THE REMAINS of the verifiably longest-serving soldier in the world, Ladislav Škultéty-Gábriš, were laid to rest in his birthplace, Mojtín. This happened 275 years after his birth, i.e. on June 27. Škultéty-Gábriš is considered to be the longest-serving soldier in active service: he was part of the imperial hussar regiment for 81 years.
The western-Slovak municipality of Mojtín informed on its website that the exceptional soldier has returned home because there was no one to pay the fees for his grave in the town of Arad in today’s Romania.
“The Roman-Catholic priest in Mojtín was contacted by the Roman-Catholic priest in Arad, who informed him that in the town cemetery is the grave of Ladislav Škultéty-Gábriš,” head of the Military History Institute Miloslav Čaplovič told the SITA newswire. “He also informed that there is nobody to cover the fees for his grave, and thus it would be right to move his remains and bury them at the cemetery of his birthplace, which is Mojtín. If Mojtín showed no interest in the remains, Škultéty-Gábriš’ grave would be destroyed.”
The town representatives, together with the Defence Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, as well as the Slovak Embassy in Romania, managed to transfer his remains and to organise a ceremonial burial, including a festive mass and a military honours by the Slovak Guard of Honour and the 8th Hussar Regiment.
According to SITA, Škultéty-Gábriš spent 81 years in the army and participated in 22 campaigns and 256 battles and served under four kings and queens. He received special credit in the conquest of Berlin in the Seven Years’ War and during the siege of Beograd. He received two military awards: a Silver Medal for Bravery and a Cannon Cross. Thanks to his deeds and also to his long service, he became famous in the Austrian army as “the eternal soldier”. He died at the age of 93 in 1831 in the regiment’s hospital in the municipality of Sanicolau Mic, which is now part of the city of Arad.
