Iraq war veteran presumed dead for 20 years found in Czechia

For almost 20 years his family believed an Iraq war veteran named Šimo had died. It turns out he is alive and has spent the past five years in the Clementas care home for older people in western Czechia, where his sister tracked him down thanks to an army archive.

According to the veteran's sister, Vlastimila Feransová, the man was wounded in Iraq when a grenade exploded next to him, and he had to leave the service. Šimo later moved from Slovakia to western Czechia, divorced and gradually lost touch with his relatives. They searched for him for a long time without success and eventually concluded that he was no longer alive.

Only now has his sister managed to find out what became of him. Because of serious health problems, the man cannot communicate normally and is completely dependent on staff care. At the home he takes part in movement sessions and canistherapy, that is, activities with dogs.

When he was admitted, staff at the home assumed he had no family, a social worker said. His relatives only came forward after his past was pieced together. His sister and her daughter want to visit him at Christmas.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz