A few days after returning to Miami, Eitan headed over to his father’s apartment to recount with him his most recent trip to Israel. Sitting on the balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Eitan answered each and every question his father had for him. He described the current state of Nof Kinneret. He told him all about Yehoshua, the grandson of the famous Jan Gruber. He offered play-by-play detail of his trip to the prime minister’s office. He also for the first time told his father the details of Lany Kovalenko, how a woman named Vera helped him uncover the horrible truth about her, and how he and the Israelis used that information to influence the US president.
Normally Eitan’s father would have interrupted multiple times to ask various questions. But on this day, he was so riveted by his son’s experience that he simply sat mesmerized while Eitan spoke. He thought, now the mantle has truly been passed. With great emotion in his voice, Michael said, “My father helped one group of survivors get to Palestine and make a new life in the State of Israel. And now my son helped save tens of thousands of Jews from the same cursed lands and brought them home to Israel. In my life, I have never been more proud.”
Eitan arose and moved closer to his father. Hugging him, he said, “Grandpa inspired me. But you raised me to do the right thing. This was my dream too, and now it is part of the shared legacy of our family.”
Michael smiled and leaned back in his chair. Eitan once again sat down and looked out at the shimmering waters of the Atlantic. Seeing contentment on his son’s face, Michael said, “Tell me one more time about how the prime minister asked to hear Father’s story.”