By ALICE von HILDEBRAND
The two episodes related here are factual and teach us a noble lesson: Generosity has both its reward and its price.
When the Germans brutally invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914, two young men closely bound by a deep friendship since their grammar school days were both immediately enlisted in the small but heroic Belgian army. One of them was married and his wife had recently given birth to a boy.
The German invasion was of such brutality that it was even acknowledged by a German general: They had to win fast and the only road to immediate success was to crush the Belgian resistance delaying their entrance into France from the north not protected by the famous Maginot line. Germany and Belgium had signed a nonaggression treaty, which the Germans broke. The Germans became infuriated by the heroic defense put up by the small Belgian army.
The two friends happened to meet briefly and the young father, placed at the front line where the casualties were extremely high, expressed his grief and his despair at the thought that any day, any hour, he might be killed and leave behind a very young widow and a baby orphan.
Without a moment’s hesitation, his friend — placed in the rear of the Belgian forces — offered to change places with him. He was neither a husband nor a father, and his death would not have the same tragic consequences. The first, deeply moved by his friend’s generosity, accepted his offer. They went to their officer who agreed to have them change places. The very next morning, the Germans launched a surprise attack in the rear: The young father was instantaneously killed, leaving, as he feared, a very young widow and a few months old baby. The noble and generous friend survived the whole war. His generosity had saved him.
A few years after the end of World War II, my first cousin — very close to me and my siblings because he and his sister always spent their summer with us at the Belgian seashore — was an officer in the Belgian air force. He was a young husband and a very young father. Having been given a few days’ vacation, he, his wife, and young son were strolling in the beautiful public park in Antwerp, the city where they lived.
Accidentally, Marc bumped into a colleague of his who said to him: “It is fortunate that I meet you. I just received the notice that there is a tragedy in my family and my presence is badly needed. I happen to be on duty tomorrow. Would you have the kindness to replace me? Of course I will repay you later, by replacing you at your convenience.”
Marc — always generous and kind — agreed to go to the camp the next morning. The duty was to test a new plane. He and a copilot took off: The plane was not a mile up the air when it crashed. Both officers were instantaneously killed. A dog in the back of the plane survived.
Marc’s generosity had cost him his life.
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