Vasil Kalinič

"Because I was the youngest of eight kids and was given a good, Catholic upbringing, I signed up for the Faculty of Theology - the Catholic one - in Prešov town. I spent one year there, but because I had no money and no parents anymore, I moved to Prague shortly after and continued my studies at the Catholic theology school in Prague-Dejvice. I graduated in 1952, but did not gain my Master’s degree until 1991. I wanted to become a priest, and I was given junior ordination from Bishop Gojdič. In 1952, when I had just finished the school, our secretary (there used to be secretaries everywhere back then: in pastorates or in our university) told me that he would send me to Prešov town, but the Greek-Catholic Church had already been abandoned in 1950. So I wasn’t afraid to tell him, "Mr. Secretary, I’m not going to Prešov town, because the local Church is already abandoned and Bishop Gojdič, who gave me my ordination, is in the Leopoldov prison."

"Well, my first battle experience wasn’t really pleasant for me. I was in Mikuláš town, and nearby was a village which had been completely burned by Germans, so now we were fighting the Germans in all of the smoke. I was on the field - because the whole village was gone - and I was lying down between the dead and injured ones. The Germans were searching through us and shot anyone who was still moving, right on that field."

"It was during the fall, on the anniversary (I don’t remember the number), so I used the free ticket I had. I went to Prešov town and from there I intended to get to Dukla. Although I never fought in Dukla specifically, I met General Svoboda there. He was standing in front of the hotel in the town square and the people who had gathered around him were asking him, 'Mr. General, what have we been fighting for? We don’t even have a decent apartment anymore, we don’t have a family, we’re hurt physically and medically.' He responded, 'Look at me boys. I was your commander and I’m telling you that we have to wait. They are work on it already, and you won’t be forgotten.' And that’s how it really was then. I got married in 1966. I didn’t have an apartment, so I had to borrow one. We lived like this until 1970. General Svoboda knew my brother, and he knew me from the meeting infront of the Dukla hotel in Prešov town. I went straight to see him then, and under his order I received a nice apartment, where I still live, in about two weeks time. My troubles were gone."

"I wished I could have come home for Christmas, because Christmas and Easter were very much common for us, and they have a beautiful ordination. In Prague-Vršovice, in 2228th military squad, there used to be some Col. Sloup who was our commanding officer. He simply gave me a leave-permit to go home, but told me, 'You can’t go to Carpathian Ruthenia, because it’s no longer Carpathian Ruthenia. Now its Soviet Union.' The Russians had just occupied the territory in 1945. Just by coincidence, I made it past the border line at night with some Russian major and captain. When I arrived home and my parents saw me wearing the army uniform, they were so worried that I would be sent to jail. I was home only a few days before I tried to get back through Uzhhorod town, which is where the border was. A couple of us, the rebels, got together and went to Uzhhorod, where the Czech diplomatic offices used to be. But the Russians wouldn’t care. They told us to undress the uniforms and that we will stay there. No matter that I have had my leave-permit from Col. Sloup from Prague. The three of us got together anyway to carry out our escape: one Czech, who had Russian wife and carried a two-year-old kid in his knapsack; another man about twenty five years old, who actually ended up guiding us pass the border line behind Uzhhorod town, and myself. I don’t remember the name of the village where this happened, but we met the whole patrol team on horses. It was during the winter, in January. We all could have been killed by the patrol if they had seen us, but we were hiding under the bushes as they passed around us. We were lucky and safely made it another eight kilometers to finally reach Prague."