The Horse Adjutant fore I left my mother gave me her wedding ring. At the time she seemed disoriented. She was crying and completely speechless. I also said goodbye to my baby brother and sisters. Without looking back, I left. I did not leave empty-handed. With all the tumult going on around my community, another one of my father’s friends, Mr. Romanek, the superintendent of the Jewish cemetery, loaded up a horse and buggy with packages to give to the boys from the town who were working with me at the road camp. To deliver these, I made a plan to meet his son, Adam, outside the town. I could not walk with him through the town or I might have been discovered. I left on my own. Soon, I met up with Adam, as we agreed, and together we took the horse, following the backroads I had taken earlier. At about one-quarter mile from the camp, we unloaded the packages on the side of the road just out of sight. I said goodbye to Adam, and he turned the horse around. Most likely this was his last act of goodwill for all of the Jewish citizens. Mr. Romanek and his son stayed behind. They were Catholic. On my own, I walked towards my camp and re-entered without fanfare. I was only gone a single day. As soon as I could, I told my friends Usher and the rest, about the gifts from home, how each one has their name on it and where I left them on the side of the road, out of sight, not far away. They scrambled to collect the packages. For the next few days, everyone was apprecia- tive of savoring the gifts of their families. I saw Adam after the war; he had become a local policeman.
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