Socialist Progressives

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts) Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:28 PM Jan 2014

Spanish Civil War vet still struggling at 98

http://www.peoplesworld.org/spanish-civil-war-vet-still-struggling-at-9/

Just in case you ever feel like giving up on politics.

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I and my friend Juan had scheduled this visit with the idea of interviewing Del about his service in the famed Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a battalion of U.S. volunteers who went to Spain in 1937-38 to help the Spanish people in their fight against a Fascist takeover of their country. Tragically, Franco's fascist forces, aided both by weapons and troops from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy and by a hypocritical "non-intervention" policy by the Western capitalist powers, prevailed in 1939; but the "Lincolns" and the rest of the International Brigades won themselves an immortal place in history.

At last report, Del is one of only two surviving veterans of the Lincoln Brigade.

When we started to converse, however, Del proved to be far more interested in current struggles. He insisted that Juan, who is chairperson of the California district of the Communist Party USA, fill him in on what the Party is doing and on the situation of labor nationally.

He particularly wanted to know what had happened at the last AFL-CIO convention.

His was no academic interest. Del's not on the sidelines; although he can no longer drive, he writes letters and keeps in touch with a network of progressive friends that he's built up in his corner of California. On his wall hangs a plaque from the Tuolumne County Citizens for Peace that reads, "Recognizing 70 years of dedication to peace and justice issues." In addition to his labor contacts, he helped organize and remains in touch with the Alliance of Retired Americans in Stockton.

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