The Little Ukrainian

About the Author

I was born in the Ukraine. As the Germans were retreating from Russia during WWII, I was swept along until I found myself in Berlin. In a year the Russians entered Berlin and the war ended. The relatives I was living with decided to return to Poland or Ukraine and I was supposed to return with them. I liked Berlin and wanted to remain in Germany. As they were heading east out Berlin, I fell farther and farther behind them and then I turned and began walking in the opposite direction. I returned to the German couple we had lived with. They were reluctant to have anything to do with me as they feared Russian retaliation, but nothing happened. I enrolled in the local school and did quite well. For several years no contact from the East occurred, then a letter came asking the German couple to return me. We decided to ignore the letter, but another soon arrived requesting the same thing. That letter received the same treatment as the first. Several months went by and then two men showed up asking for me and were told that I was not home. This was repeated for several months. Fortunately, I was never home. These visits upset the couple and they went to the authorities. One day I was met by a couple from the district government. I knew the man but not the lady. The man explained to me that to prevent the Russians from kidnapping me, I had to leave with lady right away, which I did. After several days, the lady told me that I had to move to children's home in the American sector as the Americans could help me unless I lived in their sector. I moved and within a few days an American appeared to tell me in two days we would be leaving Berlin on American Army train. True to his word, on the second day he appeared in a station wagon to get me and drive us to the train. We had a sleeper compartment and as the train began rolling out of Berlin, we were slipping under the covers on our bunks. We woke up in Frankfort. The American told me that as soon as he could find the case worker, he would hand me over and his task would be done. The case worker turned out to be nothing but a driver. He took me to a displaced persons camp in Hanau. I spent some time there before proceeding to the International Children's Village at Bad Aibling in southern Germany. There I convinced my case worker that I wanted to emigrate to the United States. To do that, since I was a minor, I had to have the permission of the person who claimed to be my father in Poland. Since I did not know any Polish, I asked a girl in math class to write such a letter for me. In about two months I received a reply and, to my surprise, I received the permission. My case worker started the process of getting me to the United States. I crossed the Atlantic in a troop ship. It took ten days. I was delivered to reception center in the Bronx where I spent about two months. I was then placed on an airplane and after multiple stops and multiple strangers, I was delivered to my new parents. Before I could figure out What had happened, I was a freshman in high school. I completed high school and was enrolled at a university. By my sophomore year I had been in the United States for five years. It was time for me to apply for US citizenship. I became a US citizen the following January. I received a bachelor of science degree in physics and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. I served for twenty years, retired, and worked for another thirty two years as contractor for the Air Force. I finally completely retired and moved to Florida to be near my son and watch my grand kids grow.