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Skip Friedman, my 92-year-old father-in-law, lies in a VA hospital bed in Cleveland, Ohio fighting infection, fighting for another day.
He’s one of those optimistic people who loves life, his children, grandchildren, reading history, watching sports and Turner Classic Movies. He cherishes every day.
And there was a time, at age 19, when he almost ran out of days.
In December 1944, he and hundreds of men in the 422nd Infantry Regiment in the United States Armed Forces were taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge and were held in Stalag 1XA POW Camp near Ziegenhain, Germany.
The Wehrmacht had an anti-Jewish policy, singling out Jewish POWs from the rest of the POW population and many were sent to extermination camps.
In January 1944, the Germans announced that all Jewish POWS in Stalag 1XA were to report the following morning.
The following morning, in defiance of the order, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, the highest ranking soldier among the Americans, ordered all his men to fall out – Jews and non-Jews alike.
The German officer, Major Siegmann, saw all the camp’s inmates standing in line and turned to and said, “They cannot all be Jews!”
“We are all Jews,” Edmonds replied.
Siegman took out his pistol and threatened Edmonds. In turn, the brave master sergeant told him that the Geneva Conventions required them to give only their name, rank and serial number.
Edmonds said, “If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war, you’ll be tried for war crimes.”
Major Siegman returned his gun to his holster.
Master Sergeant Edmonds and some of those American POWs, among them the man who would later become my beloved father-in-law, survived WWII and returned home.
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I think about my father-in-law every day and not only because I hear his updated health reports. Some days, when he’s feeling strong, my wife, Amy, hands me the phone and Skip and I will talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ prospect of repeating as NBA champions. We’ve agreed not to talk about the Browns.
When I tell him that I am retiring in June, he urges me to enjoy every minute of my retirement.
“Get on the road and travel all over this glorious country of ours,” he says.
He talks about cross-country trips to national parks, Disneyland and Cooperstown.
In addition to our pact of not discussing the Cleveland Browns, we also don’t talk about the current administration. Right after the November election, Skip, a history buff, with a long, well-informed and impeccable memory, and a staunch Democrat, reminded me that America has survived some terrible and terrifying presidents.
“We’ll be fine,” he said. “We’re a nation of laws. The law will prevail.”
Skip, practiced law for 65 years. We left it at that.
But I wonder what he thinks of what has become of his beloved country.
I wonder what he makes of this dark time, teeming with suspicion and hatred. Contempt for all but the superrich. With all the lying, blaming, and disrespect for everyone who doesn’t fall in line, I fear we are living in the darkest time in recent history.
I wonder if Skip is recalling the McCarthy Era, which destroyed lives, but not the nation or Nixon’s presidency which was a stain but our democratic institutions prevailed.
And I wonder if we are in a new place, a time when the America of equality and justice and democracy is a thing of the past.
I wish I were as brave and optimistic as Skip Friedman.
I wish I weren’t afraid to ask what he thinks.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images
Nice post. I would have to challenge the last statement completely. Has America EVER been a place of equality, justice and Decocracy? I know our country says so but if you look into history you see very clearly it is not. Maybe this sh**storm is just what WE as a people need to command and demand our equality, justice and democracy. Something we truly have NEVER had! Power to the peaceful!
Daniel, thanks for writing. And sadly, I agree, maybe this is exactly what we need to come together and be the country we thought we were or want to be.
Yes!
You said so well what I’ve been thinking about my father. He was born in 1913 in a small town in southern Illinois. He lived through the Great Depression, was in the army during WWII, saw the rise and fall of McCarthyism and talked with great pride about this country. He taught me to be patriotic, to vote in every election. He was a journalist with a fierce sense of the importance of free speech and freedom of the press. I can’t help but wonder what he would think about what’s happening now to our democracy, the democracy many in… Read more »
Winifred, amen to every word you wrote. Thanks.