I Didn't Know Where I Was

Aug 7, 2017, 9:52 PM

During my time in service during WW2 and the Korean War, there were many times I didn't know where I was but this one has always been a puzzle. Steve (Pollock) Kozak and I were sent on a special mission in early 1945 in Europe to place I can't remember. Neither do I remember why we were there or what we did. It was cold and had been snowing. The temperature would hover around freezing and then it would get colder and there would be more show.

One night Steve and I were preparing our shelter halves, We raked away as much snow as we could and searched for straw or something to place between our sleeping bags and the ground. It was like sleeping on a block of ice and we were having a difficult time getting to sleep. In the meantime, some of the other guys found a few pieces of wood and built a fire. Steve decided he would go to the fire, heat some water and make some bullion. He must have stayed by the fire for awhile because I finally dozed off.

Some time later Steve returned to our shelter, shook my feet and asked if I was awake. I said, "I am now, you d..n Pollock, I could kill you". That didn't phase Steve one bit and he offered me a cup of hot bullion.

Time passed and in the spring of 1948 I was now married and both of us were students at the Univ. of Florida. Steve came by to see us on is way to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I remained in touch with Steve through 1950 and at that time Steve had not married.

Now, fast forward to January 1986. I was scheduled to retire at the end of February. We had a contract with the Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical School and much of the equipment was on my inventory. It was necessary for me to go to Pittsburgh, check the inventory and effect a transfer. Steve's home before and after WW2 was in Wilmerding., PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. I checked the area phone book and there was a Steve Kozak listed in Wilmerding. I placed a call and a lady answered. I told her I was Joe21 and had served with a Steve Kozak during WW2 and was this the Steve Kozak I am seeking. She replied, "yes, it is, and I know exactly who you are". She then told me Steve had cancer and had died in 1979. She said Steve had told her so many stories about the two of us and the "Fearsome Foursome". "But let me tell you his favorite. And then she repeated the story I told above, word for word. I sat there dumbfounded. How can two people remember some insignificant event in detail, tell it to a third person and the words remain exactly the same.

I then asked her if Steve had told her where we were, why we were there and what we did. She saoid he couldn't remember anything other than our cold night.

For many years I could not remember the where, why and what and was beginning to believe I must have had a dream. When I returned home, I told my wife and children, "it was true. It did happen but Steve could not remember the where, why and what either".

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I Didn't Know Where I Was

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Re: I Didn't Know Where I Was

I assume you are 96

Re: I Didn't Know Where I Was

Re: I Didn't Know Where I Was

The Army is great about keeping your location secret -

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