Delmer Berg

Del Berg
Born Einsley Delmer Berg
(1915-12-20) December 20, 1915[1]
Anaheim, California, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation Farmer, soldier, trade union activist/organizer
Known for Last surviving veteran of the XV International Brigade

Einsley Delmer "Del" Berg (born December 20, 1915) is an American soldier and union organizer who volunteered to serve with the XV International Brigade (nicknamed Brigada Abraham Lincoln (the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) during the Spanish Civil War.[2][3][4]

Biography

Born in Anaheim, California, Berg briefly trained with the Oregon National Guard prior to going to Spain in 1937. He served in the United States Army during World War II.[5][6] He became a member of the Communist Party of the United States while in a Spanish hospital, while recuperating from a shrapnel wound to his liver.[4] He remained an interested and active party member up to the time of his last interview in 2014.[3][5]

Berg, who was raised on a farm, worked as a farm worker, cement finisher and landscape gardener, in the years following his demobilization. He fathered two sons from two different marriages. He began serving as a union organizer in the 1950s, and, in a 2007 interview, described the steps he took to discourage the attention of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Berg became an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), when he was elected the Vice President of the Stanislaus County branch.[4] In a 2007 interview with the Union Democrat Berg described delivering a petition to the racist county sheriff, demanding his resignation. Berg described testifying at a hearing in Washington, D.C. on farm conditions as a representative of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.[4]

As his comrades died Berg was sought out for more frequent interviews. Berg's decision to volunteer to travel to a foreign country to fight fascism has been described as symbolic and inspirational.[7] He was interviewed for an episode of the PBS show History Detectives to provide background about the experience of American volunteers when a segment was focused around an artifact from the Spanish Civil War.[8] As of 2007, Berg lives in Columbia, California.[4] He turned 100 in December 2015.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Nadya Connolly (October 9, 2013). "The Lincolns Are Leaving Us". Anderson Valley Advertiser. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  2. ↑ Nadya Williams (July 2, 2012). "California Vets: Del Berg and Jim Benét". The Volunteer. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Dan Kaufman (2015-03-13). "The Last Volunteer". The New York Times Magazine. p. MM38. Retrieved 2015-03-16. Del Berg, 99, is the last known surviving veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a contingent of nearly 3,000 Americans who fought to defend the democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Cat Sieh (2007-05-10). "Activist remains staunch as ever at 91". Union Democrat. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  5. 1 2 Henry Millstein (2014-01-28). "Spanish Civil War vet still struggling at 98". People's World. Retrieved 2015-03-16. Del's involvement with the Communist movement goes back to before his time in Spain. After a brief stint in the Oregon National Guard, where he got military experience that served him as a Brigadista, he became involved with the Young Communist League in Los Angeles-in part because the YCL could help him get to Spain.
  6. ↑ Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives-Delmer Berg Berg profile, alba-valb.org; accessed January 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ Nadya Connolly Williams (2013-10-09). "The Lincolns Are Leaving Us". Anderson Valley Advertiser. Retrieved 2015-03-16. So what is the legacy of the Lincolns? Beyond this past history, men like Del Berg guide and inspire us to stand up and take action for what is Just. Around the world today, the sacrifice and courage of the International Brigades are remembered, honored and passed on to the young.
  8. ↑ "PBS'a History Detectives: A Father's Forgotton Tribute in a Spanish Civil War Eulogy". History Detectives. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  9. ↑ "Feliz 100 cumpleaños, Delmer Berg" (in Spanish). foroporlamemoria.info. December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
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