Dear forum members,
unfortunately I have to announce that a great friend, Oberfeldwebel Max Lagoda has passed away on 1st of April after a short illness.
Max Lagoda (born in 1920) served in 2.(F)/Aufklärungsgruppe O.b.d.L. 1941–43 as Bordfunker in Ju 88. He flew reconnaissance flights in the Eastern front, where his longest flight lasted 9 hours. Sometimes they flew as far as Teheran. In 1943 he was transferred to Germany to train new Bordfunkers. During the last months of the war he was commanding a Flak unit in Germany.
He was awarded with EK I and II, Krimschild, Frontflugspange in Gold mit Anhänger (250), Ehrenpokal and DKiG.
He has also written a book about his career,
Ein Blick in die Vergangenheit.
I had the pleasure of being his host when he visited Finland in September 2014, and also met him again with some Finnish veterans in September 2015 in England.
He was a true gentleman, always positive and eager to tell about his experiences during the war, to "honour those who did not come back".
Some pictures and a story about his visit to Finland can be found here
(Unfortunately only in Finnish):
http://www.imy.fi/uutiset.html?a200=106
Best regards,
Raimo Malkamäki