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The Horochivsky Family Of Norwich Connecticut Archive During World War Ii And The Korean Conflict HOROCHIVSKY, NICHOLAS, VASIL, & MICHAEL

The Horochivsky Family Of Norwich Connecticut Archive During World War Ii And The Korean Conflict

HOROCHIVSKY, NICHOLAS, VASIL, & MICHAEL

Other works by HOROCHIVSKY, NICHOLAS, VASIL, & MICHAEL

Publication: Privately printed, 1944 - 1953, Various Locations, 1944 -1953

Horochivsky, Nicholas (1926-2014); Alexander (1928-2011); Vasil (1927- ) and Michael were the sons of Rev. Vasil and Maria Horochivsky whom resided in the Norwich area of Connecticut. They were members of the Orthodox Church of the Holy New Martyr and Confession of Russia. Each of the brothers had served in either WWII, the Korean Conflict or in the peace time service. The family migrated from Hrabske, Czechoslovakia, probably in 1927. The archive consist of approximately 135 letters, a few in pencil, many multi-paged of various sizes. The majority were written between 1944 and 1953, years covering World War II (1939-1945) and the Korean Conflict (1950-1953). This assemblage provides a wonderful window into the lives of the brothers and their friends during two wars and peace time with some spectacular battle detail and the mindset of their leaders. Family papers and news clippings are also included as well as a detailed diagram created by Cpl. Nicholas Horochivsky. Partial transcription of several of the letters is detailed as follows: December 8, 1944, 3 pp, from Harold Wade, to Nicholas, with highly charged racial content against Japanese people. [Prejudice ran high against Japan at the time following the bombing of Pearl Harbor only a day before this letter was written.] "...You could throw in Adolph [Hitler] if he is handy..." Referring to food shortages in the United States, due to the war effort, the letter reads, "...How do you like army life. You get all the cigarettes, candy...All we do in the A & P [grocery store] is say, 'Sorry, we haven't got this or that...We did not have any turkeys at all in the A & P...so I had to eat chicken...Same story for Christmas..." February 8, 1946, 43 Fountain Street, Norwich, Conn, the family writes to Nick. In small part, "...As you already know, Vasil is or has sailed out of New York today and is going to France with German prisoners of war. He is going to come home with American troops..." February 14, 1946, Vasil writes to Nick. "...The prisoners of war know how to cook here. They sure give us a relief. I've been working only 2 hours a day since the prisoners came on my ship..." April 1, 1946, on U.S. Navy stationary, Vasil writes to Nick. "...We got to New York on the 30th of March from LeHavre, France. This makes our second completed trip from France. We will sail again to LeHavre on the 13th of April...There are many open rates in the Navy now, so I sure would like to become a Quartermaster, but not until I get off mess cooking. Another position that isn't so bad is being a shipfitter (carpenter) on a ship..." pril 12, 1946, Vasil writes to his parents. "...We are going to Naples, Italy...taking with us G.I.'s instead of P.W.'s [prisoners of war]...this time to replace those that have been in Italy for some time. Yesterday that boy with a mustache and I got two free tickets to the movies...Just before we saw the picture 'Sailor Takes A Wife' there was a hypnotism guy. He...asked for 10 people to go up the stage and perform some of his commands but he soon changed his mind and asked for 10 men from the armed forces...Nobody was going up so the sailor with the mustache and I went up and then the rest of the other G.I.'s and civilians followed. We got a lot of applause for going up & performing his (hypnotists') act. It was good...I went to the circus (Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus). It was the best circus I had ever seen...Four good hours..." April 15, 1946, Cip [possibly a friend] writes to Vasil from Pearl Harbor. "...Nothing ever happens in Pearl Harbor and there is nothing to do...We've been here over two months and since they postponed the A-bomb test, we'll probably be here for a couple more months...Our good skipper left and we got another captain...Our Exec. Left last week and we got a new one. He's just plain no good - a prick...Everybody hates him...I am the only storekeeper...and I have a lot of work to do for one man...We don't have enough men or enough of anything. I can't wait to get out of Pearl Harbor. Honolulu is one of the worst places to spend a liberty..." April 15, 1946, Cip [possibly a friend] writes to