<TITLE>20. Par 67-69</TITLE>L-67 So she'd set her crutches out, and then she'd take her little shoulder, and raise her foot up like that, and shove it out like that (You see?) with her--with her shoulder like that. She'd set her crutches out, and then she'd go... And that'd throw that leg out, and that's how she walked.
And I seen her. She was about ten years old, something like that, her little ragged looking blond hair, and her little baby looking face, and her little skirts... She probably didn't have on any beneath skirt. She just was... And that skirt was all ragged and little rags hanging from it, poor. And I found out later she was a little war orphan. Her mother and father had been killed by the Germans during the time of the war, and they was just taking care of her wherever she lived. She lived in a tent.

L-68 And so she looked at me, and her little lips got to quivering. And she ducked her little head down like that, and I seen the tears fall down from her, which was kind of...?... And I said... I couldn't speak...?... No interpreter or nothing and they couldn't... And I--I--I didn't know what to do, and I was just standing there, and they was trying to push me on, and I motioned like that, not to do it, watching that child.
And they're very polite. When all of them get in the service in the afternoon, they been give me some of that old Finnish money, you know. And I'd get out there and buy candies or cookies or ever what it was, and I'd have a string of kids for a city block following me. And then they'd thank me, the word "Kiitos" is "thank you," "Kiitos." And they'd take their little skirts, them little girls, and pull their little skirts out, and say, "Kiitos." Like that, thanking you, you know when I'd give them these things. I just had kids from all over the country. I love them. I got two at home. I'd like to have them in my arms now. Just... I love the little old fellows.

L-69 And so--and so I--I'd seen that little thing. And she wanted to come to me. And I know she did. And I just stood still, and by the way, this was the same suit I had on. This suit come from Finland. And so I had on this suit. And so I was... Just stopped and she looked at me, and she put her little head down again. She thought she'd done something wrong when she stepped out there and me coming through. And I looked at her like that.
I said, "Do you want to come over here?" 'Course she couldn't understand what I was saying. And I motioned my finger to her like that. And she looked up at me, kind of a little bitty smile come across her face. And she looked at me again. I thought she was going to start... See what I was going to say. I just looked at her. I just stood still, and she put her little crutches out, and she took her little shoulder and throwed that leg out, and she kept coming on over.
I thought, "God bless that poor, little, crippled mortal." And here she come across, and she... I just never said a thing. Just stood with my hands like this. And she come right up to the side of me like that. She stopped, set her little crutches down, held her little head down like that for a few minutes, just about that high. She held her head down. She reached over and got a hold of, this same coat, and caught it up like that, kissed the pocket, dropped it back down. And she looked up at me, her little lips quivering, tears running down out of her little blue eyes. She pulled her little skirt out, said, "Kiitos. 'Thank you.'" Oh, my, my heart swelling, I looked at the little thing.


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