Man, 105, Recovering From Heart Surgery

A 105-year-old man, who may be the oldest living alumnus of the U.S. Marine Corps, was recovering Friday after surgery to correct a heart ailment.

Arpiar Missakian, who was born in 1894 in an Armenian town that is now part of Syria, was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center on Wednesday when he became sick at home, according to hospital officials.

Doctors determined that one of Missakian’s arteries was near collapse, and they told his three sons that immediate surgery was the only chance for survival.

“We told them to go ahead and do it,” said Harry Missakian, 67, who is an optician in Glendale. “He is still mentally alert. There was no use allowing him to just sit and deteriorate.”

The operation appeared to be successful, hospital officials said, and if his recovery continues to go well, Missakian will probably be released in a few days.

“He still lives on his own,” said Harry Missakian. “He gets up, has his raisin bran, some nuts and a banana in the morning. We have someone come in to fix him lunch and dinner, and we are all nearby and see him every day.”

Arpiar Missakian joined the Marines in 1921, the same year he became a U.S. citizen, and served much of his time with the service as a rifle instructor, according to a 1997 article about him in Marines Magazine. Although the Marine Corps Historical Center was unable to confirm that he was the oldest living Marine veteran at that time, the magazine could not find one who was older.

In 1946, he settled in Glendale, where he worked for a metal-plating firm. His wife, Liza, is 92 and resides in a nursing home.

Harry Missakian said his father has had trouble walking and his eyes have deteriorated to the point that he can no longer read.

“He watches TV,” Harry Missakian said. “He can’t remember as far back as he used to, but that was a long time ago.”