Blog Post
Youngest female soldier in World War One: world record set by Maria Zaharia
Feb 06, 2020
MARASESTI, Vrancea County, Romania--Maria Zaharia
(also known as Măriuca Zaharia; born 1905, Pădureni, Mărășești, Romania - died August 6, 1917, Mărășești, Romania), was a Romanian girl of twelve years, heroically fallen in the battles of Mărășești during the First World War, the only child-hero buried in the Mausoleum of Mărășești, in recognition of her merits; she is the Youngest female soldier in the World War One, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.
Born in Padureni, Vrancea County,in 1905, Măriuca was only 12 years old in 1917, when the little girl lived with her grandfather in the village of Haret, Vrancea County, near the place of military confrontations.
In the orchard of her grandfather, Ion Zaharia, the Romanian army had created an observation post of the Romanian troops, which offered an overview of everything that was happening on the front.
From a walnut, the soldier transmitted by telephone all the attack coordinates of the artillerymen, an extremely important mission, which led to the enemy troops being forced to retreat. In that orchard, Măriuca became friends with the Romanian soldiers and even learned them from the mysteries of their work, being captivated by the troop movements he observed with the help of the binoculars offered by the soldiers.
From a walnut, the soldier transmitted by telephone all the attack coordinates of the artillerymen, an extremely important mission, which led to the enemy troops being forced to retreat. In that orchard, Măriuca became friends with the Romanian soldiers and even learned them from the mysteries of their work, being captivated by the troop movements he observed with the help of the binoculars offered by the soldiers.
On August 5, 1917, just 24 hours before the big victory of the Romanian army, following the German bombardment, the observer from the grandfather of Maria was killed, and the little girl, with a courage worthy of a heroine, took her place in the night and transmitted by telephone further what was on the battlefield.
"I want to do something for my country," said the girl to the commanders of the Romanian army, aware of the fact that a child does the work of a soldier. And the information provided by Măriuca proved to be valuable, since the advance of the German troops was blocked. The girl was shot down following an explosion.
"It was a gesture of great courage when the little girl took the place of the soldier who was kidnapped by the Germans, she ended up the same. That's why she is in the largest mausoleum in the world dedicated to the heroes of the First World War. It is important that Măriuca is a heroine of the Romanian nation, " Florinel Agafiţei, a history professor from Focşani, told for Adevarul newspaper.
In honor of the sacrifice made, the breathless body of Măriuca Zaharia was deposited in the Marasesti Mausoleum, among other great heroes of those struggles, and in front of the Haret school a monument dedicated to her heroic gesture from 1917 was erected.
The heroic figure of the little girl was evoked in the film "Balade for Măriuca" and in the book "Historical Stories", by Dumitru Almaş, also present in the textbooks of the primary classes. Dumitru Almaş immortalized it in a story, in the book "Historical Stories"
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the longest surviving soldier on record is Antonio Todde (Italy) who served during World War I. Born 22 January 1889, he died on 4 January 2002 aged 112 years 346 days, surpassing the previous record held by John B. Salling of the US Confederate Army by 41 days.
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS also recognized the world record for the Most decorated war veteran was set by Audie Murphy (1924–1971), who was the most decorated soldier in US history, winning 24 medals from the Congressional Medal of Honor down. His exploits were the subject of To Hell and Back (USA, 1956), in which he starred as himself.
