On February 28th, nearly eleven months after we first arrived at San Pedro, our exchange was approved and the time had finally come for our release. The next seven weeks were spent at Zapatari prison while we awaited the arrival of a ship that would bring us home. While the conditions at Zapatari were far worse than San Pedro, we found that we could tolerate anything so long as we knew that it would soon lead to our release. Freedom was finally at our fingertips, we just had to be patient and wait. But by the end of March we were becoming worried about the negotiations of our exchange as we had still not been informed of a definite release date.
On April 1st we received the news that we knew was coming, but had hoped we would never hear. The last of the Republican forces had surrendered and Franco officially proclaimed victory. On April 22nd we finally received word of our release. In exchange for 167 Italian prisoners that had been captured by the British, Franco was to release 146 of the International prisoners, 71 of which were Americans. We were brought to the 300-foot-long bridge over the Bidassoa River, where we would cross over into southern France and our long awaited freedom. Although we had all come to endure this long journey together as one, each nationality was grouped together and crossed separately. When it was finally our turn, 71 Americans slowly marched across the bridge into freedom.
On April 1st we received the news that we knew was coming, but had hoped we would never hear. The last of the Republican forces had surrendered and Franco officially proclaimed victory. On April 22nd we finally received word of our release. In exchange for 167 Italian prisoners that had been captured by the British, Franco was to release 146 of the International prisoners, 71 of which were Americans. We were brought to the 300-foot-long bridge over the Bidassoa River, where we would cross over into southern France and our long awaited freedom. Although we had all come to endure this long journey together as one, each nationality was grouped together and crossed separately. When it was finally our turn, 71 Americans slowly marched across the bridge into freedom.
With each step I took I couldn’t help but think about all of my experiences during my time in Spain. Like my fellow soldiers I had entered the war drunk with power and eager to fight on behalf of the Republic. I was proud to represent my country and serve as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. However, a year of imprisonment had transformed us into a sober group of prisoners who had lost the passion and purpose for which we had come to fight for. Despite years of war and the loss of many lives, the Republic had crumbled at the hands of Franco. We had come to Spain to cease the spread of fascism, but in the end had failed to succeed. 2,800 Americans entered the war, yet only two-thirds would return home. The two major groups of American volunteers left Spain in December of 1938. However, those being held as prisoners of war would remain in Spain until the very end. The 71 men who I was released with, along with about 25 others, were among the first to be let go in April of 1939. About a dozen others were released in August of that same year, but the remaining 5 would not be freed until April of 1940.
Yet despite all of this, despite all of the losses and the suffering, I still believe that democracy was a battle worth fighting for. I like to think that my services to the Republic, and the services of my fellow volunteers, helped to initiate and insure the anti-fascist conscience of mankind. And it is for this reason that the men of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade will forever be remembered as leaving a legacy of courage and respect, and not of failure.
- James Ryan Jenkins