Silver City: The Love of a Grandpa Facing Death to Save His Kids

It’s a bit of an inside joke in Washington, D.C., when a controversial legislator or top government official suddenly resigns with the platitude, “I want to spend more time with my kids and grandkids.” It’s a great excuse and sometimes not particularly welcomed by the grown-up kids and grandkids who have gotten used to grandpa and grandma being busy, famous and away.

But it also reveals a human universal truth about the realization of even the famous that their family is, after all, the most important element in their lives. In the past weeks, the depth of grandparent love is being displayed in war zones around the globe, with grandparents showing breathtaking bravery and willingness to sacrifice even their lives for their families’ survival.

Such was the story that was reported by CBS News on “60 Minutes” Oct. 15 about a grandpa and grandma, who heard from their son that he and his family were huddling in a safe room in their small Israeli kibbutz near the border of Gaza. They said  they could see and hear hundreds of Hamas terrorists invading their homes, slaughtering and carrying away their neighbors and friends, shooting at them even from the porch of their own home. The son told his dad that no Israeli security forces had responded to their pleas for help. The father, a retired general of the Israel Defense Forces, said he and grandma had only one thought: to take their pistols, jump in their car and head south to rescue their children.

There were many obstacles and many delays, including the need to save the lives of several Israeli young people fleeing from the massacre at the desert concert where the Hamas invasion began, and to take soldiers bleeding to death to medical facilities. They ran through official blockades of Israeli border guards telling them not to go farther south.  They picked up some other grandparents along their way and got immeshed in several fire fights as they neared and then entered the kibbutz of their young son. But finally, after hours without phone cell connection, their granddaughters heard a knock and a voice at the safe room’s door.

“Grandpa’s here!” cried the until-then silenced three-year-old, who burst into tears.

“Grandpa, Grandma is here!” The magic words for grandparents and grandchildren alike! The cries and laughter of joy fill their hearts! Literature in every language and from every age reveal that special bond of grandparenthood — the unique relationship, the precious memories, the fulfillment of that most human destiny to create and shape progeny.

It doesn’t take a war time to bring out the love and willingness of a grandparent to sacrifice all to save their children. But the many stories coming from the war zones from all sides are inspiring, poignant and meaningful. They make life worth fighting for.

tagsGaza bordergrandfathergrandparentsIsrael-Hamas Warkibbutzsacrifice