“I remember the day the Americans came”

Among the countless tales of survival and liberation, Leah Graham, the canteen service chief at the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, shares a deeply personal story that intertwines the horrors of the Holocaust with the bravery of the American military.

Jan Reno was one of eight siblings and remarkably had a twin sister. Tragically, her family became prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp in Munich, Germany. Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp established in Germany, operated from 1933 to 1945, subjecting prisoners to forced labor and brutality based on ethnicity, religion, and other factors. During this time, over 200,000 people from across Europe were imprisoned in Dachau, with tens of thousands perishing due to starvation, disease, and systematic violence.

“My grandmother was the only one out of our whole family who survived,” Graham sorrowfully described.
It was on April 29, 1945, that Dachau, where Jan was held captive, was liberated by American Soldiers - one of whom would become her future husband.

“My grandfather, Raymond Reno, was part of the 45th Infantry Division, one of the two divisions that liberated Dachau,” Graham remarked. “He and about 47 other Soldiers discovered the camp and was a part of the team that was put together for the sole purpose of liberating the camp survivors.”

Amongst those survivors was Jan, who endured unimaginable suffering, including losing her twin sister to cruel medical experiments conducted by the SS. For most of her life, she remained steadfast in her silence about her experiences – a silence that spoke volumes about the horrors she witnessed.

“My grandmother would never talk about anything that she had been through,” Graham reflects. “But the only thing I ever remember her saying was, ‘I remember the day the Americans came.’”

Following the war, Jan and Raymond would wed and embark on a union grounded in love and perseverance. Both sharing a passion for patriotism and a commitment to education. Jan went on to earn her master’s degree from the College of New Rochelle to become a linguist, becoming proficient in 22 languages, and eventually working with the FBI. Raymond used his GI Bill to pursue a Ph.D. in literary history and went on to teach at Georgetown University, serving as the head of the English Department for 30 years. To this day, his photo adorns the wall at the Raymond H. Reno Theatrical Hall at Georgetown University.

The liberation brought not only freedom but also a sense of pride and gratitude. Jan Reno, later becoming an American citizen, held a deep admiration for the American military, recognizing the role they played in her liberation.

“My grandmother was always extremely proud of the American military,” Graham shared. “Becoming an American citizen - that was the proudest day of her life.”

Today, Graham works at VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) as the Veterans Canteen Service Chief for the Alvin C. York Medical Center campus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Every day, she carries a tangible reminder of her family’s legacy – her grandmother’s pendant that survived the horrors of the Holocaust. It serves as a poignant symbol of resilience and endurance.

“This pendant was the only thing that she had that made it out of the war,” Graham reveals. “Several times the chain has broken, and I think the pendant is surely gone, but I will find it later in the folds of my clothes or miraculously in a pocket.”

Despite the passage of time, Graham remains deeply connected to her family’s history, using it as a source of empathy and understanding in her interactions with Veterans at TVHS.

“One of the things it helps me keep in mind is that everyone has a story,” Graham said. “Everyone has a life [and] you never know what anybody is going through.”