KIMO

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died at just 57 years old. At 7, he lost his father. At 12, he entered military school. For the next 12 years, he studied in Selanik, Monastir and Istanbul, eventually graduating from the War Academy in 1905 at the age of 24. At 24, he became a staff captain. At 30, he was fighting Italian invasion in Tripoli, thousands of miles from home. Then came the Balkan Wars. Then the First World War. At 33, he was commanding troops at Gallipoli, facing one of the largest military campaigns ever. At 35, he was fighting Russian army on the Eastern Front. At 37, while the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, he was still commanding troops on the Syrian front. Think about that. Before turning 38, he had witnessed the collapse of an empire, fought on multiple fronts, watched generations of soldiers die and experienced the devastation of a world war. And then came 1919. At 38, with his country under occupation and its army disbanded, he boarded an old ship and landed in Anatolia on May 19. He resigned from the Ottoman military, putting his entire career behind him, and began organizing a national struggle. At 39, he opened the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. At 40, he led the nation through the Battle of Sakarya against Greek invasion. At 41, he led the Great Offensive, bringing the War of Independence to victory. At 42, on October 29, 1923, he proclaimed the Republic of Türkiye. He had spent his childhood overcoming loss, his youth studying, his adulthood fighting wars, and his early forties rebuilding a nation. 57 years. An entire lifetime of struggles, sacrifices and achievements. He could have lived an ordinary life. Instead, he dedicated his entire existence to a nation and a future generation he would never fully get to see. Today, we are among those generations. And we are still living in the country he fought so hard to build. The greatest way to honor him is to understand what it took to get us here. We remember you with endless gratitude, respect and longing. 10 November 1938 🇹🇷