Fear-of-Heights Reunion

Germany, about 1947. Dad also saved this postcard issued by the Bavarian Railway.

A Sunny Summer

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1947. This is a close friend of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana.

Winter Station

Germany, about 1947. Here's another postcard from the Bavarian Railway.

Clinical Education

Erlangen, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Mom remembers many medical-school clinics in the center of the college town.

The Older Generation

Seligenstadt, Germany, about 1947. My maternal Grandfather Jake (third from left) stands with group of Displaced Persons at the camp. Jake was in his late forties when he fled Lithuania.

Castle Park

Erlangen, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Here's another postcard Mom saved from her medical-school days. This is not the same park Mom frequented.

A University Street

Erlangen, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. This postcard features a scene from the medical-school campus.

A Remembrance from Mr. Irene

My Dad passed away very peacefully Friday evening, November 6, 2015, in the consoling company of his family.

He suffered a number of complications after breaking his leg last December. After some strong and stable months in the Spring, he succumbed to a severe bone infection and ultimately, sepsis.

Dad lived a life filled with the joys of hard work and devotion to his family; enlivened by Lithuanian wit and humor; and strengthened by an optimistic, American heart.

Like so many of his countrymen, Dad escaped the fierce advance of Soviet troops through Lithuania by escaping into Germany and then Austria in the final year of World War II. In the years immediately after the end of the war, Dad and some of his immediate family lived as Displaced Persons (DPs) in camps established by the Allies in Germany. It was an atmosphere of chaos, danger, and uncertainty.

Lithuanian and Polish nationals living in DP camps in the American zone near Frankfurt were invited by the U.S. Army to apply for support security roles guarding both German and American assets. Dad enlisted in the Lithuanian canine patrol corps and was assigned to the U.S. base camp at Kaiserlautern. (That camp would grow over the years into NATO headquarters. The last photo below shows my Dad in 1948 sharing a laugh with visiting U.S. Army brass. It's my favorite image of Dad from that time.)

From that post, Dad observed the start of the Berlin Airlift after the Soviets blockaded that city. He did nightly patrols around the forest surrounding the camp. His devoted partner was Arno, a loyal and beautiful German Shepard. Dad checks up on Arno (at Arno's barracks) in this first photo (from 1947) below. Dad is 19 years old in that photo.

Dad celebrated his 21st birthday by sailing past the Statue of Liberty into New York Harbor aboard the USS General Hann. In the second photo below, taken just after the immigrants had disembarked from the ship, you'll see Dad (second from left) with white hair—encrusted in sea salt as he paced the outer decks. Within hours, Dad was on a train to Chicago to begin his new life in America under the kind sponsorship of an uncle who had emigrated from Lithuania in the 1920s.

Shortly after their arrival, my Dad and his older brother, my late Uncle Ignas, were drafted for service in the Korean War. The third photo below shows a farewell outing for Ignas (center) in October, 1950 in Chicago's Grant Park. My Dad stands on the far left. One year later, Dad was drafted for U.S. Army service at Camp Irwin in the Mojave desert east of Los Angeles. He served as a tank instructor, running daredevil maneuvers in the endless sand dunes.

Before President Truman left office, he determined that foreign nationals who had served in the Korean conflict were to be granted U.S. citizenship upon their honorable discharge.

Dad returned to Chicago in 1953 and worked in manufacturing jobs until his retirement. By 1959, our family had moved to Melrose Park, where Dad worked for Benjamin Moore and Co producing paints and stains for the next 35 years. In the penultimate photo, Dad stands front of our Melrose Park home, circa 1965.

Thank you, Dad, for you service—not only to your adopted country but to your family until the day you breathed your last. We love and miss you more than you could imagine.

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

 

Camp Memento

*     *     *     *     *

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1945 to 1949. This is a "holy card" Dad carried throughout the postwar years. The text printed on the back is not a prayer; it's the lyrics to the Lithuanian Anthem.

Related by Marriage: Fiftieth Reunion

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1997. Mr Irene's Mom joins her classmates from the St. Casimir Academy Class of 1947. (St. Casimir Academy later became Maria High School.)

Campus Memento

Erlangen, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. This postcard features an image of the building in which Mom attended anatomy class.

Translations

This is the Lithuanian-German dictionary my Dad used when he was a Displaced Person in Schweinfurt.

*     *     *     *     *

It's in rough shape.

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

Dad lived in the American-occupied zone of postwar Germany, and the U.S. Army authorized publication of this dictionary.

*     *     *     *     *

 

The dictionary is pretty basic.

Guidance

Seligenstadt, Germany, about 1947. My Mom's friend leads her daughter.

Related by Marriage: Graduation Weekend

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, June 1947. Here's the diploma Mr. Irene's Mom received when she graduated from high school. The school, St. Casimir Academy, became Maria High School.

Another family awaits the future.

Probably Munich, Germany, about 1947. These are friends of Ron's family. Here's the Mom in happier times.

Thanks to my friend Ron for making this photo available to us.

Bavarian Railway Postcard

*     *     *     *     *

Germany, about 1947. My Dad saved a packet of postcards issued by the U.S. Army in the postwar, American-occupied zone. I don't know whether Dad visited the places photographed for the cards, bit it's likely he did.

Parisian Steps

Paris, France, 1947. Mom's friend sent this photo from her wedding as a postwar memento.

Happy Father's Day

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1947. The day creates an opportunity to repost a favorite photo.

Friday Afternoon, in Three Takes

*     *     *     *     *

*     *     *     *     *

Beardmore, Ontario, Canada, 1947 or 1948. Toronto Al's Dad, Vladas, relaxes at the lumber yard.

Thanks to Toronto Al for making these photos available to us.

Young and Tired

Schweinfurt (or Stuttgart), Germany, about 1947. This is how my Dad looked at about the time he enrolled at Hohenheim University.