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I am and will still be a staunch anti-fascist and will oppose war to the same extent as before I went to Spain, and after I returned to my country. I know that my life has been somewhat different from some others during my time on Earth, but it has always been an honest effort, and has fulfilled the
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of
Finnish ancestry. He completed one year of high school and then studied at the B.F. Brown Junior High School, where he took an elective course in printing. He then worked as a blacksmith's helper at a granite quarry on top of Rollstone Hill in Fitchburg, where a massive glacial boulder stood (it
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On August 26, 2009, Mattson became the third surviving
Lincoln vet to take advantage of one of the key provisions of Spain's controversial "Law of Historical Memory," which allows veterans of the International Brigades to acquire Spanish citizenship without renouncing their other
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On
September 6, 2009, Mattson was guest of honor at a dinner organized by the Friends and Family of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade at the Centro Vasco Restaurant on West 23rd Street, New York City.
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I now feel that the decision to volunteer was the most important single thing that I have done. We helped wake the world up to the danger of war, and allowed (the Allies) to prepare somewhat.
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I am going to accept this citizenship for not only the guys who are buried in Spain, there's a lot of them, but the guys that are buried in the United States.
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In the summer of 2010 Mattson broke his femur and caught pneumonia. He moved to the JFK Hospital in Lake Worth, Florida, where he died on
January 11, 2011.
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247:. Later he was sent to the Pacific as part of the army of occupation in Japan after the close of hostilities. He attained the rank of Staff Sergeant.
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Once in France, he boarded a small wine-transporting boat that the small businessman risked losing (along with his life) in the
Mediterranean port of
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140:, Mattson was one of four Fitchburg volunteers who went to Spain in a clandestine manner to help the Spanish people defend the legally elected
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On March 30, 2008, Mattson was one of 11 veterans of the
Lincoln Brigade present at the dedication of a monument to the Brigade on the
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The ceremony took place in the office of
Fernando Villalonga, Spanish Consul General in New York. Mattson is quoted as saying:
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239:. He graduated with his class but was not permitted to fly because of his political activities. He was ordered to the
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Mattson worked as a printer in New York until his retirement. He was an activist in Local 6 of the
Printers Union.
88:(September 17, 1916 – January 11, 2011) was an American labor organizer, social activist, and Veteran of the
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218:, then we had a meeting at the end there and she spoke." He said that she was braver than either one of them (
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teaching that my immigrant parents gave me: 'Try to leave the Earth in better condition than you found it.'
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In Spain, he was in infantry training for about two weeks and was then assigned to the XIII Brigade
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335:"Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Spanish Civil War History and Education: Matti August Mattson"
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During World War II, Mattson joined the US Army and was trained as a pilot in the
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is now on the small triangle on the Upper Common). He lived on Mount Elam Road.
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About his service as a volunteer in the
Spanish Civil War, Mattson has said:
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On
January 29, 2010, Mattson was honored with the President's Medal by
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Matti August Mattson (record at Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives site)
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On August 26, 2009, Mattson was made a citizen of Spain. According to
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Dan Kaufman. "La Despedida: A Lost Memoir of the Spanish Civil War."
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against the Spanish generals' betrayal, aided by their backers
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FSC to honor Spanish Civil War veteran at Winter Commencement
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I heard her when we left Spain in 1938. We marched down the
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at its Commencement ceremonies. On this occasion he said:
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Letter from Matti Mattson to Georgia Wever, March 2010
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He returned to the United States in December, 1938.
484:. West Palm Beach, FL. January 14, 2011. p. 4B
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573:"Spain Gives Citizenship to a Fighter of Franco."
521:. Fort Lauderdale, FL. January 14, 2011. p. 9
364:"Spain Gives Citizenship to a Fighter of Franco."
460:Fitchburg State College, Winter Commencement 2010
206:, "La Pasionaria", speak. In 2008, Mattson said:
180:as a truck driver on the Southern Front. After
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627:United States Army personnel of World War II
152:. He sailed for Spain on the SS Washington.
112:During the Great Depression, he joined the
35:Matti Mattson pictured on September 6, 2009
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559:The story of a Spanish Civil War veteran.
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622:United States Army Air Forces soldiers
202:before they left Spain, Mattson heard
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602:People from Fitchburg, Massachusetts
445:"Matti Mattson, Citizen of Spain."
637:Members of the Communist Party USA
632:American people of Finnish descent
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198:At a march and ceremony for the
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612:Abraham Lincoln Brigade members
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16:American activist (1916–2011)
617:United States Army soldiers
412:New Typo Unit (Spring 2008)
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519:South Florida Sun Sentinel
449:December 2009, p. 2, video
124:and establish a system of
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368:August 27, 2009, p. A26.
258:Mattson was a member of
106:Fitchburg, Massachusetts
55:Fitchburg, Massachusetts
423:"Berkeley California",
397:"Papa, Mac and Barack"
302:Fitchburg State College
241:Army Corps of Engineers
90:Abraham Lincoln Brigade
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200:International Brigades
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122:Unemployment Insurance
114:Young Communist League
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425:Veljeysviesti Online
136:Strongly opposed to
104:Mattson was born in
86:Matti August Mattson
23:Matti August Mattson
607:American communists
482:The Palm Beach Post
479:"Mattson, Matti A."
337:. 10 December 2019.
118:Communist Party USA
575:The New York Times
465:2010-05-27 at the
432:2011-07-17 at the
384:2010-02-06 at the
280:of December 2009,
260:Veterans for Peace
243:and served in the
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51:September 17, 1916
399:New York Observer
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67:(2011-01-11)
597:2011 deaths
592:1916 births
267:Embarcadero
220:John McCain
178:Intendencia
586:Categories
566:The Nation
322:References
251:Later life
100:Background
47:1916-09-17
515:"Mattson"
216:Barcelona
150:Mussolini
463:Archived
430:Archived
382:Archived
212:Diagonal
182:Brunete
138:Fascism
92:in the
146:Hitler
314:Death
527:2022
490:2022
222:and
157:Sète
148:and
62:Died
41:Born
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343:^
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