Speaking to the freedom fighter in all of us.

A friend of mine chanced across a copy of The 11th Day at a swap meet up east and suggested it to me as worthy of review. He'll have to send me his copy though, for I can't find a copy locally and all my PayPal funds are committed to the San Antonio trip. Still, it reminded me of a story the veterans of the 4th New Zealand Brigade told of their disastrous campaign on Crete in 1941 and the grueling retreat over the mountains to their evacuation by the Royal Navy.

In the middle of the long trail of beaten, retreating men, they say, there was a young Greek girl resting by the side of the road, holding an Enfield rifle. Where she got it, no one knew. She was about 17 years old and had long blonde hair. Whatever her face showed, it wasn't defeat. Many stared at her in curiosity but no one said a word. She evidently did not speak English, the New Zealanders didn't speak Greek, and they were in any case too tired to chat and too motivated by the Germans hard on their heels to stop. One man raised a hand in greeting and passed on by. She nodded, it is said, and then held out her hand, silently pantomiming a demand for ammunition. After she had a few bandoleers as gifts, the New Zealanders moved on down the trail to safety, leaving her to face the oncoming Germans alone.

The professionals were leaving. The guerrillas stayed. No one knows the girl's fate. But her example shines across the years and speaks to the freedom fighter in all of us.