Memorial Day reflection: Honoring a forgotten hero’s last moments

Most every Memorial Day weekend, I visit the grave of Gunder Birkeland. He died 50 years ago at the age of 90. And although he did not see military service, my maternal grandfather was my hero.

Crippled with polio as an infant, this hunchbacked survivor immigrated to Washington state from Norway as a 20-year-old in 1905. Beginning as a logger, Papa Birkeland became a housebuilder, insurance agent and finally a successful landlord owning several apartment buildings in Seattle. When he died in 1976, my parents purchased his home.

Following our dad’s death, my brother and I sold our grandfather’s home, but not before saving certain keepsakes. Boxes of Papa’s correspondence and business records ended up in my garage. I thought I might one day write a book about his most amazing life. But now the need to begin downsizing and clearing out the garage has refocused my goals.

The other day while going through some of Papa’s files, I found a letter written to the daughter-in-law of one of my grandfather’s tenants. I wondered why my grandfather kept this personal letter in the midst of a file of landlord/tenant correspondence? Curious, I began to read.

The typed single-spaced letter mailed in May 1939 was addressed to a young woman in Seattle by the name of Mrs. James Norrie. It was written by Maurice Gurko from Chicago. In the letter, Maurice identifies himself as someone who fought alongside her husband in the Spanish Civil War. Both Maurice and James Norrie Jr. were members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who volunteered to fight with other Americans against Franco’s forces in Spain.

The poignant letter describes in great detail the last day of James Norrie’s life. The two American soldiers had climbed to the top of a steep hill to evade artillery fire and became separated from their unit. Thirsty, they began looking for a source of water. Within a few minutes, they located a well and refreshed themselves with a drink. A moment later a shell exploded killing James.

As I read the letter that had been filed and forgotten for nine decades, I felt like I was on standing on holy ground. Instantaneously, I was there on the battlefield in Spain witnessing the death of someone born a half century before I was whose parents were clients of my grandfather.

I particularly made note of this …

“I think that you should feel proud that Jim in the last moment kept the spirit that had brought him to Spain, the spirit that wherever the struggle for liberty was taking place, there was his place … Jim did not die in vain. Nor did the other hundreds of Americans who fell in Spain. They have made for themselves a place in history and in the hearts of the Spanish people that can never be removed.”

As I slowly digested the letter, I reflected on what this grieving widow must have felt as she read Maurice’s words. I was most impressed by the sensitivity of her husband’s friend who took the time to reach out to someone he’d never met.

I was also impressed by what I read about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Having never heard of this unit of soldiers before, I did some research on the internet. The thought of Americans standing up against fascism in a country far from home spoke to me.

Feeling like I’d found buried treasure, I wanted to share my wealth. I decided to try and locate relatives of the slain soldier about whom the letter was written. Good old Google.

It didn’t take long to discover a couple great-grand-nephews of the deceased living in Greater Seattle. What joy it was to share with them information they had no idea even existed.

This Memorial Day weekend as I visit my grandfather’s grave, I will plant two miniature American flags. One in memory of Papa Birkeland’s adopted homeland that provided him the opportunity to pursue his vocational dreams.

The second little flag will be in honor of James L. Norrie Jr. Soldier Norrie represents the countless individuals who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect freedom and liberty around the world. Peace to their memory!

• The Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos is a former Naperville resident who writes about faith and family.