Survivor from an Unknown War

In 1954, a janitor for a Pennsylvania manufacturing company needed to see a doctor for a severe cold. The man had recently immigrated and spoke broken English. After finishing dinner he walked three blocks from his home outside of Philadelphia to the office of Dr. Crane. The physician routinely examined the patient and prescribed medication.

The man's humble manner drew no special attention, but as he began to speak, an irrepressible determination and intelligence caught the medical practitioner by surprise. The doctor invited the janitor to return the next evening after office hours for tea. A snack and ensuing conversation initiated a continuing friendship between the physician and the sweeper, Isakjan Narzikul.

As the two men came to meet the families and learn about the backgrounds of one another, it became obvious that Narzikul had lived through events not dreamed of by most people of the world and knew secrets suppressed by entire nations. One nephew who became especially interested in those secrets was Stephen L. Crane. Stephen Crane asked Isakjan Narzikul whether he was ready to tell the full details of his life. Narzikul was ready.