One Day in September Page #2

Absolutely fantastic.

She loves every moment of it!

Myself and two others traveled

from Libya to Germany...

two days before the operation.

We went to a hotel which the

leadership had given us the address of.

There we met up with

the rest of the team-

another group of three and two leaders

who had been in Munich for some time.

The following day my friend and I...

went to a couple of volleyball games

at the Olympic Park.

We still had not been told what

the target of our operation was to be.

After one of the competitions he said,

"Hey, there is the Lebanese team.

I'm going over

to say hello to them. "

I, coming from Holland, said,

'Are you out of your mind?"

They are from Lebanon.

Israel was in a state of war

with Lebanon.

He said, 'Ankie, that's exactly what

the Olympics are all about.

Here I can go to them and talk to them.

That's what the Olympics are about. "

So he went over and he asked

how were your results...

and I'm from Israel,

and how did it go?

To my big amazement, I saw

that the people responded...

and they shook hands with him

and they talked to him...

Ankie Spitzer

and they asked him about his results.

I'll never forget when he turned

around and came back towards me...

with this huge smile

on his face and said...

"You see? This is what

I was dreaming about. "

After ten days, Andre's fencers

finished their competitions...

and he and Ankie traveled to Holland

to spend time with their baby Anouk...

whom they had left

in the care of Ankie's parents.

The next morning at 10:00,

he had to take the train to Munich.

He woke up a little bit late.

We got to the train station,

and the train had left.

I was desperate because I thought

he's going to get in trouble...

when he gets back to Munich because

they're waiting for him there.

He said,

"Well, another day with you. "

I said, " No, let's try the other

train station about 30 miles onwards. "

So we raced to the next station...

and in Eindhoven in Holland,

that's where he jumped on the train.

Without a ticket.

The train was already in the station.

I still remember me

running next to the train...

and he left.

And that was the last time

I saw him.

On the night of September 4,

as Andre arrived back at the village...

the Israeli delegation was enjoying

a night out at the theater...

watching Fiddler on the Roof.

They returned to the village

at midnight.

The night of the operation...

we went to the restaurant

in the railway station for dinner.

There we met with the chief

of the organization...

who for the first time told us

what the target of our operation was.

I felt very proud...

that for the first time I was able

to confront the Israelis.

Our passports and belongings

were taken from us...

so there wouldn't be any clue

as to who we were.

Then we all went to the village.

As we were climbing

over the fence...

we ran into a group

of American athletes...

who were sneaking in

after a night out.

I remember they were drunk.

The funny thing is that we actually

helped each other to climb over.

I held my hand out...

and we lifted one

of them into the village.

We said thank you and good-bye.

With the help of members

of the East German team...

the terrorist leaders had entered

and studied the Olympic village...

in the days prior

to the attack.

Now they headed straight

for the Israeli men's quarters.

We headed towards the building.

Each of us

was carrying a sports bag...

filled with weapons,

hidden under clothes.

Each of us was given

a specific task.

My job was to guard the outside of

the building while the others went in.

The Israelis were

in five apartments.

Apartment one

housed the team coaches.

The terrorists went there first.

As they broke in, wrestling coach Moshe

Weinberger attempted to stop them...

but he was shot and wounded.

The leader went

into the first room...

but didn't realize there was

an Israeli behind him.

He was attacked full force

and his weapon was taken.

Another member of our group panicked

and shot the Israeli.

The terrorists demanded that

Weinberger, already heavily wounded...

show them where the rest

of the Israelis were.

At gunpoint, he led them

past apartment two...

which housed

the field athletes...

to apartment three, which contained

the weight lifters and wrestlers.

Weinberger calculated that

they might stand some chance...

of overpowering the terrorists.

I got out of bed and went outside...

only to find myself

standing in front of a terrorist...

wearing a balaclava hood

and a yellow sweater.

The terrorists were already holding

all five of Gad Zabari's roommates.

Now, weight lifter David Berger,

suggests they attack the terrorists...

saying,

"We have nothing to lose. "

But a gunman understands and jabs

a machine gun into Zabari's waist...

ordering him towards the exit

and back to apartment number one.

And that's how

I came to be the first in line.

My friends are behind me

with their heads bowed.

I feel in a bit of a daze

when suddenly I see...

another terrorist ahead of me,

wearing a balaclava hood.

Suddenly the reality

of what's happening hits me.

As I get closer,

he orders me in this direction.

But as he's giving me the order...

I push his Kalashnikov aside

and run.

He shoots two or three rounds at me.

But I don't think

about the shots, I just run.

I run for about 70 meters...

and then jump over the village fence

and into the first building I see.

As Gad Zabari ran away...

the already wounded Moshe Weinberger

heroically jumped on the terrorists.

He was shot and killed.

We had no orders to kill.

We were forced to

only when things went wrong.

I heard some shots,

so I walked up to the window...

and then I realized

Moshe Weinberger...

has been thrown out

of the door...

to the pavement.

He was naked,

without anything on him.

Shmuel Lalkin

Head Israeli

And I saw that he was dead

because blood was pooling around him.

This was when I thought

that we were attacked by somebody.

This is ABC.

I'm Jim McKay speaking to you live,

at this moment...

from ABC headquarters,

Munich, West Germany.

The Olympics of serenity

have become the one thing...

the Germans didn't want them to be:

the Olympics of terror.

I had the first telephone call

from the head of the team...

Dan Shilon

Israeli Television

this morning at 6:00,

and he told me that the Arabs are there...

and one of the Israelis

was killed.

His name is Moshe Weinberger...

Israeli Journalist

and I saw his body carried out

after one hour into an ambulance.

That body was smashed...

which means he was killed

by a machine gun...

not by a regular gun.

I was sleeping.

My parents came to wake me up,

and they said...

"We just heard on the radio

that there was an attack...

at the Israeli quarters

of the Olympic village.

They killed one of the Israelis,

and they say it was the boxing coach. "

I know there was no boxing coach,

so I jumped out of my bed.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes