Spring Break
The Daily OrangeOnce-quiet Munich survivor speaks of 1972 Olympic horrors
By Brian Tahmosh
Posted: 4/29/07, 10:28 PM EST Section: Feature
Dan Alon did not speak publicly about the Munich Olympics for 34 years. He was one of five athletes to escape the terrorist attacks and live to tell their stories, but he kept that to himself.
Alon didn't want to tell his story until last year. After the release of the movie "Munich," Alon felt he had an opportunity to get his message out.
Still, it wasn't easy the first time he spoke.
"It was very hard for me to talk," Alon said. "I had to stop many times. My words were stuck in my throat."
Friday and Saturday, Alon spoke again at the Chabad House at Syracuse University. He emphasized he is not a speaker from the beginning and said he would be telling his story, but not giving a speech.
At times, the soft-spoken Alon stopped, seemingly choked up by the emotion of the subject. He said there were more things he wanted to discuss, but he simply could not go into detail.
Ben Barnhart, a freshman computer art major, said Alon was able to convey his emotions effectively in the speech.
"I've never heard a personal story like that before," Barnhart said.
Alon was in the hotel when the bullets started flying in the Olympic village. He was sleeping in the second room out of the five the Israelis shared. The gunmen entered the first room and opened fire.
The first shots woke Alon up, but he did not know exactly what was going on. The terrorists moved down the hall, skipping room number two. They would pass his entrance twice that night, but they never came in.
"Why they didn't come into number two in the beginning, nobody knows," he said.
Then the shooting started again. This time bullets flew into Alon's room, coming out of the wall right behind his bed.
Alon and the other athlete raced to the balcony, where they saw a terrorist outside. He was wearing a white hat and was holding a machine gun in one hand and a hand grenade in the other. The terrorist yelled to the German police that they had killed two Israelis and were holding hostages and wanted to make demands to the Israeli government.
Alon didn't want to tell his story until last year. After the release of the movie "Munich," Alon felt he had an opportunity to get his message out.
Still, it wasn't easy the first time he spoke.
"It was very hard for me to talk," Alon said. "I had to stop many times. My words were stuck in my throat."
Friday and Saturday, Alon spoke again at the Chabad House at Syracuse University. He emphasized he is not a speaker from the beginning and said he would be telling his story, but not giving a speech.
At times, the soft-spoken Alon stopped, seemingly choked up by the emotion of the subject. He said there were more things he wanted to discuss, but he simply could not go into detail.
Ben Barnhart, a freshman computer art major, said Alon was able to convey his emotions effectively in the speech.
"I've never heard a personal story like that before," Barnhart said.
Alon was in the hotel when the bullets started flying in the Olympic village. He was sleeping in the second room out of the five the Israelis shared. The gunmen entered the first room and opened fire.
The first shots woke Alon up, but he did not know exactly what was going on. The terrorists moved down the hall, skipping room number two. They would pass his entrance twice that night, but they never came in.
"Why they didn't come into number two in the beginning, nobody knows," he said.
Then the shooting started again. This time bullets flew into Alon's room, coming out of the wall right behind his bed.
Alon and the other athlete raced to the balcony, where they saw a terrorist outside. He was wearing a white hat and was holding a machine gun in one hand and a hand grenade in the other. The terrorist yelled to the German police that they had killed two Israelis and were holding hostages and wanted to make demands to the Israeli government.
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