Vasil from Pearl Harbor. "...Nothing ever happens in Pearl Harbor and there is nothing to do...We've been here over two months and since they postponed the A-bomb test, we'll probably be here for a couple more months...Our good skipper left and we got another captain...Our Exec. Left last week and we got a new one. He's just plain no good - a prick...Everybody hates him...I am the only storekeeper...and I have a lot of work to do for one man...We don't have enough men or enough of anything. I can't wait to get out of Pearl Harbor. Honolulu is one of the worst places to spend a liberty..." April 15, 1946, Vasil, who works in the mess hall, writes to Nick from the U.S.S. General G.O. Squier. "...We shoved off for Naples, Italy, on the 12...Including the ship's company men...are Navy passengers and army passengers going to Naples...Counting all the men on ship are about 600...It feels good to work only about 6 hours a day...Before we had to work 14 hours a day when we had about 3,300 people to feed...I expect to be discharged around August but I think that I'll re-enlist for another two years. So, I'll be able to get 4 years of free college..." May 29, 1946, Vasil writes to Nick. "I am now on my way to Germany with a load of 3,500 men of which there are 130 krauts (Germans). There is one German Navy Captain & a few other officers & the rest of the 130 are enlisted Navy men. Their ship gave up to the Americans at the beginning of the war. The ship will be used for the A-bomb test in the near future...When we get back from Germany, we will go to Norfolk, VA, then to Baltimore, Maryland, where the ship will get decommissioned...So will end the Squier's last trip..." May 30, 1946, Vasil writes to his parents. "We sailed to Bremen, Germany, on Sunday...and our ship carried capacity about 3,500...Among that number, we had about 130 Germans who surrendered to us at the beginning of the war...under protective custody. They surrendered in a German cruiser which will be used as a target for the A-bomb test..." February 21, 1952, Alec writes to Nick from Camp Atterbury, a training camp. "I'm finally at Camp Atterbury (Indiana). You know what it's like to live in barracks after fourteen months bivouac...This place is beautiful, not like the sand and dust in South Carolina and Texas...They got all modern conveniences...I'm afraid those Mississippi b______ds will start taking the machines apart and send them home. The way they steal...I won't put it past them if we end up cooking our meals outside on bon fires...The girls here sure go for the army uniform and there are a lot of them. They just go and pick up the soldiers...I'd like to write about my last days in Texas...When the maneuvers ended, they sent us to Camp Bowie. It's just outside the city of Brownwood. We stayed there about two days and then they sent us to Mathis Air Field, another hundred miles away. We stayed at Mathis Air Field for four days before they finally got a flight for us. The days were pretty miserable because for two days, the wind was blowing...and...sure stirred the dust...My flight was postponed for 29 hours because of some motor failure. One of the planes...one motor completely konked out. The boys said they started to say their prayers and tighten up on the parachute harness but after a few minutes and a loss of altitude, the pilot finally got the motor started again..." September 7, 1952, Alec writes to Nick. "...Today, up on the line, we got more action than usual. We have been fighting North Koreans all this time. Today, we found out that the Chinese Communists have entered the lines in front of us...One patrol got as far as inside one trench...We could look forward to more action on the eastern battle line in Korea...Tomorrow, I'm in charge of another booby trap probing detail...I'm going to take more ammo with me than usual because I'm going...where the Chinese Communists were. I'm going to ask for more security from the line company than usual...I'm having a tight feeling inside of me. I suppose it will make me more cautious. .." No date, Alec writes to Nick. "Nick, Keep this section separate from the main letter. On the seventeenth of this month, I had an experience I'd like to tell you. I'm writing this on a separate sheet in hope that Tato and Mama don't get a hold of it...On the seventeenth, I was supposed to go to the rear area for a shower...As I was waiting for my transportation to come, the platoon sergeant got word that an inspecting officer was going to be in the area...He told me that there wasn't going to be any showers...I started to clean up the bunker. After I finished, I