MY FRIEND A/ND COMRADE

BY STEVE NELSON

Former Lieutenant-Colonel, 15th Brigade

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HESE letters of my closest friend and comrade, Joe Dallet, who gave his life in the struggle against fascism

s in Spain, are so warm, so inspiring and so clear politically,

that they hardly need an introduction. In all the letters included in this pamphlet, written between March and September 19, one feels the same strong desire on the part of Joe to get “into action.” The desire to get “into action” is not an adventurous impulse but rather is motivated by strong political conviction.

On our way to Spain, a group of 25 of us was arrested in France. During this time all of Joe's comrades in the group, as well as the French people, saw in him an out- standing fighter for democracy. He did not hesitate to tell the French court: “Yes, we are going to Spain, we are going there to assure the Spanish people that they are not fighting single-handed against Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, but, on the contrary, that they have the support of people from all countries.”

Every time the group of volunteers was taken from Per- pignan to Cerette for examination, Joe would look at the beautiful Pyrenees mountains and would say: '

“Look, we are just four miles away from there. We will get there some day.”

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