General Emil Boček turned 100 years old on 25. January. He was a Brno native and the last remaining airman of Czechoslovak Royal Air Force. On 25. March he passed away.
When he was 16, he illegally escaped the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and he joined the Czechoslovak foreign army in France. Later he became one of the youngest recruited in to the RAF.
He was an aircraft mechanic in the 312th Fighter Squadron. From 1944, he served as a fighter pilot in B Squadron of the Czechoslovak 310th Fighter Squadron. He was credited with 26 operational flights, flying almost 74 hours.
Although he was a hero and fought in the resistance, the Communists frowned that he was a member of the non-communist resistance and he left he military in 1946.
He had owned a car repair shop in Brno but he had to give up ownership when Czechoslovakia nationalised private property following the 1948 coup. He continued to work at the shop and was never persecuted by the state.
The general was awarded the Order of the White Lion of Military Group, 3rd class in 2010. In 2017 he was awarded the Order of the White Lion of the First Class Military Group for extraordinary services to the defence and security of the state and excellent combat activities.
Following his passing, Prime Minister Fiala said that "General Boček was fighting for our country to be democratic, free and independent."
Here are two short videos, in Czech, that I found out on YouTube.
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