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WWII war hero, RAF pilot Antonin Spacek dies at 89
[04-04-2007] By Daniela Lazarova
Born in 1917 in the town of Hradcany Antonin Spacek grew up dreaming of
becoming a professional soldier. He was a lieutenant in the
Czechoslovak army when the war broke out and he left his homeland via the so
called Balkan route going through Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Middle East
to join the free Czechoslovak units in France. He fought in France and
later served in Britain's RAF, returning to Normandy on D-Day with an
armored Czechoslovak brigade. Military historian Eduard Stehlik says that
Spacek was a soldier his country should have been proud of:
"Antonin Spacek was a man who always thought of others first. Before he
left the country he was active in the Resistance and undertook several
very dangerous missions in Slovakia. And when he fought abroad he
created a home base for other Czechs and Slovaks who served with the
allies. He was a truly courageous person."
While in Britain and France Antonin Spacek was a respected war hero he
received no recognition at home. In 1948 the communists took power in
his homeland and the role of Czech pilots who served in the RAF was
played down - because they had fought in the West. Spacek attempted to flee
the country with his family in order to avoid communist persecution
but only his British-born wife and child managed to get out. Antonin
Spacek was sentenced to ten years in a show trial and was sent to work in
the country's uranium mines. More than half a century was to pass before
he gained recognition. On the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings
he was awarded the Legion of Honour by President Jacques Chirac and last
year he received the highest Czech state distinction from President
Klaus - the Order of the White Lion. However beside the medals there was
little else. In an interview for Radio Prague in 2001 he complained
bitterly that 56 years after the war society had little interest in giving
its heroes a dignified old age.
"Most of us are around 80 years of age - I am 86 - and many of us are
alone. We need some help in our old age and nobody cares about it, you
see? "
Although he had reason to complain about the years of persecution and
neglect the thought uppermost in Antonin Spacek's mind was to leave a
legacy for the young generation.
"The thing is how to carry these ideas over to the young generation.
The problem is that the teachers don't know about it / our freedom fight/
they were educated during the communist regime. They never heard about
what happened. There are many people now who say the last time a Czech
soldier fought was at the Battle of the White Mountain, they never
fought, they are cowards and so on. And they don't acknowledge us. We were
the only army- among the allied group of armies- which was composed of
volunteers. The fight against the Nazis was fought here in the Czech
lands. We must persuade the young generation to keep in mind that the
Czechs are not cowards, that they know how to fight and when to fight for
independence and democracy. That is the message we would like to leave
after our deaths for the young generation."
http://img.radio.cz/pictures/ctk0704/spacek_antonin.jpg
http://img.radio.cz/pictures/valka2/spitfires.jpg
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