My Mom fled westward during WWII with family as the Russians advanced through the central Europe. Their hope was to be liberated by the allies when they heard of the invasion.
My dad and his brother were spirited out of Siberian gulag under a deal made between Roosevelt the Catholic Church and Stalin (1939 isch). He thought he was an orphan until he found his father in the early 50's. My grandfather on my Dad's side fought under the Free Polish Army during WWII in the Italian Campaign. He earned some medals for being wounded during the Battle for Montico Cassino. Of my dad''s dad, 11 brothers and one sister, only two that we know of survived the war. Some were executed by the Russians for fighting with the allies during WWII on their return to Poland. Most died during the war, either by German or Russian hands. The one surviving brother ended up in Canada. My grandfather passed here, on Long Island. Of the two families, there were claims of prominence, stature and riches before the war. Afterwards, they were orphans (my Dad) and refugees (my Mom) in a rebuilding Europe.
My dad, joined the US Army when he was of age. There he rose through the ranks of Airbourne, Special Forces, MI and clandestine services. His history reads that of the US's greatest military engagements and clandestine operations. While deployed in Europe he met my Mom. They got married on June 6th.
Obviously my gratitude is for all those brave men and women who served, and special thanks to those who liberated Europe. And it started on June 6th.
