101-year-old Falcons fan heading to Berlin for game vs. Colts

It’s that Margol is 101 years old. He’s already experienced so much, including some things that can be produced only during war.

Margol, a Dunwoody resident, is one of five veterans of World War II who were flown to Berlin on Thursday as part of its partnership with the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit focused on helping veterans and their families with various programs.

Delta doesn’t typically fly to Berlin. This was a special flight the airline does for certain events, this time the Falcons’ first game in Germany. There were two flights, one Wednesday in a 282-seat Airbus A330, and the other Thursday in a 226-seat Boeing 767.

Thursday’s flight featured the five World War II veterans, their families and support personnel, some members of Best Defense Foundation, some Falcons fans, some Colts fans and cheerleaders, and some who wondered what the heck was going on with the party to celebrate the veterans and the Falcons at gate E6 before the plane was boarded for its nine-hour flight.

Before this trip, Margol had never been to Berlin. He said the closest he came happened a few months ago when he was part of a military group that went to Cologne.

Margol’s first trip to Germany, more than 80 years ago — yes, 80 years ago, on April 29, 1945 — is one he can still recite the details of with clarity and vividness.

His unit, which included his twin brother, Howard, were moving toward Munich with their cannons to provide infantry support. Ten miles outside Munich they were ordered to pull to the right side of the road and set up in a small clearing.

Everyone in the unit began to smell something strange.

One of the jeep drivers said it must be from a chemical factory on the left side of the road.

Howard walked over to Hilbert and told him the smell reminded him of when they would cook whole chickens over a gas flame. As the bird would cook, some of the skin and fat would melt.

Hilbert asked his sergeant if he and Howard could cross the road and investigate what could be causing the noxious smell.

They were given permission but told not to be gone long because they could be ordered to move toward Munich at any moment.

Off the Margols went.

Ten minutes later they walked into a large open area, where they saw a line of railroad box cars.

As they passed between two of the cars, all of which had open doors, they saw the one on the right was filled with what Hilbert and Howard thought were dead people. Because the deceased were wearing striped, pajamalike clothing, Hilbert and Howard assumed they were prisoners.

Hilbert had with him a small box camera they had found a couple of weeks earlier. The only film they had was what was in the camera.

Hilbert took a photo of the bodies, including one whose legs were hanging out of the train.

Nearby, they saw a two-story building with a gate.

The Margols saw other U.S. soldiers going through the gate.

They had discovered the Dachau Concentration Camp.

As they walked through the camp, they saw dead, naked bodies stacked like cordwood. The Germans had run out of coal. They couldn’t burn the bodies so they left them.

It was those bodies that had produced the smell.

“We thought it looked like it was almost like they were setting up a Hollywood movie or something,” Hilbert Margol said. “We had seen a lot of death and disruption before we ever got there. To us, it was just more of the same.”

The photo of the boxcars taken by the Margols is now at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Hilbert has given many talks, including the one in Cologne, about his experiences in the war and being among those who found Dachau.

They are part of the many experiences Margol has lived. Margol seems to want to see more.

He’s quick to point out he will turn 102 on Feb. 22.

Margol also predicted the Falcons will beat the Colts on Sunday.

He’ll be there, in a suite with the other veterans at Olympic Stadium, watching.

It’s another experience.