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Dodging bombs and bullets and surrounded by German enemy soldiers, the 19-year-old US Army soldier. Daniel Zane had a purpose in mind when he ran 73 meters through an open field on March 2, 1945. A fellow soldier was wounded.
Zane brought the injured man to safety, an act that earned him a Bronze Star.
A long life later, 94-year-old Zane was once again unshakable, never leaving his wife Valerie Zane’s bed for the past year and a half as he approached the end of his seven-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease and dementia. .
In March, like the new coronavirus in nursing homes in the United States, Valerie Zane’s unit in Haverford, Pennsylvania, had not yet had any cases, but decided to close its doors to visitors.
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To continue seeing her, he moved out of his independent housing department and moved into a unit under his hospice room. And she stayed, even after a nurse there tested positive for the virus, which causes Covid-19 disease.
Daniel Zane did not want his 71-year-old wife to die alone.
Weeks after moving, Daniel Zane became fatigued and had trouble breathing. He was taken to a hospital.
On April 15, the day after her test tested positive for Covid-19, Valerie Zane died. Daniel Zane was no longer responding.
He died two days later.
“He was someone whose loyalty to others, and in this case, to his partner, made him forget his own interests and his comfort to do what he believed was right,” said the Zanes’ son. Stuart Charmé Law. “He decided that his role was at his wife’s side, and he would not leave under any circumstances.”
Choosing to stay at his wife’s bedside was a significant risk, given that almost 1 in 10 nursing homes in the United States has reported a case of the virus, which has swept the world and particularly affected people older than 65 years.
With an increased risk of serious illness or death from the virus, the Great Generation is disappearing, carrying with it stories of the Great Depression and World War II. Since 2015, the number of living World War II veterans has plummeted from about 939,000 to a third of that in 2020, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Like Zane, most of these veterans are over 90 years old and may be at increased risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus, especially if they have underlying conditions or live in a hot spot.
A year and a half ago, the Zanes moved from their White Plains, New York, home to the assisted living community to better care for Valerie Zane and be closer to one of her daughters Nancie Zane and son-in-law Charmé. Daniel Zane spent his waking minutes of that time worshiping Valerie Zane, his family said.
Although she lived in an independent living apartment until the past few weeks, she stayed by his bed every morning until he went to sleep at night. He fed her, swiveled his chair around the premises, and made sure she was comfortable.
“He was making sure she was not alone,” said Nancie Zane. “I was there with her.”
The New York couple married at age 20 and had two daughters, Nancie and Robin Zane. Daniel Zane was originally born and raised in New York City. He went to Lehigh University at age 16. He then served in World War II. After the war, he attended Fordham University Law School and was a real estate attorney until his recent retirement. Daniel Zane had his own law firm for approximately six decades.
Valerie Zane did administrative work in medical offices for three decades. Her family says she was a teacher playing bridge.
The couple also liked to travel, read newspapers, and talk to their four grandchildren. Daniel Zane was particularly passionate about sharing his 60 years of legal knowledge with his granddaughter Tali Charmé-Zane, who is in her first year of law school.
When Charmé-Zane looked at the audience in his mock test tournaments, there was his grandfather, he said. He handed him a book from United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and wrote on the cover that he hoped it would be the first of many in his law library. When he needed to “call a friend” at law school, Daniel Zane responded faithfully.
“It was always reliable,” he said, “it was always there.”
Another constant throughout his life was Daniel Zane’s eagerness to share stories of his time serving in World War II. He told his family how he fought in the decisive Battle of the Bulge and the moment he liberated a concentration camp.
One of the few treasures his family has left since then is a yellowish military document, written in black typewriter ink, reminiscent of the heroic feat of 1945 when he rescued his wounded comrade on the battlefield. He obtained a Bronze Star for that fact and, according to his family, one or two more for other heroic acts.
Aside from the document and a few photos, his stories are all they have left of an important part of American history, his family fears.
“I know he was one of the few World War II veterans left,” said his daughter Robin Zane, “and I am concerned in terms of lost history, on a very personal level.”
She said that the memory of major historical events is threatened by the loss of her father’s generation.
“There will come a time when people will say that World War II did not happen, or that the concentration camps did not happen,” said Robin Zane. “He showed me photos of a concentration camp that he liberated as a child. And now it feels like a dream. But I know it happened.”
