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The supreme heroism of the Maltese nation in World War II is legendary. When I asked my parents to send me to boarding school in Switzerland, and they agreed, I visited Malta as soon I could. During those years at school, I traveled twice to Malta, between 1963 and 1966. On the first visit, I arrived by ship, the Stella Solaris, at splendid Grand Harbor, Valletta and was immediately enthralled by Malta. The brilliance, the audacity and the near-pristine condition of the Malta fortifications made each visit exhilarating. I spent several days below, on top, behind and in them, even scaling a decrepit point or two. I could imagine the combatants. I determined to know more about them. Here, the Ottoman Turks and Maltese knights had fought epic battles affecting the future of the Mediterranean, the future of Europe. The ancient Janissaries, crack soldiers from Ottoman Turkey and the extensive reach of that empire to the near-center of Europe, east and west, spoke of strength and achievement. Other than descendants of former Ottoman leaders, among them a great-grandson of the last Sultan whom I had met, that world had completely ceased to exist as a functioning entity. But this was not the case of the Knights who the Janissaries had so assiduously fought. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, direct descendants of medieval Europe, still existed as a sovereign entity, now engaged in good works on a global basis, serving people of all faiths. HYLAND