tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post4532352387986438911..comments2024-03-11T16:39:12.344-05:00Comments on Once A Knight ...: End of a life, end of this storyNico Van Thynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-84888977748331008242017-05-17T17:38:12.366-05:002017-05-17T17:38:12.366-05:00Thank you for sharing your parents' amazing st...Thank you for sharing your parents' amazing story. I feel as though I know them now and I mourn their loss. They are an inspiration of overcoming unimaginable horrors and building a life of love, peace and family. I find their stories especially poignant as I am writing a book about a brother and sister who survive the Holocaust and ironically, he is interned at Jawischowitz and she is a victim of the medical experiments in Block 10. I only discovered your blog while doing a search for Jawischowitz survivor testimonies. Now, after spending the better part of my day reading your father's story, I know and understand more about what it must have been like. I cannot thank you enough for having the courage to share something so terrible with the world. I am happy to say, I will be visiting the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie later this month and I plan on watching the testimony your mother gave as well. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00488442718853662307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-89993598002976074442014-09-09T22:15:23.305-05:002014-09-09T22:15:23.305-05:00From Vince Langford: I was crying big tears readin...From Vince Langford: I was crying big tears reading the final chapter of your dad’s life and journey. The paragraph about seeing his number again while they prepared the body -- whoa. That was all terrifically written. <br />Thinking of the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge: so in January ‘45, maybe weeks apart, there were U.S. soldiers tramping through Belgium, out of ammunition, surrounded by Germans, and your dad in Poland, after the Germans leave, just out there, no support. The soldiers get rescued, the wounded immediately sent home. Your dad still had a long way to go, and a much different homecoming.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-74724080001006711022014-09-08T17:26:26.614-05:002014-09-08T17:26:26.614-05:00From Ron Bell: I have really enjoyed reading your ...From Ron Bell: I have really enjoyed reading your blogs about your Dad. It is impossible to fully comprehend what your parents went through in those concentration camps. What a great Dad and what a great heritage you have had. I am truly blessed that our paths crossed.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-38732033318496978152014-09-08T17:25:46.999-05:002014-09-08T17:25:46.999-05:00From Don Landry: Thanks for writing the series on ...From Don Landry: Thanks for writing the series on your dad. It was very educational. It also reminds you about how awful things were. I am glad that I got to know him, even a little.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-12574672215542597602014-09-07T22:16:44.616-05:002014-09-07T22:16:44.616-05:00From John W. Marshall III: I imagine you shed a fe...From John W. Marshall III: I imagine you shed a few tears writing that final episode. Maybe felt similar to reading the last words of a good book. It was very good. And it will always be there for the world to read and know. Great pic of him smiling, to end the series.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-73556370294736197602014-09-07T22:15:39.720-05:002014-09-07T22:15:39.720-05:00From Jimmy Russell: Thank you for writing these pi...From Jimmy Russell: Thank you for writing these pieces. They have certainly had an effect on me and they are an inspiration also. Our generation today could not survive such because we have had it so easy and in many ways we have lost our way as to what is truly important in the world.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-31065291105851178262014-09-07T22:14:41.095-05:002014-09-07T22:14:41.095-05:00From Tom Arceneaux: Thank you, Nico, for the inspi...From Tom Arceneaux: Thank you, Nico, for the inspiration (and the tears dripping on my keyboard). Your parents were wonderful people and I was honored to number them among my friends.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-61385831896388186112014-09-07T22:12:24.090-05:002014-09-07T22:12:24.090-05:00From Susan Kassman Greenberg: Thanks for sharing. ...From Susan Kassman Greenberg: Thanks for sharing. I think your parents were amazing.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-47036398034413960592014-09-07T22:11:45.003-05:002014-09-07T22:11:45.003-05:00From Philip Kopuit: Nico, you can be proud of the ...From Philip Kopuit: Nico, you can be proud of the work you have done, both the research as well as the writing and publishing your blogs. An amazing story. It taught me a lot about your father and the family history. I'm sure Louitje would have been proud of the work you have done. Thanks.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-74947453680048389902014-09-07T22:10:49.055-05:002014-09-07T22:10:49.055-05:00From Dana Svigel Schuster: Beautiful! I am in tear...From Dana Svigel Schuster: Beautiful! I am in tears. Sharing!Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-23786508909201840662014-09-07T22:10:09.154-05:002014-09-07T22:10:09.154-05:00From Francine Rapaport Nelson: It's great to h...From Francine Rapaport Nelson: It's great to have the memories.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-77603925701459641972014-09-07T22:09:26.036-05:002014-09-07T22:09:26.036-05:00From Maureen Wellen (to Elsa): What a great series...From Maureen Wellen (to Elsa): What a great series -- thanks for posting and to get to know your dad -- and brother -- better. And what a wonderful way to be sure he is remembered.