniform. (jn)