CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: In his 28 years as a defence man, Colonel Prithipal Singh Gill (retired) saw it all — from World War II to the India-Pakistan War of 1965. On Friday, the only surviving officer to have served in all three wings of the armed forces turned 100. “I was fortunate. Today, I would have been thrown out had I switched so many times,” Gill told TOIamid celebrations at his Chandigarh residence with his family and the regiment he raised. From scanning the skies to manning the high seas, his has been a unique career. It started in 1942, when he joined the Royal Indian Air Force as a pilot, without his family’s consent. “I would fly Howard aircraft when I was posted in Karachi,” he said.