turned on the radio and took it easy. While sitting around, about ten after ten, one of the line companies (King Company) called for two demolition men in a hurry. They said to bring enough explosives to blow up three bunkers...The sergeant told me to get another guy and report to King Company...Seeing a carbine hanging in the bunker, I picked it up because it's lighter and easier to carry around. I also took a bayonet just in case I had to dig a hole to bury the explosives...As we arrived in King Company, we were immediately greeted by an officer...He immediately gave me and the other guy an armor vest. When he gave the vest to me, I almost shit (if you'll pardon the expression)...He told us we are going on a patrol and blow up three heavy fortified enemy bunkers. All I done was look at the fifteen round clip of ammo I had in the carbine...He gave me a couple more clips. Further down the road, I seen the patrol that was going out with us...It made me feel pretty important...As we passed a fighting hole, I noticed a couple hand grenades so I took them...The enemy positions were not more than seven hundred yards from our trenches. When we were about a hundred yards from our objective we radioed for our support. You should have seen that artillery and mortars landing all over our objective...We moved another fifty yards and they threw some more artillery and mortar rounds on our objective. When the barrage lifted, the patrol moved on. As soon as our point main came within sight of the enemy, the enemy opened up on us. They really raised hell with their 51cal. mach. Gun. They had us pinned down for two hours and a half. One of our fellows tried to flank the machine gun and he stopped a slug right in the forehead. A medic went down after him and he stopped one in the chest. At times, the patrol was a mass of confusion and about seven wounded. As we were pinned down, the 'chinks' tried to flank us on our left flank...One of the guys noticed this. They quickly set up a 20 cal. machine gun in that direction. They opened up with everything on them, the B.A.R.'s, rifles, hand grenades...The 'chinks' finally bugged out of our left flank. They killed another of our group and wounded another medic. Then the patrol leader called for reinforcements from our trenches...When they came, the officer in charge...is a new officer so he came Hollywood style. He didn't even have a chance to reach the patrol leader when he stopped a 51 cal slug in his shoulder...We called to our reinforcements for supporting fire. The rounds were about six feet over our head and we were hugging mother earth. The rounds were hitting the trees all around us...One colored B.A.R. man...was scared shitless. When you looked all around you, you would see wounded and scared guys. A lot of the guys were almost out of ammo because they were shooting needlessly...After a while, I got another clip of ammo from a wounded guy. This made me sixty rounds altogether. When the patrol leader saw that the cause was useless, he called back and told them what the situation was. We got ordered to pull out but we stayed another hour because we were pinned down. Then the patrol leader told us to pull out, back to our lines. The guys started to go back...and they were leaving the wounded behind. I felt like shooting everyone of them bastards [enemies]. I helped one guy and the other PA helped one all the way back. It was a slick muddy way back up the hill. As we were pulling out, our mortars and artillery fell on the enemy positions. We left our B.A.R. men in the rear for our rear guard...They were shooting towards the enemy all the way back...As we hit our lines, everyone was wet with sweat...We were greeted by our Battalion commander and our respective company commanders...They had little jeeps waiting for the wounded...They had the wounded officer evacuated by helicopter. Totals 9 wounded, 3 killed, 35-man patrol...The same night they had a patrol go out to bring the dead in. They were never found because the 'chinks' got to them first." October 16, 1952, Alec writes to Nick. "...Now a little on the coming election...It's the state and city candidates I'm concerned about. I'd hate to vote for some tin horns who might be on the party I'm voting...Eisenhower doesn't seem to be very popular with the troops over here because of some of the statements he has said. We are up on all the political speeches here because of the radio. We also get Stars and Stripes which keeps us pretty well informed...As for this promotion deal to Assistant Squad Leader, it's ok! But darn it, you do the job but don't have the rating. I don't think it's fair. Most of the ratings are froze so over here we're pretty well screwed...I'm getting to know all the line company, company commanders and officers. It's getting to the point where they are asking my advice on this mine probing and napalm mine laying...