SALİH BOZOK

A Life Dedicated to Atatürk: Salih Bozok (1881-25 April 1941)

Salih Bozok lived a life that was united by the line of fate with Atatürk. Except for short periods, they spent their lives together. Bozok, like Atatürk, was born in Thessaloniki in 1881. His mother was Çelebi Hanım and his father was Safer Efendi. Nuri Coker is his brother-in-law. It is known that Bozok is related to Atatürk from the third generation. Aside from kinship, it was one of Atatürk's most frequent contacts among neighborhood and school children. This friendship, which started in the same neighborhood, later continued with school friendships. They were together at Şemsi Efendi Primary School, Thessaloniki Military High School and Manastır Military High School. His friendships with Atatürk and Nuri Bey improved in these schools. Later, they graduated from the Military Academy together in the same year. After the Military Academy, Salih Efendi went to the gendarmerie class and did not go to Erkan-ı Harbiye and joined the Turkish army.

Salih Bozok, who graduated from the Military Academy as an officer in 1903, was first assigned to a police station on the Bulgarian border. He served there for nine months. He was then transferred to a unit in the town of Xanthi with the rank of lieutenant. In 1907, this duty was still continuing and his regular salary was 337.5 kuruş. He joined the Committee of Union and Progress while he was in Xanthi. II. After the proclamation of the Constitutional Monarchy, he was appointed as a teacher officer to the Junior Officer School in Thessaloniki. In this way, he had the opportunity to meet with Atatürk, who was his Kolağası in Thessaloniki. As one of the reliable members of the Committee of Union and Progress after 1909, II. He was appointed as the guard of Abdulhamid. Greek occupation of Thessaloniki and II. He came to Istanbul at the end of 1912, as Abdulhamid was transferred to the Beylerbeyi Palace.

This guard duty of Bozok, which lasted for many years, lasted until the Yıldırım Armies Group Commander Atatürk appointed him as chief aide in 1917. On this date, he went to Diyarbakir on May 9, 1917, and from there to Aleppo, departing from Istanbul for his new and exceptional mission. With the end of World War I, he returned to Istanbul with Mustafa Kemal. After Atatürk resigned from the army command and advised him to withdraw from the military, he asked for his retirement. Unable to live on his pension, Bozok also started to deal with small grain business and trade in Istanbul. He also sold coal and wood. These difficult days were followed by his imprisonment in Bekirağa Squadron. He escaped from Divan-ı Harp at the last moment. When Atatürk came to Ankara with the Representative Committee, he ordered Bozok to come as well. Bozok went to Ankara without even waiting for the birth of his newborn child and met Atatürk, whom he loved very much. With the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on April 23, 1920, Atatürk was elected as the speaker of the parliament. He also took Bozok as his aide. In this way, he was always close to Atatürk and closely witnessed the important events of our recent history.

Salih Bozok took part in the suppression of the Yozgat rebellion that emerged at the beginning of the National Struggle. Sakarya did not leave Atatürk's side during the Great Offensive successes. He continued his service as head aide during the National Struggle. He went to Akşehir with Atatürk in August 1922 before the Great Offensive. He was with Atatürk during the Great Offensive and the subsequent liberation of İzmir from enemy occupation. Meanwhile, Salih Bozok had an influence on Atatürk's marriage to Latife Hanım. It is important that Latife Hanım and her correspondence about Atatürk. Latife Hanım saw him as her “second father”. Once, Latife Hanım asked Salih Bey to talk to Atatürk as a fatherly duty, and to ask her high-spirited, gracious husband to end the tension between them.

Salih Bey, who retired from the lieutenant colonel, was elected as Bozok (Yozgat) deputy on 14 July 1923. Thus, he entered parliament for the first time. In the same year, when Atatürk was elected President, Salih Bey continued his exceptional duty as the head aide to the Presidency. Moreover, throughout his life, Bozok followed Atatürk step by step like a faithful shadow. For this reason, it is really difficult to find another person who was as involved in Atatürk's private life as his in our history of revolution. He was re-elected as a deputy in the 1927 and 1931 elections, and served as a Yozgat (Bozok) deputy for the third and fourth terms. In the 1935 and 1939 elections, he was elected from Bilecik and took his place in the parliament. Bozok was among the French-speaking deputies. He also undertook the Izmir trusteeship of the People's Party for a while.

