Francesco Domenico Chiarello (November 5, 1898 – June 27, 2008), Knight of Vittorio Veneto

Order of Vittorio Veneto

The military Order of Vittorio Veneto was founded as national order by the fifth President of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Saragat, in 1968, "to express the gratitude of the nation" to those decorated with the Medaglia e Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare who had fought for at least six months in...

, was, at age 109, one of the last two soldiers (along with Fernand Goux

Fernand Goux

Fernand Goux was, at age 108, the penultimate French World War I veteran, with Pierre Picault being the last. Born in Sceaux-du-Gâtinais, Loiret, Goux was called up for service on April 19, 1918. Goux was deployed behind the front lines with the 85th Infantry Regiment, supplying the troops and...

) in the world to see action in both World Wars, as Briton Sydney Lucas

Sydney Lucas

Syd Maurice Lucas was, at age 108, one of three remaining British Tommies of World War I , although the war ended before he was sent to fight. He was born in Leicester, England, and conscripted into the British Army's Sherwood Foresters while a teenager in August 1918...

 was still in training when 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...

 ended and Claude Choules

Claude Choules

Claude Stanley Choules was the last World War I combat veteran, and was the last military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He was also the last veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last seaman from the First World War...

 was a seaman

Seaman

Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....

. Chiarello was also one of the last two surviving Italian and Alpine Front veterans of the First World War

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...

, along with fellow 109-year-old Delfino Borroni.

Called up in 1918, he enlisted in the Castrovillari

Castrovillari

Castrovillari is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. As of 2010 its population was of 22,586..-History:...

. He spent three months in training and then served as an infantryman at Cosenza

Cosenza

Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...

. First sent to the front line

Front line

A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...

 in Trentino, he was later sent by sea from the port of Taranto

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

 to Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. There he contracted malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

, but recovered in a field hospital

Field hospital

A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...

. Afterwards he was sent to Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 where he served for two more years in the Italian army.

He later married and ran his farm in Umbriatico

Umbriatico

Umbriatico is a comune and town in the province of Crotone, in Calabria, southern Italy. As of 2007 Umbriatico had an estimated population of 930.-History:...

, but in 1940 he was called up again to fight in the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 at Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria

Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...

, to be discharged after six months. He lived in Cirò Marina

Cirò Marina

Cirò Marina is a comune and town with a population of 24,000 people in the province of Crotone, in Calabria, Italy.-History:Conquered by Spanish army in the XVI, locals were defeated by Spanish soldiers due superiority in spirit to combat and disciplin....

until his death in June 2008.