Last farewell to Major General Ivan O. Schwarz
06.02.2018 / 14:02 | Aktualizováno: 07.02.2018 / 17:18
On 2 February 2018, the official funeral of the Czechoslovak war veteran Major General Ivan Otto Schwarz, who passed away at the age of 94 in London on 4 January, was held at the Military Cemetery in Brookwood.
Major General Schwarz was a member of the 311th Czechoslovak Bomber Squadron of the British Royal Air Force during WWII and participated, among other acts of bravery, in the sinking of the German ship Alsterufer in the Bay of Biscay in December 1943. He was awarded many military decorations, including in June 2017, when he was presented with the Medal for Bravery by the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman.
The dignified last farewell to Major General Schwarz was attended by many important guests including: The Slovak Minister of Defence, H.E. Petr Gajdoš; the Czech Ambassador Libor Sečka; H.E. the Slovak Ambassador Ĺubomír Rehák; Major General Jaromír Šebesta, Commander of the Czech Air Force; Major General Emil Boček, a WWII veteran; Major General Ĺubomír Svoboda, Commander of the Slovak Air Force; Brigadier General Vladimír Šimko, Chief of the Military Office of the President of the Slovak Republic; Lieutenant General Pavel Marko, 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic; Colonel Jiří Svatoš and Colonel Ján Goceliak, Czech and Slovak Defence Attachés. The British side was represented by Air Vice-Marshal Edward Stringer CB, CBE, Assistent Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations).
Numerous speeches by the dignitaries were followed with the Slovak, Czech and British national anthems and the laying of wreaths and flowers at the graveside. The prayers were led by the military chaplain of the Slovak Republic, Maj Vladimír Varga, after which the military last post was played on a trumpet and condolences were paid to the family. An honour guard from the Czech and Slovak Armies was present throughout the funeral.
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in London would like to express to Major General Schwarz ´s family and friends its sincere and deep sympathy once again.
If you wish to learn more about Major General Schwarz ´s life, please click on this link (in CZ): http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/svet/2351890-zemrel-general-ivan-otto-schwarz-za-valky-potopil-nemeckou-lod-alsterufer
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Last farewell to Major General Ivan O. Schwarz, 2 February 2018, Brookwood
