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 LAGUNA WOODS GLOBE Thursday, November 9, 2006  "Honored by the French: Herbert Brill wears the Legion of Honor. He received the medal for fighting with the French resistance after his plan was shot down over the country during World War II." U.S. Veteran Honored for Resistance Work Herbert Brill received the Legion of Honor in ceremonies in France By Cheryl Walker This Veterans Day it's fit to recall the sacrifices of all the men and women who hear the call to arms to preserve and protect the Nation. All their stories can serve as lessons, some resonate even more so. Herbert Brill, Laguna Woods Village resident and native of Brooklyn, New York falls into the latter category as a recipient of France's highest military and overall honors; respectively, two Croix de Combattant and, last year, a Legion of Honor. It's hard to image this gentle man and accomplished artist had such a brilliantly dangerous past. But, his exploits have commanded pages of print in local newspapers, as well as collection of veterans' tales call "Their Deeds of Valor," by Don Lasseter where Brill's story is recalled in Chapter 18, "Just a Quick Milk Run." Recently, The Globe talked with Brill and listened to the fascinating tales he had to tell about those dangerous and troubling times when he fought in the European Theater of War as a member of the Free French Resistance. The first time Brill boarded the Queen Mary, he recalls, it wasn't dry docked in Long Beach. The 23 year old 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Force was headed to England to do his part in fighting World War II. Brill learned to fly a Piper Cub at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, but the Army didn't put him in the air first. His initial assignment was the cavalry, then an armored division until finally he was placed in his dream job in aviation. There he was trained as a navigator and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group, 477th Squadron, which was home-based at the Podington Air Base in the British Isles. His 10 man crew flew a B-17 bomber on December 31, 1943 when they were dished up real food for breakfast (fresh eggs and butter rather than their ersatz counterparts) and told they were going to make "a quick milk run" and be back in time to take advantage of some well-earned leave. Instead, their bomber was hit and their plane force landed in France. The crew torched what remained of their plane (so the enemy couldn't use it) and split up, he with Sgt. William Weber, to improve their chances of meeting up again with friendly forces. He and Weber tried to make contact with the natives and only after several false starts did they find someone who believed they were Americans and there to help. While his mother waited anxiously to learn word of her "mission in action" son, Brill joined up with the Free French Resistance Section Speciale Sabotage. Over the next months, Weber and Brill traveled from safe house to safe house, working with the resistance to make the occupying German forces uncomfortable all the while trying to link up with other friendly forces. June 7 the Allies hit the beachfront at Normandy and started to put inland but the situation only worsened and atrocities multiplied. One of the most shocking atrocities occurred at Ora-dour-sur-Glane when the Germans massacred the men and burned the women and children alive in a locked church. The outages spurred both the French and the Americans to fight guerilla style to wearily push the Germans out of the country. It wasn't until three months after D-Day (in September), that Brill finally met up with an American, Major John Gildee, who when he learned of the second lieutenant's exploits chided him that he was not supposed to do what he'd been doing. In a few days, with Angouleme liberated, Brill and other Americans boarded planes in Limoges and two hours later landed in London. Nine months had passed since the "milk run" had started. In November, 1945, he left the AAF. Brill has many vivid memories of his exploits in France (where he often used the alias Jacques Litaud to avoid detection if captured). He still cherishes (and is still able to wear), the leather aviator's jacket he wore when his plane went down. But his most important mementoes of all are the medals he was awarded for aiding the Resistance: the Croix du Combattant Voluntaire, 1939-1945, the Croix due Combattant Voluntaire de la Resistance and his long-overdue Legion of Honor, which he only received last year along with a certificate signed by Jacques Chirac, president of France. The ceremony took place in Grassac, Charente, France, near a monument commemorating the efforts of the Resistance. After the war, Brill worked for PepsiCo International and spent time both in the U.S. and France where he bought a little home. He also tries to go back whenever survivors gather to commemorate those who lost their lives to liberate France. |
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