One of the few Greek members of the Turkish army during the Korean War in 1950, 86-year-old İlya Banago, received military honors at his funeral.On Monday, soldiers carried the coffin of the elderly war veteran who died of natural causes while he was receiving treatment at a hospital in Istanbul.

After a ceremony at Aya Yorgi Church, he was buried in Gökçeada, his hometown in western Turkey, after a religious ceremony attended by Turkish officials to honor Banago.

Gökçeada Metropolitan Bishop Kirilios Druganis officiated the ceremony, which was attended by Çanakkale Governor Orhan Tavlı, Mayor Ünal Çetin, Provincial Gendarme Commander Senior Colonel Necmi İnce, Provincial Police Chief Celal Sel and other military authorities and townspeople.

Banago reportedly went to Korea as part of Turkish troops and returned home as a veteran.

Turkey joined its ally the United States in South Korea's fight against North Korea in the war between 1950 and 1953. A total of 741 Turkish troops were killed in the war.