Truth is stranger than fiction

[Frankie]

I thought I'd start of a thread of amazing War stories. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. If you have an amazing, heart-warming or poignant story to tell, please share with us here.

To kick off this thread, I would like to share the heart-warming story of Matt Konop, a WWII American officer who amazingly liberates the Czech villages of his grandparents at the end of World War 2.

Konop's grandparents had left the Old Country in the 1860s to pursue the American Dream. Konop was raised with their language, Czech, but expected to "become American." To get ahead, he needed to discard the old ways and his first language. Dropped into WWII, his fluency in Czech got him the dangerous assignment of commanding the Advance Party to liberate Czechoslovakia.

And once at the Czech border, his curiosity drew him into the country of his grandparents, well ahead of the rest of his division. What he found changed his life. The Czechs couldn't believe the miracle of "being liberated by one of our own." He couldn't believe the hero's welcome that greeted him. It deeply changed his notion of what it meant to be both Czech and American.

After the war, Matt Konop settled down in the US. He became an insurance agent and raised a family. Like many veterans of the Greatest Generation who experienced the horrors of war, he rarely talk about his service in the war. At least not to his own grandchildren. Yet when he died, his basement yielded a treasure trove of typewritten accounts, photos and rare film footage. Today his life story is being vividly told as a play entitled "The Accidental Hero". It is written and performed by his grandson, Patrick Dewane.

An American-born Czech-speaking commanding officer liberating the Czechoslovakian town of his grandparents in World War 2. What are the chances of such a coincidence happening?

It doesn't end here. Patrick Dewane's blog has many fascinating accounts of his grandfather's travels and adventures during the war. Thanks to his grandfather's meticulous diary writings and live World War Two film footage from his much-used movie camera.

For me, Matt Konop's story is more than just a story of two nations. It is a poignant story of finding one's identity. A story of love and humanity.

Cheers
Frankie Kam

[Asid]

Excellent Frankie. I have posted this kind of thing on occasion but it is better to have it in one place.

Excellent story as well 

[Greybriar]

Wonderful story. Thanks for sharing, Frankie. 

[Rinix]

I agree, great story.