Josef Nedvěd

Josef Nedvěd, a retired private, was born on 19 June, 1931, in the village of Bohunice. During the war, his sister worked as a slave laborer in Kassel. During the repressions following the assassination of Heydrich, he personally witnessed an incident, when a German soldier didn't report a shotgun that he had found during a search taking place at his neighbor's place, whereby he saved that neighbor's life. He also recalls the arrival of the U.S. Army and of the Russian soldiers, who at the end of the war were allegedly looking for and shooting German soldiers who were hiding in the forests. After the war, in 1952, he entered the military service of the Border Guard. He completed his basic military training at a military training facility near the castle of Velhartice and then served for one year at the border. He also remembers one incident that happened during his time of service. The incident happened in a different company of the Border Guard. A private by the name of Řanda shot a young lieutenant and then fled across the border himself. During the same period, the border was secured by army engineers. After one year, he was transferred to the Slovak town of Šamorín, where he trained horses for the border guard. In the absence of veterinarians, he would even perform veterinary tasks. When he was returning home, he fell behind his colleagues as he stopped at home to pick up his civilian clothes. This led to the State Police being alerted on suspicion of a possible illegal border crossing. He spent two years and seven months in military service. After the war he worked in a foundry.

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