Heroism Recognized Posthumously

Vindication is sweet--and even sweeter when it comes from the top.

This was the sentiment expressed by the children of a Portuguese diplomat posthumously honored this week in Washington for an act of courage that earned him only official disgrace and poverty while he lived.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches was awarded Portugal’s Order of Liberty medal by Dr. Mario Soares, the country’s president, in ceremonies at the Portuguese embassy Wednesday night. Four of de Sousa Mendes’ nine surviving children--including two from California, one from Canada and one from Portugal--were present at the ceremony.

“I think justice has prevailed,” said Sebastian Mendes, 63, of Saugus, a retired postal worker who waged a decades-long struggle with the help of other family members to clear his father’s name in his native land.

“We felt we’d never see the day. We thought maybe justice would never be done,” said John Abranches, 56, Mendes’ brother and an Oakland resident.

The drama that inspired the embassy ceremony began in 1940 when de Sousa Mendes, an attorney, was the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. While he held that post, the diplomat disobeyed the orders of his government and in three frantic days issued visas to about 30,000 persons, at least 10,000 of them Jews, fleeing the Nazi invasion of France. The visas allowed refugees to escape the war to officially neutral Portugal, which nonetheless was refusing visas to Jews and others who could not prove they were of “pure race.”

Because of his insubordination, de Sousa Mendes was speedily replaced by the Portuguese regime of dictator Antonio Salazar. He was stripped of his diplomatic position, forced into retirement without compensation and barred from practicing law. He died broke in 1954.

After the war, the diplomat’s courage was recognized in many countries and by scholars of the period. He was sometimes compared with Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who helped many Jews escape the Nazis and disappeared in the closing days of the war. But not until the middle of the 1970s did Portugal, which by then had returned to democratic government, begin the long process of rehabilitating de Sousa Mendes.

By then the de Sousa family--which totaled 14 children--had scattered around the world, but they maintained their links and their efforts to bring honor to their father.

Now, the two brothers said, they are looking forward to the day when another ceremony will be held--one celebrating their father’s moral courage in his native land.

Diabetic’s Efforts Lauded

Meanwhile, Terry Herst, the diabetic Pacific Palisades woman whose travails relating to a drunk-driving charge were reported in this section last month, is getting a bit of recognition today.

Herst and the Los Angeles chapter of the American Diabetic Assn. will be honored with a Los Angeles City Council resolution at 10 this morning. The resolution, sponsored by Councilwoman Joy Picus, recognizes Herst and the chapter for persuading the Los Angeles Police Department to produce a training film that describes how some diabetic symptoms can mimic signs of drunkenness such as sweating and shaking, a Picus spokesperson said.

Herst, who maintains that she was having an insulin reaction at the time of her arrest last year, is currently appealing her conviction.

A Home for Old Cats

Judith Lindley runs a retirement home for cats in Morongo Valley near Palm Springs. Currently she has 39 aged cats--up to 18 years old--along with an assortment of other animals, including a one-eyed pony and 10 chickens.

Not surprisingly, the cats eat.

Lindley estimates she’s dishing out 10 pounds of cat food a day. And while she doesn’t mind caring for the animals, the expense is getting to be a bit much--especially since two contributors who were contributing $30 a month have dropped their donations, she said in a telephone interview.

She began taking in cats in 1979, she said. Since then Lindley has established Animal Helpline--(619) 363-6511--as a hot line for people with pet problems. She offers, free of charge, a lost-and-found service, an animal placement service, minor first-aid advice and referral to other animal aid organizations and local veterinarians.

Lindley, who said she’s more comfortable with animals than people, said she’ll take in healthy animals from anywhere, as long as the owners bring them to her. Lindley added that she has a soft touch for older cats, which are often refused by other shelters.

Pets are often left out in the cold when their owners move to places that don’t allow pets, she said, citing one reason she started her feline old-age home. In such cases, people often want to stay in touch with their cat and will either drop by for visits or have Lindley update them on the cat’s condition. She also runs a foster feline program in which people sponsor a cat for a small monthly donation. The sponsor gets a photo of the cat, a short biography and periodic updates.

The War Against Drugs

The anti-drug war may not be commanding the headlines it was a year or so ago but efforts in the Los Angeles area continue to spring up. Here are a few that have crossed the desk this week:

The Rotary Club of Los Angeles reports that it has made a long-term, $100,000 yearly commitment to sponsor the city Police Department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in 16 Los Angeles elementary schools. Club president William L. Plunkett says that now the club is seeking companies and individuals who will contribute $6,250 per year to sustain the DARE program in other elementary schools.

Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson has already made appearances around town on behalf of his anti-drug Dickerson’s Rangers youth clubs. And he’s scheduled to make two more--May 30 at Harbor Regional Park and June 27 at Chatsworth Park. The clubs promote the “just say no” technique of drug prevention.

In Cerritos, College Hospital, a psychiatric care facility, is sponsoring a “Safe and Sober Graduation” contest at 15 Los Angeles and Orange county high schools. The hospital’s youth response unit is coordinating the contest which will be judged by representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Students Against Drunk Drivers, the National Council on Alcoholism and the California Highway Patrol. The hospital will award prizes of $2,000, $1,000 and $500 to the three schools determined to have the most effective programs.

And the California Department of Boating and Waterways this month has launched an “I Am a Sober Skipper” campaign, a pilot program in which boaters are being asked to display blue-and-white pennants lettered with the “Sober Skipper” motto.

The pennants are available through local representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or the U.S. Power Squadrons.

Harbinger of Season

If you want to know when commencement season has arrived, keep an eye on David Berman, veteran pharmacology professor at the USC School of Medicine.

Berman, featured in this column in 1983 when he was named outstanding teacher for the 18th time, has done it again.

The professor, a 1940 USC graduate, was selected by the medical school’s class of ’87 for the Kaiser-Permanente Teaching award--his 23rd honor for teaching excellence.