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and Japan, and I was able to find literature from
those countries, so to understand the subject
better, I began to learn German and Japanese.
A few years after the Velvet Revolution, various
magazines on this subject started to be published
in the Czech Republic. Of course, when I looked at
these articles, I sometimes shook my head and
thought that I could have written them better.
So I gave it a try, I started writing firstly for HPM
and then for REVI.
You‘re a member of the German
Airmen‘s Association. How a guy from
Prague, a Czech as much Czech I can
imagine, does become a member
of such a venerable organization?
My friend Jarda Hradec brought me to
communicate with German pilots because of
my articles, and through him I met Heribert
Koller from JG 54 “Grünherz” and other veterans.
But most of all I was in contact with Mr. Koller,
who came up with the idea for me to become
a member of the association. Together with Jarda,
I also helped Heribert as a driver with several
long trips in Germany and abroad. In the process
I managed to introduce Mr. Koller to Mr. Hans E.
Bob. They did not know each other, although both
had served in JG 54 and were long-time members
of the association. I had more such opportunities
in my life, for example as a driver I had the honour
to assist Gen. Šiška of the Czechoslovak 311
Squadron of the RAF. I appreciate that immensely.
Are you also a member of some
Japanese Airmen‘s Association?
I think I first became aware of your
historical knowledge at your lecture
on the air battles over Guadalcanal
in Ostrov nad Ohří around the turn of
the millennium. I was very impressed
with that lecture. How did you get into
the Japanese?
I wasn‘t a member of the Zero Fighter Pilots
Association, and I can‘t become one without
personal, long-term contact with Japanese
veterans. I remember the lecture you‘re talking
about, I projected slides during it, and I have
a feeling you fell asleep for a while. I got interested
in Japanese Naval and Army aviation in high
school when I read Mr. Hubáček‘s books on the
fighting in the Pacific, and also when I got a copy
of Saburō Sakai‘s memoir, which was published
in Czech in 1968 and 1969 in L+K magazine. Since
the end of the 1990s, I have published articles on
this subject in the Czech Republic and a few years
ago I published an article on Sakai in the French
magazine ACES, later also in the magazine INFO
Eduard.
I fell asleep, that‘s true. When I woke
up, I hit my head on a beam. Still, the
lecture broadened my horizons, it
was actually a significant event for
INTERVIEW
The model for one of the very first rabbits by Jan Bobek in 2005 was his friend and editor-in-chief of REVI
magazine Petr Stachura.
Jan Bobek during a fundraising event held at the E
-
Day exhibition in Prague in 2014. The proceeds
of the voluntary fees for the rabbit drawings went to the Czechoslovak Legionary Community.
Jan Bobek next to a real MiG-21 Bunnyfighter in Hungary in 2013. He also took care of the rabbit featured
in the promo video during filming.
INFO Eduard28
January 2024