Dad and mom had always tears in their eyes when they recalled the past, because it was truly a fight for survival
Viera Berkešová was born to Michal and Anna Mihalik on October 20, 1946 in Žarnovica. Her parents sheltered American pilots in their gamekeeper´s lodge from September till November 1944. After the war ended, one of the pilots came to thank them and became a godfather of their daughter Viera. Under the threat of investigation and following persecutions by the ruling communist regime, was Mihálik family in 1950s forced to end the correspondence with Charles Edison. Since the end of the war, they met for the first time in 1972, when the former pilot visited Czechoslovakia. Even though he died shortly afterwards, after the 1989 both families resumed their mutual contact. Michal and Anna Mihálik lived to a great age and both died in 2000. Viera Berkešová retired in 1999 and recently lives in Hriňová. She proudly keeps memory of her parents alive and archives all documents and the story about how they helped two American pilots during the Second World War.
