Marching. Photo Len and Nancy Tsou.

The February, AABI’s annual Jarama march followed in the footsteps of the Lincoln Battalion. Nancy Wallach was part of the extensive US delegation. “One of the most inspiring aspects of the trip is the opportunity to make connections with our counterparts from other countries.”

For many years, the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade would conclude their annual reunion, held every May, by standing up and singing Woody Guthrie’s “Jarama Valley”: “It was there that we gave of our manhood—and so many of our brave comrades fell…” For the past seventeen years, the Amigos Association of the International Brigades in Spain (AABI) has organized a commemoration of that key battle, which took place in February 1937, with a memorial march to “serve as a symbol and beacon of hope” for others around the world “to achieve the same unity” as the more than 35,000 volunteers from 52 countries who came to Spain to defend the democratically elected government against the onslaught of world fascism.

In 2025, The Jarama March followed in the footsteps of the Lincoln Battalion, which was the national group of volunteers honored in this year’s events. I was proud to be among the multigenerational group of 45 American descendants and supporters of the Lincoln Brigade who joined the march—a record number, according to AABI. (See here for a report by Andrés Chamorro of AABI.)

Peter Geiser, grandson of Lincoln Commissar Carl Geiser, and Peter Backlund, Geiser’s great nephew, proudly carrying a replica of the historic Lincoln Banner. Photo Len and Nancy Tsou.

Some of us had spoken by Zoom prior to the event, when those interested in going shared our histories and connections to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The Jarama March itself provided an opportunity to cement these initial connections, as we shared bus rides and luncheons, as well as, of course, the march itself.

This exhibit at the Sephardic Cultural Center ran concurrent with the Jarama commemoration.

The four-day tribute to the Lincolns began with a staged reading of a recently discovered play, written by ALB veteran Charles Nusser, performed at the imposing auditorium of the Madrid Ateneo. The skill and artistry of the company, led by Juan Pastor and Jeannine Maestre, brought the bravery and sacrifices of the Lincoln Battalion to dramatic life, leaving the many members of the audience in teary appreciation of both the performance and the Lincolns. In a public conversation after the play, Nusser’s granddaughter, Kate Fogarty, told AABI president Almudena Cros that for her grandfather, taking part in the anti-fascist struggle in Spain was a defining event of his life. (You can view the performance in full here, courtesy of AABI.)

On Friday, February 21, our first full day of the tributes in Spain, we boarded the bus to visit another memorial site linked to the Lincolns: the town of Madrigueras near Albacete, where the Lincolns were quartered during their training phase before entering combat. We received an emotional welcome from the mayor himself, Juan Carlos Talavera. Alfredo Alcahut guided us to the newly inaugurated memorial museum to the International Brigades, which he directs. As I listened to one of the local guides at this facility, I was impressed by his knowledge about Oliver Law and the Lincolns’ pioneering efforts to integrate an American military unit. Alfredo also works with young people from the region to help them understand the extraordinary international unity and solidarity of the International Brigades. While AABI rightly called Alfredo’s work an example of democratic memory put into practice with rigor and emotion, the same could be said of the entire weekend which was organized so ably by AABI’s all-volunteer staff.

Next was a quick visit to Tarancón, which during the war was home to a medical base that suffered a cruel bombing during February 1937, around the same time as the battle of Jarama. At the still standing ruins of the hospital, we saw murals paying tribute to Dr. Edward Barsky and Salaria Kea, the African American nurse.

This year’s memorial march included representatives of commemorative groups from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Scandinavia, Mexico, Cuba, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. As I mentioned to my fellow Americans, one of the most inspiring aspects of the trip is the opportunity to make connections with our counterparts from other countries. For example, sitting behind me in the bus was an Italian participant leading the bus in spirited renditions of “Bandiera Rossa, Avanti Popolo” and “Bella Ciao.” When I shared with him how my father, Hy Wallach, remembered how even the Italian fascists who captured him expressed admiration for the Garibaldi’s, my new friend gave me a detailed account of how the Garibaldi Battalion had routed Mussolini’s troops in a key battle. And before I knew it, I was made an honorary member of the Italian Partisan Anti-Fascist organization!

When we returned to our hotels, those of us who weren’t too tired out from our long day gathered for a roundtable discussion about why we joined this event, what significance it had for us, and the meaning of our parents’ or grandparents’ experience in the Lincoln Brigade. The conversation was recorded and aired by Linda Jiménez for Radio Sefarad.

The US delegation at the Fuencarral cemetery. Photo Len and Nancy Tsou.

Saturday saw what was for many of us the highlight of the weekend: the march along the battlefields as we followed the route of the Lincolns. The grandson and great-nephew of Lincoln Commissar Carl Geiser led our procession, carrying a replica of the historic Lincoln Battalion banner. Our first stop was the point where the Lincoln Brigade received their orders from the Republican command to halt the advance of the Moroccan soldiers and legionnaires on the fascist side. Historian Miguel Ángel García told us that although the fighting was fierce—and the battalion had little military training and was poorly armed—they managed to annihilate Franco’s professional, experienced and better equipped military forces.

Descendants of the volunteers were then asked to share the names of their relatives. Lin Rose Clark of the IBMT spoke about her grandfather, Brigadier Robert Hilliard, who sacrificed his life fighting the fascists. Alex Paunov, the grandson of Bulgarian Volunteer Ivan Paunov, the first commander of the Dimitrov Battalion, spoke about the battalion’s attack during the Battle of Jarama, where his grandfather sustained wounds that would turn out to be lethal. I then delivered a presentation on behalf of ALBA and the members of our delegation:

Please accept this presentation on behalf of ALBA, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, and the descendants of the Lincoln Battalion who are here today,  on the occasion of the 17th Jarama March, which this year is dedicated to the Lincoln Battalion Volunteers.  We thank you for this tremendous honor. It will help us to go home energized to confront the enormous tasks facing us today, as we try to stop a billionaire’s coup.  We take inspiration from the unprecedented act of working-class solidarity, when the Lincoln Battalion joined with people from 53 countries to defend the legal, democratically elected government of Spain against the onslaught of world fascism. The goals and social visions of the Spanish Republic and the International Brigades are still, more than ever, relevant today. We gather here today in tribute to what they stood for.  As we make this important history more widely known, we are given hope by these role models of the International Brigades—heroes who put their lives on the line for a more just and better world.  The growing threat of fascism confronts us once again, in many of our own countries, and we gain strength and inspiration from the camaraderie and historical memory we are experiencing and creating today. We raise our voices against fascism past and present. ¡La lucha continúa!  

We then reached the area which Miguel Ángel, the historian, described as the place where “the Lincoln trenches were firmly established after suffering an enormous number of casualties while attempting to carry out an attack order that was almost suicidal, given the lack of artillery or air preparation that would have been necessary to take a position so well defended by the enemy.” Here we placed a replica of the sign made by Lincoln Volunteer Mark Rauschwald: “To our fallen comrades, our victory is your vengeance.”

The final event of our four days of remembrance was a visit to the Fuencarral Cemetery on Sunday, which includes a mass grave where the remains of the 451 International Brigade volunteers are believed to be buried. After reciting the names of the nine volunteers from the United States listed by the International Brigades Funeral Service, we observed a moment of silence.

After these unforgettable days of solidarity, camaraderie and the historic example of international unity, we returned home with morale strengthened, and more resolved than ever to continue to resist the threat of fascism today.

Nancy Wallach, a longtime ALBA board member, is the daughter of Lincoln veteran Hy Wallach.