MDFrench
10-12-2004, 10:58 AM
Hey all,
I met an interesting gentleman recently. His name was George Sossenko. He was a French WWII veteran. Now, like many others I am not innocent when it comes to making fun of the French in WWII.
However, this man's story really gave me a new respect for some of the French. He must've been in his late 80s. He told me that he started fighting facists as a 16-year-old in the Spanish Civil War!
He hated the facists so much, he just had to fight them. Many of the anti-facist groups in Spain wouldn't let him fight due to his age, so he reluctantly joined the anarchists, b/c they didn't have an age limit!
When France was invaded, he fought the Germans and I could see on his face his feelings when France surrendered. He escaped with the Free French Army. I cannot imagine wanting to fight for my country against invaders and finding myself in the minority when the rest of my country succumbed to the enemy. It must have been horrible.
Regardless, he went back to Europe to liberate the continent and then afterwards, he went to South America to fight there in the 1950s and was even imprisoned for a time by the dictator he was fighting against - can't remember the actual war - I was too in awe of the fact that I was talking to a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and WWII and that he was French!
He's one I'll never forget.
I met an interesting gentleman recently. His name was George Sossenko. He was a French WWII veteran. Now, like many others I am not innocent when it comes to making fun of the French in WWII.
However, this man's story really gave me a new respect for some of the French. He must've been in his late 80s. He told me that he started fighting facists as a 16-year-old in the Spanish Civil War!
He hated the facists so much, he just had to fight them. Many of the anti-facist groups in Spain wouldn't let him fight due to his age, so he reluctantly joined the anarchists, b/c they didn't have an age limit!
When France was invaded, he fought the Germans and I could see on his face his feelings when France surrendered. He escaped with the Free French Army. I cannot imagine wanting to fight for my country against invaders and finding myself in the minority when the rest of my country succumbed to the enemy. It must have been horrible.
Regardless, he went back to Europe to liberate the continent and then afterwards, he went to South America to fight there in the 1950s and was even imprisoned for a time by the dictator he was fighting against - can't remember the actual war - I was too in awe of the fact that I was talking to a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and WWII and that he was French!
He's one I'll never forget.