June 20, 2019 : An American Hero

John Lyskawa was an American hero.  He was born 12 January 1912, to Josef and Josephine Lyskawa, in Detroit Michigan.  He was a first generation  American, raised in a Polish neighborhood in Detroit. I don’t know a lot of his story, but I do know this:

The Lyskawa family came to America one at a time.  My Grandmother Lena Lyskawa was the first to arrive.  She left behind her mother, two sisters, and a brother.  She arrived alone in Baltimore MD in May of 1903 sponsored by her maternal aunt’s husband, Jan Antczak.  She worked with him in the tobacco factory he was employed at, and sent money home to the rest of her immediate family.  Her Mother Francziska and her sisters Victoria and Mary we able to join Lena by the time she wed my Grandfather Frank Jablonski (later changed to Joblinski), in September 1903. Joe’s story is slightly different.

The family legend is that because the Prussian Army conscripted Polish men into their army, he jumped a ship and stowed away to America.  A common practice among the Poles was to wait to see whose numbers were drawn, and if able, purchase the papers of a man who would not be taken off by the army.  It is more probably that the second option is in fact, how Joe came to America.  There was a young man from his village, also sponsored by Uncle Jan, who arrived in Baltimore.  There is no more trace of him in American records, but Josef appeared in Detroit shortly thereafter.   

Josef embraced his new country, registered for the draft in WWI, and married, raised a family, and in 1942 had to face his sons joining the armed forces.  John and several of his brothers joined, but John did not come home.  On 8 August, 1944 he died for his country, in a selfless act of saving his comrades. He lies buried at the American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer in Basse-Normandie, France.  His mother received a notice from the Army stating his remains were interred at Plot G, Row 14, Grave 17.  His Memorial ID is 56647119, and is marked by a white cross bearing his name.   His rank was Private First Class, U.S. Army and his unit was 117^th Infantry Regiment, 30^th Infantry Division  He was awarded the Purple Cross for his bravery. He was 32 years old when he died. Pvt.  John Lyskawa post #7546,  in Dearborn Heights, MI was named in his honor on 9 July 1946.  
Thank you for your service, Cousin John.