Salih Bozok stayed with Atatürk for many years as an aide and became one of his great confidants. They had shared a lot in this long period of time. Bozok explains his feelings about Atatürk with these words: “When I was a younger officer, I loved Atatürk to the extent that everyone appreciates him as Atatürk today, and I believed in his might.” Atatürk, on the other hand, felt close enough to Salih Bey to tell about his dreams and his most private matters. From time to time, various pranks and jokes were not lacking. An event that took place in 1932 is important in terms of showing the value of Bozok next to Atatürk. Atatürk got angry with İsmet İnönü about some state affairs and almost scolded him at his table. He demanded that he leave his post as the Prime Minister and retire. Upon this incident, İsmet İnönü, He went to Salih Bey and said, “You are the only person that Gazi will not break!” He asked him to convey his thoughts about Atatürk and that he apologized. Upon this, Salih Bey met with Atatürk, calmed his anger and the business was settled. This is the clearest indication of the sincerity between them. In addition, Bozok has been one of Atatürk's relatives who shared his pain and joy at every stage of his life. It was Salih Bozok who witnessed when he married Latife Hanım and who gave the news of his mother Zübeyde Hanım's death. So much so that Atatürk had asked Bozok to see his mother and console him while he was going to Tripoli on a military mission. This time she had asked him to have her mother's funeral properly performed. In the years when Atatürk ran from front to front, his source of consolation was his correspondence with Salih Bey.Atatürk gave the surname “Bozok” .

Surname certificate given to Salih Bozok by Atatürk.

In short, Adjutant Salih Bozok was so devoted to Atatürk that he committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart upon his death. However, he was immediately rushed to the hospital. The bullet deviated a millimeter or two and pierced his lung and lodged in his back, saving his life. However, with the death of Atatürk, Bozok's world was also destroyed. Two surgeries and a heart condition left him exhausted. While he was a member of parliament, he withdrew to Yalova, complaining about his health condition. He attended the council meetings last on Wednesday, 21 August 1940. However, his health deteriorated day by day. His discomfort (chest angina) was not responding to the treatments. He died in his mansion in Suadiye, Istanbul on April 25, 1941. With a more meaningful expression, he got Atatürk. lost four years ago, Since he had willed to be buried next to his friend and brother-in-law Nuri Conker, his body was brought to Ankara by train. The memorandum on the death of Bozok, who was buried with a state ceremony, was read in the parliament on May 2, 1941, and a minute's silence was held for the memory of the saint. Newspapers of the period announced the news of his death on their front pages with the words "a painful loss", "my hand is a loss", "his mercy has reached the most merciful". He was known as a pure-hearted soldier, a brave and brave man. He was married and had three children, one girl and two boys. He was known as a pure-hearted soldier, a brave and brave man. He was married and had three children, one girl and two boys. He was known as a pure-hearted soldier, a brave and brave man. He was married and had three children, one girl and two boys.

Bozok also traveled with Atatürk many times. This relationship and sincerity between him and Atatürk was also reflected in their correspondence. Bozok kept his notes on these travels with Atatürk and the letters Atatürk sent him. There were those who wanted to buy this historically important material from him, but after Atatürk did not allow it and on the order "Leave these to your children to be published after we die" , Bozok left these documents to future generations. After his death, Atatürk's letters and documents were donated to the Military Academy Command by his family. Bozok's friendship with Atatürk, which started in his childhood, turned into a loyal friendship as his aide over time, and this loyalty continued until the end of his life.

Source: Fahri MADEN, Türk Yurdu Dergisi, Ekim 2011 - Yıl 100 - Sayı 290

Works

ALWAYS WITH ATATÜRK

The book named HEP ATATÜRK'ÜN YANINDA, written by our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK's Aide-de-camp, Mr. Salih BOZOK, has been adapted into current Turkish and republished by our Foundation.