Some 67 years ago, a broken, emaciated boy looked up and saw an American soldier sitting astride a tank outside the gates of Dachau, the 10th concentration camp the boy had endured during the long war.
The hazel-eyed soldier hopped down and handed the boy rations he was eating. The boy ate with his fingers before dropping to his knees and kissing the soldier’s boots. A radio crackled with orders for the soldier to move on as part of the liberation effort. But first, the soldier hoisted the boy up and handed him a handkerchief decorated with a 48-star American flag.
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It seems like each year the Globe publishes a story on Veterans Day that gives one pause to reflect on the humanity and self-sacrifice of individuals even amid the horrors of war. These stories need to be told. Thank you and please continue to do so.
in this confused planet, it is kindness and compassion that truly rule; thank you for sharing this story
of the best of us.................
Amen
Just want to ad my thanks for this remarkable story. I must remember to buy extra tissue this time of year.
I was at Dachau last week to remind my wife and myself of the Nazi horrors. Everyone should visit a former concentration camp to prevent this holocaust from ever happening again.
By the way, Dachau included 1700 Catholic priests who had spoken out against the regime as well as homosexuals, German protesters, the disabled and mentally challenged, gypsies etc. Initially the camp was created for these " unfit " people but it swelled with Jewish prisoners when the holocaust started.
It is about time Steve Ross had a front page story in the Globe. It is so warranted. Steve Ross' full story (and those of 19 other local survivors) is in my girlfriend Susie Davidson's book I Refused to Die: Stories of Boston Area Holocaust Survivors and Soldiers who Liberated the Concentration Camps of World War II (Ibbetson Street Press, Somerville).
What an incredibly beautiful story.