The Last One

[Gregory Matthews]

On August 20, 2018, Federal Agents rushed 95 year-old Jakiw Palij (JP) onto a chartered air ambulance. which immediately rose to altitude and headed East.  

Almost 70 years earlier JP had entered the United States and established a new life.  In 2004 a Federal Judge had ordered him deported as a Nazi war criminal.  Under U.S. law such could not be tried for crimes committed during WWII.  The only remedy lawfully available was to deport them.  But, other nations refused to accept them and Germany claimed the JP was not a German citizen.  In addition, due to age, some were not well enough to survive a flight to Europe.  The result was that the many of these people died before the U.S. could deport them.

Years were spent in attempting to get Germany to agree to accept JP.  Finally an agreement was reached, in principle.  But, was JP well enough to survive the flight?  An air ambulance was chartered along with clinical personnel to provide clinical care if required during the flight and on August 20 it took off.

The question now was:  Would Germany actually allow JP to enter the country.  As the aircraft was monitored in flight the point was reached where it could not be told to return to the U.S.  Then the aircraft was granted permission to enter German airspace followed by permission to land.  Then the radio message came:  JP had passed through customs and immigration and had entered Germany.

No Nazi war criminal was no longer living in the U.S.