Knud Pedersen, the subject of  The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and The Churchill Club says in this video that “gratefulness has no distances.”  Indeed, Knud, it does not.  Phil Hoose, FSG and readers owe you much gratefulness for your bravery, for your ingenuity, for your stubbornness and for all the ways you have preserved this incredible story of valor and loyalty.  Thank you.

Phillip Hoose, while unable to be in Maine to accept the 2016 Lupine Honor for the book, also proclaims that “gratefulness has no distances.”  He send his thanks to Maine libraries for ALL they do to honor young people and the literature created for them.

Transcript:

“Two years ago, Phil Hoose contacted me and wanted to tell my story and he came to Denmark and we talked for a week and recorded and what is memories from 70 years ago became present as if they had passed only two, three days ago.

And when he came [went] back, we emailed almost daily and became a sort of family (I mean parents to the child) for the book that Phil was writing.

So, I just want to express my gratitude to Phil and to Wes Adams [editor] and the publishers.

It is such a long time since we distanced to be in person with you. I would like to, but gratefulness has no distances.

So, with this I only want to say, ‘thank you.'” —Knud Pedersen, 2014