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-88728534351484265162014-09-07T22:07:39.618-05:002014-09-07T22:07:39.618-05:00From Jackie Wellen: I remember him well. Lovely ma...From Jackie Wellen: I remember him well. Lovely man.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-28460293701218582272014-09-07T22:04:46.313-05:002014-09-07T22:04:46.313-05:00From Ann Bloxom Smith (blog share on Facebook): [N...From Ann Bloxom Smith (blog share on Facebook): [Nico's blog was] posted by my sweet friend, Elsa Van Thyn. Their father Louis was a beautiful man who managed to survive the concentration camps of WWII with a wounded but loving heart. He and his wife Rose Van Thyn (also a Holocaust survivor) continue to be inspirations to me and many others even years after their passing.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-6502259417633715612014-09-07T22:01:08.869-05:002014-09-07T22:01:08.869-05:00From Sandi Atkinson: Your dad would be exceedingly...From Sandi Atkinson: Your dad would be exceedingly proud of your writing about him, as well as having shared his story. It’s definitely a story that should be told time and time again. <br />I never met your parents, but they come to life in your words. It could not have been easy for you being their child, but you realize now just how blessed you were to have been their son.<br />The entire story of your father’s life is an amazing story of literally and figuratively rising from the ashes. You did him proud, Nico.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-9535348068521963942014-09-07T21:59:39.954-05:002014-09-07T21:59:39.954-05:00From Casey Baker: Thank you for the love you showe...From Casey Baker: Thank you for the love you showed your dad and for telling us all the things we didn't know. Plus, thank you for telling us about you and all the things we didn't know.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-29565102767290647362014-09-07T21:58:45.861-05:002014-09-07T21:58:45.861-05:00From Abby Bruno (Dad's youngest grandchild): T...From Abby Bruno (Dad's youngest grandchild): That was a tough one to read. Glad I did, though.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-3556838700247991842014-09-07T21:57:38.388-05:002014-09-07T21:57:38.388-05:00From Chuck Baker: Thanks so much for the series on...From Chuck Baker: Thanks so much for the series on your dad. Knowing him always gave me feeling of a connection to history. <br />Throughout the series I can't count the number of times I cried. I still cannot fathom how your mom and dad (or anyone) survived those horrors and then were able to live productive lives. If I ever had one of those fantasy dinners people talk about, your dad definitely would be on my guest list. Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-30677493024414836882014-09-07T21:56:01.471-05:002014-09-07T21:56:01.471-05:00From Patrick Booras: Great insight into your Dad&#...From Patrick Booras: Great insight into your Dad's life and journey in your written series.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-53850388922513686692014-09-07T21:55:05.040-05:002014-09-07T21:55:05.040-05:00From Maxie Hays: Awesome Nico, just awesome. What ...From Maxie Hays: Awesome Nico, just awesome. What a story! Your Dad was a wonderful man. You did an incredible job of telling the story. Brought tears to my eyes several times. Thank you for sharing this with us. God bless you and your family.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-52011993889254757822014-09-07T21:43:34.960-05:002014-09-07T21:43:34.960-05:00From Lonnie Dunn: Amazing tribute to your dad, Nic...From Lonnie Dunn: Amazing tribute to your dad, Nico. He was a lovable, precious, positive influence on so many people, including me. Thanks for sharing.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-48772403742789658122014-09-07T21:42:27.767-05:002014-09-07T21:42:27.767-05:00From Glenn Rodgers: Thanks for sharing. My neighbo...From Glenn Rodgers: Thanks for sharing. My neighbor growing up was a POW of the Germany army. I can't believe the horrible things those people did to the Jewish people and the POWs. The ones that lived to tell about it are about gone but they will never be forgotten as long as I live. May they all have the peace that they could not find in life.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-50698112588670369412014-09-07T21:41:16.982-05:002014-09-07T21:41:16.982-05:00From Jim Robinson: NIco, I have really enjoyed rea...From Jim Robinson: NIco, I have really enjoyed reading the almost daily blogs about your family. I am sure you and Elsa both take great pride, as you should, in what your mother and father accomplished in their lifetimes. Thanks for sharing, and Geaux Tigers!Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-17383265248103240662014-09-07T21:38:17.273-05:002014-09-07T21:38:17.273-05:00From Jesse Grubbs: I so enjoyed your latest blog. ...From Jesse Grubbs: I so enjoyed your latest blog. You, my friend, have so much love and history in your family that you should be extremely proud and blessed with all your family. I know I was not respectful to my dad at all times, but I see that as part of the growing-up process.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125402567351329247.post-60348418536697195842014-09-07T21:29:25.519-05:002014-09-07T21:29:25.519-05:00From Greg Pederson: What a great way to honor your...From Greg Pederson: What a great way to honor your dad, Nico, and after reading your blog it's obvious he was certainly worthy of honor. I'm in awe of everyone who survived the Holocaust and was able to find the strength to carry on living, and that your dad was able to do so while maintaining such a positive outlook is extraordinary.Nico Van Thynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072351355184106484noreply@blogger.com