Grampa passed away on Good Friday
On Good Friday, my grandfather, Eugene Foster Dornbrook, passed away.
He was 88.
We buried him on Friday the 13th.
My uncles all got up to speak and my Papa too. I was so proud he's my Daddy. He gave a good speech.
He and my grandmother were married for sixty-four years.
In 1944, the Germans shot the tail off his B-17 and he was the only person to survive. He thought fast and lived. He was imprisoned in Stalagluft 13 and tried to escape, along with a number of other prisoners, most of whom were killed.
They later made a movie about it called The Great Escape, which I have not seen.
God bless you, Grampa. Thank you for all that you did.
Comments
Umm, Nae? That last part? A bit of a stretch. He was a POW, in Poland. When the Allies got near, the Nazis told everyone to leave the camp, so that there would be no 'proof'. So, in whatever they were wearing, in the dead of winter, they marched to the only place they could: Switzerland. From Poland. Many men died during that march.
Posted by: Mara | April 16, 2007 6:25 PM
Nathan (and to all the Dornbrooks), I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather. That sort of pain is fresh with me as well, as my Gram passed away on March 26th. My thoughts are with all of you. Much love...Crystal
Posted by: Crystal | April 17, 2007 12:57 PM
Sorry, that's a typo, it was actually Stalagluft 3.
And Mara is right, it is in Poland, not Germany, near Sagan.
Posted by: Nathan Dornbrook | April 18, 2007 9:55 AM
One other small detail. That was Grampa who was married to Gramma. Your father is married to me.
Posted by: Ma | April 18, 2007 1:35 PM