ROMANIA: The GRG validates 110-year old Ilie Ciocan of Romania, World War II veteran.

The Gerontology Research Group is delighted to announce the validation of Mr. Ilie Ciocan of Romania.

Ilie Ciocan claimed to have been born in the village of Cremenari, Galicea, Valcea County, Romania, on May 28, 1913. Nevertheless the study of his age, performed by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) established that his actual date of birth was June 10, 1913.

The tribulations of life extended to the battlefield, as Ilie Ciocan found himself mobilized into the army at 22. Assigned to the 6th Pitesti Artillery Regiment in 1935, he marched to the front lines in 1941 during the tumult of the Second World War. As a gunner and courier servant, his service took him across the Eastern Front, from Odessa to the Don Bend, and even to the Western Front, reaching as far as Czechoslovakia. He was promoted to the rank of major. At the time of his 110th birthday, Ciocan resided in the village of Bratia din Vale, Galicea, Valcea County, Romania.

Ilie Ciocan is the second-oldest known documented Romanian man ever, following 111- year old Dumitru Comanescu (1908-2020) validated by the Guinness World Records. He became the oldest known living man in Romania following the death of 108-year-old Ioan Lascau on February 15, 2021. On February 2, 2022, with the demise of 109-year-old Maria Mihai, he became the oldest known living person in Romania.

Ilie Ciocan’s case was verified by Mr. Dejan Vujić, an excellent GRG Correspondent for Serbia (since February 2023), with interim coverage on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo, specializing in the Balkan region, with the support of Mr. Ciocan’s closest family, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) as of November 9, 2023.

Historically, Ilie Ciocan is the first supercentenarian from the Balkan Countries who was validated during his lifetime, and also the first validated supercentenarian who was born in 1913.