I have previously mentioned the Lodge Act on several occasions. I have even blogged on a friend that I had who came into the Special Forces under the Lodge Act. I believe it is one of the better ideas that our legislators came up with, god knows they don't do it often enough! Unfortunately the Lodge Act was short lived and there was much opposition from various places, including the U.S. Army itself! The most common criticism of the act was that we did not want to create a Foreign Legion like the French! Well, the Lodge Act was not meant to create a separate unit, it was meant to allow the army to recruit qualified people directly into various army units, especially the Special Forces. I still believe it was a terrific idea and the people I met, those who came into the Special Forces under the Lodge Act, only made me believe even more that it was a very good idea!
For those who may have forgotten, to refresh your memory, the Lodge Act was passed in 1952 for the purpose of allowing the U.S. Army to recruit and accept qualified Eastern European volunteers for service. At the time there was a great shortage of army personnel who could speak Eastern European languages fluently, at native level. It was a period when the Cold War had just begun and there was mild panic within some circles that we did not have enough people in military intelligence and other units who could speak Russian, Polish, and other Eastern European languages at a native level.
Unfortunately, because of opposition and unfounded rumors of communist attempts to infiltrate our military, the Lodge Act had a minimal effect on the U.S. Army as a whole. Most army units, with the exception of the Special Forces, were reluctant to recruit Eastern Europeans. Special Forces tried to take full advantage of the Lodge Act and recruited as many qualified Eastern Europeans as it could. In that way, the Special Forces was able to recruit several hundred Eastern Europeans, mostly veterans of ComBloc armies! They all proved to be superb additions to the Special Forces and I was fortunate enough to have met and served with several Lodge Act soldiers during those early years.
Jerzy Kuczak was a cheerful, seemingly happy-go-lucky, Sergeant First Class E-7 when I met him in 1964. He was Polish, but grew up in Brest, Belaroussia. At the time he was born and was growing up before World War Two, Brest was part of Poland. However, at the end of World War Two when Kuczak was around 14, Brest became part of Belaroussia and the Soviet Union. So, he essentially spent his latter teen years under the Soviet rule. He said he had always been interested in the military so it was only natural that he excelled in the military portion of his schooling in gymnasium. His talents were noted by the Soviets so upon graduation at age 17 he was sent off to officers training school in Minsk. Of course he had no choice in the matter. Had he refused to go, he would have been marked as a trouble maker and probably sent off to some "re-education" center, i.e., internment camp (slave labor) for dissidents! So off he went to Minsk.
Upon graduation from training, which unlike our OCS lasted 2 years instead of 6 months (today's OCS is 3 months), he was assigned to Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany, Berlin to be precise. As a young Soviet Junior Lieutenant (that's like a "third" lieutenant!), Kuczak marveled at the wonders of the West, despite the fact that Berlin was only beginning to recover from the ruins. This was at a time before the Berlin Wall went up so it was not difficult for the Soviet troops to see what it was like on the "other side." Kuczak had studied French and German (and English) when he was in gymnasium. He had even won a prize for his French. It didn't take him long to realize that he would be much better off on the "other side" rather than remaining with the Soviets. So after some careful planning, he defected to the French side. Berlin, as you may recall, was divided into French, British, American, and Soviet sectors. He chose the French side because he felt with his ability in speaking French, he would stand a better chance of making a good life for himself.
So, he defected. However, he couldn't take advantage of the Lodge Act because he was on the French side! The French, after interrogating him thoroughly, allowed him to resettle at a place of his choosing, naturally he chose Paris, who wouldn't? However, life in Paris in early 1950s for a 19-20 year old Polish/Soviet defector was not all wine, women, and song. He couldn't find any decent work and working in menial jobs and living hand to mouth was not exactly what he had hoped for when he defected. Life as a Soviet officer was much better. albeit not as free! Somewhere along the line, someone suggested to him that he might want to try the Foreign Legion, that with his military background he would be a natural. At the time, the French Indochina War was raging. So, he marched off to a Foreign Legion recruiting station and signed up.
He was first sent to Algeria where the Foreign Legion was Headquartered and had its training center. There he trained and volunteered for the parachute duty. Upon completion of his training he was immediately shipped off to Indochina (Vietnam) where he was assigned to the famous Foreign Legion's 1st Parachute Battalion, the 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutiste. The unit was already heavily engaged in battle so he was immediately issued combat gear and thrown into the lion's den. He said with a chuckle that the camouflage smock that he was issued had bullet holes in it, with some dark stains! He said that contrary to popular belief, Foreign Legion did not have top notch equipment and their training left much to be desired. He said the training was brutal, but lacked sophistication or proper technical know how. Marksmanship training was minimal!
In May of 1954 his unit, along with six other parachute battalions jumped into a place called Dien Bien Phu. There, they engaged in a most ferocious battle of all during the French Indochina War. At the end, he was among some 11,000 French POWs captured by the Viet Minh under the command of the General Vo Giap. He said it was a hellish experience, the Vietnamese POW camp, the beatings, lack of medical care and food. But he survived. When the war ended shortly, he was returned to France first then to Algeria. But by then he decided that he did not want to stick around. Although the Foreign Legion enlistment is for five years, those who were POWs in the Indochina War were given an option to leave the Legion if they wanted. Kuczak did not need a second invitation, he left the Legion and kicked around Europe as a DP (Displaced Person, a refugee) for a while until he heard of the Lodge Act. He sought out a U.S. Army installation and enlisted in the U.S. Army under the Lodge Act and entered the Special Forces.
He was a great story teller and he told his tale light heartedly, almost comically, as if it was all a big joke! Later I met another Lodge Act soldier who also served in the French Foreign Legion in Indochina. He knew Kuzcak in those days and said that he was an outstanding soldier, fearless in battle, and was known as the "Crazy Polack!"
Kuzcak absolutely loved the Special Forces. He served his whole career with the SF and did multiple tours in Vietnam! He was given a direct commission after a while and used to joke that he was the oldest Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he was in his 30s then. He rose to the rank of full bird Colonel and retired in Milwaukee where, of all things, he ran a Polish Deli!
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