DEAR ABBY: Many times over the years I have meant to write to you to express how grateful I am to live in this country and be able to express myself freely.
When I was a corporal in the U.S. Army in 1947, as an information and education specialist, I had the honor of escorting a female Jewish doctor from Schweinfurt, Germany, back to her home town in Trutnov, Czechoslovakia. She had been interned by the Nazis from 1933 until after the liberation in 1945, and then in a displaced persons camp until I escorted her back to her former home.
She made such an impression on me, telling me what she'd had to endure all those years. Then, 30 years later, in 1977 she unknowingly walked into Maas Bros. department store and bought a color TV from me. The flashback was there, as if by God's wish. It had special meaning to me being of Irish-German descent.
I am now a 73-year-old senior citizen, privileged to live with this beautiful memory. It makes me more compassionate, knowing what the Jewish people went through at the hands of those insane madmen.
Thank you, Dear Abby, for letting me express my gratitude. -- VICTOR H. COLLAR, ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.
DEAR VICTOR: Thank you for expressing it.