[Napalm land mines were improvised during the Korean War.]These napalm mines (something new) are a five-gallon cylindrical can, filled with napalm with a hole in the bottom to place a booster charge for setting off the mine. To this booster charge, you place an electric cap and this in turn you connect wires to your trench or fighting hole. These mines are placed fifty yards in front of your position and are set off electrically whenever seen fit. These mines could be rigged up individually or made to go off in a cluster of three. They are set off by a battery. Theses mines sure give the line boys that extra feeling of security and sure could give the 'chinks' a good hot foot. The 'chinks' are starting to kind of come close to our positions. In some spots they are only six hundred yards away. So one day as we were laying these napalm mines, the enemy must of spotted us because they started to throw mortar rounds on us. The first came about forty yards away. The second came within twenty yards...When this happens, the boys say, 'The chinks are throwing shit into the game.' So...we...bug out and go to our trenches...They...are pretty good shot with their mortars and artillery...I ducked...I sure respect the damage the shrapnel can do. You sure do get a funny feeling when you hear it flying all around...About a week ago, they had us help carry the wounded to the medical aid station. This is the first time I actually seen a battle wound. Some of them are wicked. One of the boys was killed so they left him in the trench until everyone else was patched up...That same night, they killed the officer in charge of the patrol and another guy. They couldn't get them so they left them out there. The next day they went to look for them and they were gone. The chinks must have taken the...These air strikes...I enjoy watching. Them fly boys really deserve credit...One day...Navy Panther Jets came out of no where and started giving the chinks 'hell' not more than six hundred yards away. They really brought them down to tree top level. I think if they wanted to they could spit the chinks in the eyes...They also have a lot of air strikes with Navy Corsairs and Hellcats and Air Force F-80 and F-94 Mustangs. They must like to drop napalm bombs and shoot rockets because they do a lot of it...The latest news is that we are going to go into reserves or in other words leave the front lines on the nineteenth of this month..." January 7, 1953, Alec writes to Nick from North Korea. "...I'm back...on the line again...living in the same positions but not the same bunkers. You may remember one of the photos I sent home, the one with the medics' bunker that had a hole blown in it by the enemy artillery. Well that is our home now...The outfit we replaced, the 223rd Inf. Regt. of the 40th Division didn't do much fighting...If I know the 5th R.C.T., they are going to harass the enemy as much as possible. In turn, I expect the enemy to open up on us...The guys who are in the trenches on guard sing out loud and holler to the other guys...They hardly do any shooting...Before they would let loose with a quad-fifty mach. Gun...This shooting is for indirect fire or harassing fire...Everybody here has to wear armor vests when they are outdoors...I found out today I didn't make Sgt...My platoon leader, he'll be sorry he ever was my platoon leader... January 10, 1953, Alec writes to Nick from North Korea. "Two days ago, I was made squad leader...Yesterday, I was told to report to operations...There the captain told me to make a layout of the whole...knob that we live in...The captain was very pleased...This captain is a West Point graduate and is hard to please...I was sent out to make a layout of all the napalm mines in front of our battalion line...I still have a couple companies to go...I sure get to know the big shots...The only thing that peeves me off...they don't give you anything like rank...My platoon leader is the one that is screwing me...He could successfully pull top honors for being the stupidest, ignorant...first lieutenant in the army...Making the layouts for the napalm mines...you get the perfect view of 'chink' lines... All of the letters are in very good condition and very legible for easy reading. The entire archive is housed in two fine three-ring binders.

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