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…He hardly moves any longer. He extends his arm and takes my hand. I firmly grip it. A silence. Then, an inaudible voice — like a breath. Bending toward him, I hear, “Sing to me the Roses of Picardy.”

Softly, I begin — as if I am singing a lullaby. “Roses are shining in Picardy…”

I have difficulty singing. I look outside. The only thing that matters for him is the song, the memory. I finish the first verse. “’Tis the rose that I keep in my heart…”

I would let go of his hand, but he is still grasping me very tightly. Philippe is dead.

In a few moments, his body will join the others in the courtyard. What are the last words that he heard? His expression seems so calm. I close his eyes. Maybe he died in peace. This clasping of hands remains for me a sort of bridge between the living and the dead. A symbol that goes on…

I leave the barrack.

This Rose will never die. It will accompany me forever…

–excerpt from Lieutenant Bob Sheppard memoirs

See my blog post: I never knew him , but he’s a good friend of mine.

Reviewers: read the memoirs here

(You will need a userid and password – contact Dave for access)

Bob Sheppard – Missions Secrètes et Déportation 1939 – 1945

At the beginning of World War II Bob Sheppard, a young native Frenchman, escaped from German Nazi-occupied France and joined the S.O.E., the top-secret underground operation of the British military. With his highly specialized training, he parachuted back into occupied France on several secret missions. Captured more than once, Lieutenant Sheppard spent many years in different Nazi concentration camps. His memoirs offer an inside glimpse into the international underground organization not fully revealed in public until recent years. And his experience as an “N.N” prisoner — specifically marked for death — sheds more light on the Nazi system which created a workforce through enslavement, resulting in massive suffering and death.

Published in Paris, France, in 1998 by Editions Heimdal, Bob’s memoirs are currently being translated to English by David Lindstrom, in coordination with the Sheppard family.