85-year-old man to perform symbolic military service

Mümin Özer, a resident of the western province of Bursa, recently applied to do his military service at a recruitment office and his application was subsequently approved. He will serve a one-day military service together with disabled participants at the Bursa Garrison Command on Thursday.

A farewell ceremony was held for the 85-year-old soldier-to-be on Wednesday at Bursa's Merinos Atatürk Congress and Culture Center. Özer was excited and moved to tears during the ceremony.

Özer never had the chance to fulfill his military service in Turkey because he lived in Bulgaria for many years and felt regret at not having fulfilled this national requirement.

He told the Anatolia news agency that this had always been a weight on his conscience. Stating that he has had three happy days so far in life, Özer explained, “The first one was the day I returned to Turkey from Bulgaria, the second was when I saw my grandchild in a commando uniform and the third was the day when I was admitted to do military service.”