Einsley Delmer Berg | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 20, 1915 Anaheim,Orange County,California, U.S. |
| Died | February 29, 2016 (2016-03-01) (aged 100) Columbia, California, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  Spanish Republic United States of America |
| Service | Oregon National Guard International Brigades United States Army |
| Years of service | 1937–1939 (Spanish Civil War) 1942–1945 (World War II) |
| Unit | 76th Field Artillery Regiment |
| Battles / wars | Spanish Civil War |
| Other work |
|
Einsley Delmer "Del" Berg (December 20, 1915 – February 28, 2016)[1][2] was an American soldier and union organizer who volunteered to serve with theXV International Brigade (nicknamed theAbraham Lincoln Brigade) during theSpanish Civil War. He was the last known surviving veteran of the Lincoln Brigade.[3][4]
Born inAnaheim, California, Berg was raised on a farm nearManteca, and then worked as a teenager on a farm inOregon.[5] He later said his family's poverty helped radicalize him. At 21, he joined theYoung Communist League, which was one of the organizations recruiting volunteers for the Spanish Civil War.[6] He briefly trained with theOregon National Guard before going toSpain in 1937. In August 1938, after eight months of combat, he was wounded inValencia when fascist planes bombed a monastery he was staying at. Shrapnel from the explosions penetrated his liver.[7] While convalescing at a Valencia hospital, Berg met a group of Americans who led him to join a newly formed branch of theCommunist Party USA.[5] He remained an interested and active Party member up until his last interview in 2014.[4][8] He served in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II and was stationed inNew Guinea and onMorotai Island.[8][9]
Following his demobilization, Berg returned toModesto, California and found work where he could. He was a farm laborer for 20 years.[6] He fathered two sons from two different marriages. He began serving as a union organizer in the 1950s, working with theUnited Farm Workers.[6] He represented theAgricultural Workers Organizing Committee inWashington, D.C. hearings on farm conditions.[5] He became an official of theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when he was elected vice president of theStanislaus County branch. He once delivered a petition to the county's racist sheriff, demanding his resignation.[5] During theSecond Red Scare, Berg was often harassed for his political activism. In a 2007 profile in theUnion Democrat, he recalled the steps he took to evade and discourage the attention ofFBI agents.
As the last survivor of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade, Berg was sought out frequently for interviews. His decision to volunteer to fight fascism in a foreign country was characterized as inspirational.[6] In an episode of thePBS showHistory Detectives focused on an artifact from the Spanish Civil War, he provided background about the experience of American volunteers.[10]
In his final decade, Berg lived inColumbia, California.[5] He became a centenarian in December 2015.[11] He died two months later on February 28, 2016.[1][2][12]
On March 25, 2016, approximately a month after Berg's death,U.S. SenatorJohn McCain published an op-ed inThe New York Times saluting Berg and his comrades who had fought for the values they believed in, both in Spain and in the U.S. when they returned home.[13]
Delmer Berg, 100, died Sunday at home in Columbia.
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.
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.
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 theYoung Communist League in Los Angeles—in part because the YCL could help him get to Spain.
He became the last known survivor after John Hovan of Rhode Island died in 2014, according to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.
