 From 1940 to 1944 he served in the Romanian military during World War II, with a corps that advanced as far as Crimea.During the Axis retreat, his horse stepped on a mine, which exploded, killing the horse, and leaving him with a serious head wound that, for over a decade, left him unable to distinguish colors, which mean that he could not paint and had to seek other work.In 1945 he participated in seminars in theatre directing and set design at ARLUS, led by Professor Ion Sava.