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Andreas KolbTwenty year old Andreas Kolb was originally from Nuremburg in Germany. He spoke good English and earned the nickname Bismarck, which he didn't particularly like. When he arrived in Bosnia in the spring of 1992 it was with the original intention of making a living as a freelance photographer and journalist but like so many who witnessed the war's brutality at first hand he was soon drawn into taking a more active part in attempting to prevent genocide. He joined up with the group of International Volunteers named the Viking Vod (Platoon) serving in the HVO's King Tomislav Brigade where he became a popular member known for his good sense of humour, which he never lost, even under the most adverse conditions. One day in 1993 Andreas was serving with some new volunteers when they found themselves pinned down in the open by heavy enemy machine gun fire for about seven hours. Under such pressure on their very first day in action, morale began to fail until, as one of them recalled; "There was this apple tree about fifty metres away and while this s**t was flying around our ears Bismarck got up and with his hands in his pockets, walked to the apple tree, picked some apples, walked back, so we had a feast of apples. This act may seem stupid but it had a great tonic effect."At 7:30am on the 8th November during intense fighting against Muslim units at Gornji Vakuf in central Bosnia Andreas was hit by a sniper's bullet. Mortally wounded, he was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. After his funeral his comrades requested that a popular song of the time, Lili Marlene (with Croatian lyrics) be played for him on local radio. Andreas' body was returned to his homeland and it is reported that a member of the Croatian Embassy in Germany personally attended his funeral service.
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