DEAR ABBY: May I add my story to your acts of kindness?
Two years ago, a friend who now lives in Israel came to visit me with her family. I had known her from my hometown back in Orleans, France. One evening, while I was surrounded by my grown children and my husband, she told me a story that I had never heard. She said my father (Leon Levenson), now deceased, had saved the lives of her entire family -- seven people -- during World War II by helping them hide their Jewish identity in order to avoid being killed by the invading Nazis.
After hearing this story, I realized that my father, who was short in stature, had been a giant among men and was truly one of those "unsung heroes" who never tell their stories.
I thank God for the opportunity to have known such a person in my lifetime. -- BETIE NEWTON, GLENDALE, ARIZ.
DEAR MRS. NEWTON: And I thank God that we're living in a country where people will never encounter the horror that was faced by your friend and your father. He was a man of great courage and conviction. Thank you for writing.