Andrew Babjak was 18 when he decided join the US army. (source: Courtesy of P. H.)
A forgotten Slovak, Andrej Babjak, is one of tens of thousands of soldiers who, as part of the Allied forces, landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, 80 years ago in an effort to change the course of the Second World War and defeat Nazi Germany.
The massive military operation against the Nazis, which became known as the D-Day operation, took place on June 6, 1944, under the codename OVERLORD.
It is military history buff Pavol Horňák from Košice who discovered that Babjak took part in the invasion.
“I searched the American archives for information about my ancestors, several of whom once went to work in the United States. I also happened to find a mention of Babjak,” he told the Pravda daily.
Babjak is believed to be the only known Slovak who took part in the D-Day landings. The Slovak has been a big unknown to people in Slovakia until now. They are more familiar with Slovak-US soldier Michael Strank.
From a Slovak village to Connecticut
Born on January 20, 1924, Babjak was a paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. He was born in the village of Žbince in the Michalovce district, eastern Slovakia.
During his ancestral search, Horňák learned that he and Babjak are related.
“I found out that through a marriage that had already taken place in the United States of America, one of Andrej’s relatives married a native of Trhovište (a village near Žbince, ed.) named Horňák. So we are related,” the Slovak told the RTVS public broadcaster.
Horňák used to spend his childhood at his grandparents’ in Falkušovce, which is another village near Žbince.
According to the history enthusiast, Babjak was 15 years old when he arrived in America in 1939 to reunite with his parents and brother. He had lived at his uncle’s before. The Babjak family lived in Connecticut. Babjak did not attend school in the US, but straight to work.
“The city of Bridgeport became his new home until 1943, when he joined the US Army,” said Horňák.
In 1943, he also obtained US citizenship. By this time, he had changed his name to Andrew.
Andrej Babjak. (source: Courtesy of P. H.)
Killed in action
When the D-Day operation began, the Slovak-US soldier served as ammunition carrier. On the late evening of June 5, Babjak and 16 other paratroopers got on a plane that took off from Folkingham Airport, 180 km from London. They jumped off near the town of Picauville, Normandy, two hours after midnight.
“Unfortunately, Babjak was one of the three paratroopers who did not live to see dawn,” Horňák noted for Pravda.
He drowned in the flooded basin of the Douve River, where the Nazis opened water dams, which flooded a large part of the surrounding area. The Nazis created a swampy ground from which the paratrooper, with his heavy gear, had no chance of extricating himself quickly.
“Even though he was young, he was a very brave man. He gave his life for freedom,” Babjak’s nephew John M. Babjak told the Sme daily.
Babjak rests in peace in a cemetery in Normandy alongside thousands of other soldiers. From here, visitors can see Omaha beach, the code name for one of the beaches that the Allied armies used for the landing. The other beaches were code-named Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword.
The cross that marks Andrew Babjak's grave. (source: Geronimo Military History Club)
On June 14, a monument will be unveiled in the Kasigarda - Museum of Emigration from Slovakia to North America in Pavlovce nad Uhom, eastern Slovakia, partly thanks to the support of the US embassy in Slovakia.
“Andrej was a young man, an ordinary soldier, about whom we might not even have known under other circumstances,” Horňák said. “What's important, and we should take it from his story, is that Slovaks were and are part of historical events and participated in many wars all over the world while risking their lives.”
