Världskrigspersonligheter fortfarande i livet

Tredje gången gillt? Den 21 oktober avled 99-årige Michael Smuss, som också blivit kallad den siste kvarlevande från upproret i Warszawas ghetto.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkzg5zmmp8o
https://abcnews.go.com/International...etto-126799975
https://www.timesofisrael.com/last-s...ss-dies-at-99/
https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/10/...-fighter-dies/
https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbue...-michael-smuss

Den 7 november dog 102-årige överstelöjtnant Zbigniew Wiesław Rylski, veteran från striderna 1939 (då han bara var 16 år) och från Warszawauppropret 1944 - han var tydligen den siste kvarlevande av dem som försvarade Michler-palatset, jämte den siste medlemmen av Parasol-bataljonen. Hans alias var för övrigt Andrzej, Brzoza (Björken) och Andrzej Kaczor (Anders Anka).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Rylski
https://tvpworld.com/89920827/zbigni...it-dies-at-102
https://fullmeasure.news/newest-videos/warsaw-uprising
https://um.warszawa.pl/waw/radawarsz...izen-of-warsaw

As a participant in the Boy Scouts' and Girl Scouts' War Emergency, he participated in the Defensive War, and after the Soviet aggression of 17 September 1939, while still in the Borderlands, disregarding his own safety, he helped rescue Polish soldiers from the NKVD camps in Dubno. To protect himself against arrest and deportation deep into the USSR, he moved to Warsaw with his mother, brothers, and sister. In 1940 he joined the Grey Ranks, where he was quickly promoted and held important positions. During the Warsaw Uprising he was assigned to the 3rd Wola District. He distinguished himself by his bravery and determination and walked the entire combat route with the "Parasol" battalion. He participated in the defence of the Michler Palace and the Wola cemeteries, becoming a symbol of steadfastness and heroism. On 8 August 1944, during intense fighting in the Protestant cemetery near the Halpert chapel, he rescued the seriously wounded commander, Janusz Brochwicz-Lewiński pseud. "Gryf". He moved him to a paramedic, and then transported him to the St. John of God Church at Bonifraterska Street. During the insurgent fighting, was wounded twice.

He was imprisoned and under surveillance after the war. He was released from prison under an amnesty in March 1947. Despite persecution and repression by the communist regime, he never gave up his fight for truth and dignity.

I dag har man firat Remembrance Sunday vid Cenotaph i London, och minsann hade inte ett 20-tal sega jävlar från WWII-åren infunnit sig. Lägg namnen på minnet.

https://news.sky.com/story/king-prin...rmers-13466869

Three D-Day veterans were among those attending the ceremony.

In total, about 20 veterans who served in the Second World War were there, receiving applause as they took their positions close to the monument in London's Whitehall.

About a dozen people wearing military uniforms and poppies were pushed in wheelchairs.

Henry Rice, a former signalman who landed via Juno Beach five days after D-Day, and Mervyn Kersh who arrived in Normandy aged 19, three days after the start of the D-Day invasion, were two who took part.

Sid Machin, one of six 101-year-olds registered to march was also present and is one of the last surviving "Chindit" soldiers from the Second World War Burma campaign.

As a young man of about 19, Mr Machin landed behind enemy lines in a glider at night in the jungle, as part of a special forces unit in Burma (now Myanmar), which wreaked havoc on Japanese supply lines and infrastructure.

He was serving in India in 1945 when the surrender of Japan was announced.

"It is a great honour to be able to pay tribute to the poor souls who have died in all conflicts and I know how lucky I am to still be here thanks to all those who have fought and served, past and present," he said.

"I also want to pay tribute to the civilian services who suffered during the Second World War, particularly the fire service, who saved so many lives during the Blitz, many of whom lost their own."

Den 6 november dog Paul Ignatius, född 1920, bara fem dagar innan han skulle fylla 105 år. Han tjänstgjorde under kriget som aviation ordnance officer ombord på eskorthangarfartyget USS Manila Bay, deltog i slaget i Leytebukten och var med om två kamikazeanfall. Senare verkade han vid Pentagon, och var marinminister (Secretary of the Navy) 1967-69.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ignatius
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...tius-dead.html
https://massispost.com/2025/11/paul-...e-dies-at-104/

Här berättar han sina minnen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URvJU8eKwTk

Ignatius bör ha varit en av de sista kvarlevande ministrar / regeringsmedlemmar som tjänstgjort i WWII, och det vore kul att veta hur många sådana som återstår globalt sett. Finländske Taisto Tähkämaa lever åtminstone alltjämt.

Jag antecknar i all hastighet de här herrarna, som ännu lever.

Generallöjtnant John F. Gonge (1931-)
Under kriget pilot i Air Transport Command, flög The Hump, eller luftbron mellan Indien och Kina över östra Himalaya.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Gonge

Generalmajor John C. Raaen Jr. (1922-)
Tjänstgjorde i specialförbandet Army Rangers, deltog i landstigningen på Omaha Beach samt i striderna i Bretagne. Tilldelad Silver Star.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Raaen_Jr.

Det drar ihop sig till 83-årsdagen av Pearl Harbor. Bara en enda veteran har meddelat om sin närvaro vid ceremonin, nu 105-årige Ira "Ike" Schab, som tjänstgjorde som militärmusiker och befann sig ombord på jagaren USS Dobbin när bomberna började regna. Det finns en lång rad artiklar om honom.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/1...r-anniversary/
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/12/...-pearl-harbor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T84OJPkVBA

I övrigt har Pearl Harbor-veteranerna nu nästan mangrant nått den sista hamnen. Den 27 oktober ljöd tapto för 102-årige Ivan Wilson Atkins Jr., som upplevde attacken ombord på slagskeppet USS West Virginia, tillsammans med två av sina bröder.

https://www.mcadamsmortuary.com/obit...rJKf46InJsCCtg
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...-19825580.html
https://www.in.gov/dva/media/newsroo...-pearl-harbor/
https://www.wave3.com/2023/12/30/101...VBLLz5OnakRkMg
https://www.karakavensky.com/stories-that-hit-hard/

Gonge f ö född 21 - var tvungen att kolla, "teens in space"...

Tack ånyo för "din" tråd!