Vasil Kalinič

"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."

"My name is Vasil Kalinič. I was born on February 10th, 1924 in Saldobos village in the Chus region. I voluntarily entered the Czechoslovak army, led by General Ludvík Svoboda, in Chust town. After that, I was transported to Humenne town. After only a short military training, I went out on the front. I entered the army because at the time we thought that the Carpathian Ruthenia would remain as Czechoslovak territory."

"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."