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

Fernand Goux Fernand Goux (31 December 1899 – 9 November 2008) was, at age 108, the penultimate French World War I veteran, with Pierre Picault being the last. "On a retrouvé un soldat de 1918 vivant". '' Ouest-France'' (19 June 2008). Born in Sceaux-d ...

of France and

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

Claude Choules Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the World War I, First World War from England, havin ...

of England and later Australia, one of the last three soldiers to see action in both World Wars. Chiarello was also one of the last two surviving Italian and Alpine Front veterans of the First World War, along with fellow 110-year-old Delfino Borroni. Called up in 1918, he enlisted in the Castrovillari. He spent three months in training and then served as an

infantryman Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

. First sent to the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

, he was later sent by sea from the port of

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. There he contracted

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, but recovered in a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

. Afterwards he was sent to

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

where he served for two more years in the Italian army. He later married and ran his farm in

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 Umbriatico was founded by the Oenotrians before the arrival of the Greek colonists who fo ...

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

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

, to be discharged after six months. He lived in Cirò Marina until his death in June 2008.

Bibliography

Biography of Chiarello

Francesco Domenico Chiarello's obituary
1898 births 2008 deaths Italian men centenarians Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Knights of the Order of Vittorio Veneto People from the Province of Crotone {{Italy-mil-bio-stub