"I used to have Q Clearance; do you know what that is? It's equivalent to a United States Department of Defense Top Secret (TS) clearance" We were listening to a man who appeared to be in his fifties but was actually 67.
Born in 1941, Peter had a very colorful life. During World War II, his family ran from place to place for close to three years. Every time someone would find out that his family was Jewish, they would quickly leave town. His mother kept the family alive, while their father was forced to work in a concentration camp.
When American troops liberated Germany, Peter's family was on the Eastern side. Eventually the Americans put them on a navy ship which took them to America.
Peter got a job cleaning nuclear waste; something which he did for many years. He would visit many top secret sites and get rid of any nuclear waste. "There are ways to clean it properly" he says.
But what's more interesting by far is a story that happened to him 18 years ago: He was driving in a company van when he suddenly fell out. "This happened at 65 mph and my skull cracked open." He spent the next three months in intensive care. During that time he was in very critical condition. "I was already up there when they sent me back down." It took a full year for Peter to recover.
Peter also had a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital "I knew something was wrong when I felt the pain reaching my arms." He parked his car by the emergency entrance of the hospital and walked in. "The nurse barely made it through the first few questions when I collapsed."
Peter's heart came to a complete stop. The doctor's shocked his heart and it came back to life. Peter ended up having six bypasses.
As we wrapped him up in Tefillin he got very emotional; "I haven't done this in years" he told us.
Peter also has incredible hearing abilities; he played a game with us where we had to whisper something and he would tell us what we said. "I am going to turn around so you won't think that I am reading your lips."
"G‑d loves me; I cheated death three times and I am still going" he said as he promised to visit the nearest Chabad House.