Tautvydas 💻

Lithuania's former president Valdas Adamkus turns 100 today, joining an exclusive club of world leaders to reach their centenary, including Jimmy Carter. His life is simply extraordinary: > Born in 1926 in independent Lithuania > Published a resistance paper while under Nazi occupation > At 17, left the safety of exile in Germany and returned to Lithuania, joining volunteers resisting Soviets. Survived the Battle of Seda (vastly outgunned Lithuanian volunteers faced Soviet tanks). > Escaped back to Germany by hiding beneath a tank on a military train > Ran 100m in 10.8 seconds > Helped organize the Olympic Games of the Enslaved Nations, winning two golds and two silvers himself > Arrived in America as a refugee in 1949. Worked in a Chicago car factory and studied engineering > Drafted into the US Army. Knowing Russian, had a translator posting > Handed VP Nixon a petition with >38,000 signatures for Lithuania's independence > Became a senior Environmental Protection Agency official, serving under SIX American presidents and helping clean up the Great Lakes > Nicknamed "Mr. Lithuania" by Ronald Reagan > Returned to Soviet-occupied Lithuania in 1972 as a US government official > 54 years after fleeing Lithuania, was elected President of a newly independent homeland > Served two terms while helping secure Lithuania's path into NATO What a man. 🇱🇹 🇺🇸