Paluch Saluted in South Wheeling by Family, Community
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WHEELING - Pvt. Michael Paluch of Wheeling went to battle in Italy during World War II and never came home, but his memory and his spirit still resonate with members of his family and his home community who on Friday vowed to never forget his life and service to his country.
Paluch’s family members, city officials and representatives of veterans organizations were among those who gathered in South Wheeling on Friday to remember his legacy during a military banner dedication ceremony.
The salute took place where Paluch’s new banner is now displayed near the intersection of Jacob and 42nd streets outside Our Lady of Perpetual Help Ukrainian Catholic Church.
"He made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Anzio - one of the most significant battles in the Italian Campaign during World War II," said John Larch of the Wheeling Military Banner Program.
Paluch served in the U.S. Army - 34th Infantry Division when he was deployed to Europe in 1944.
Before he enlisted, he was among seven siblings living in Wheeling. He was the oldest, and his little sister, Patricia, was the youngest by far. She is the last living sibling among them all.
"My parents were both immigrants from the Ukraine, and they came to this country back in the early 1900s," Patricia Pockl said during Friday’s ceremony. "They already had six children, and then 15 years later, I came along as the seventh one."
When the family immigrated to the United States from what is now a former Ukrainian region that is now part of Poland, they initially settled in Minnesota before relocating to Wheeling. Paluch was born Sept. 19, 1912 in Hopkins, Minnesota.
"When I was born, he was already married," Pockl said, noting that Michael and his wife were unable to have children of their own. In light of the age gap, they had asked their parents if they could adopt Patricia, who was just a toddler when her 31-year-old brother went off to war. "My parents said, ‘no - she’s your sister.’"
Pockl said a brother and brothers-in-law also served during WWII, but Michael was the only one who was killed in action.
Family members noted that he truly never came home. He was buried among thousands of other U.S. military members from the Battle of Anzio who were laid to rest in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy.
The Battle of Anzio was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. It raged on for four months, two weeks and two days - ending on June 4, 1944, just two days after Paluch was killed. The battle claimed the lives of around 7,000 allied troops, with an estimated 36,000 others wounded or missing.
"This was only one battle - the Battle of Anzio," Pockl said, becoming emotional as she emphasized the staggering number of casualties involved in just one of many battles during the war. "That’s unbelievable. Can you believe that? You don’t know how lucky we really are to live in the United States of America. To be able to have churches you can go to and be proud of, and have people surrounding you that love you and keep you."
Over the decades, members of Paluch’s family have made the international trip to visit his gravesite south of Rome.
"I had the honor of going over to those graves," Pockl said. "If you could see the miles of crosses and stars of David that were in those cemeteries. You wonder, why does this world want war all of the time? What does it solve? It solves nothing. We all come from different backgrounds, but we can all live together."
Mary Ann Mysliwiec, Paluch’s niece, shared stories of her uncle that were handed down from her late mother.
"They were all first-generation Americans, willing to live out the American dream," Mysliwiec said, noting that the family became members of the church parish - formerly St. Mary’s and now Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Paluch got married in 1934 and worked as a smoker at a local meat packing company. He was active in the church and in the community, his niece noted.
"He was always helping and doing whatever needed to be done around here," she said.
Mysliwiec said her uncle Michael enlisted in August 1943 at age 31 in hopes that maybe his younger brother, Alex, who had a young son, Rocky - also in attendance during Friday’s ceremony - would not be called up to serve. Paluch was deployed less than a year later after enlisting.
"We must remember those brave people who were not only soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, they were also fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters who had plans, hopes and dreams - and they had goals and ambitions. Yet they sacrificed all of that," said Quartermaster Chuck Ryan of VFW Post 4442.
The Moundsville Veterans Honor Guard gave Paluch a final rifle salute and presented the family with a flag in his honor at the end of Friday’s ceremony.
"What this banner program has done for the families up and down these streets is prove the fact that we never forget, and we never will forget," said Dave Schoenian, president of the Moundsville Veterans Honor Guard.
"Each banner is incredibly special and heroic, with an honorable story behind each one that includes memories of growing up in our community and family that remembers and cherishes their family members who served their country with dignity," said Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron.
"I really think it is an honor that Wheeling pays attention to its military members," Pockl said.
Lt. Joseph Gompers, a 102-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who served in WWII, was on hand during Friday’s ceremony and helped present miniature replicas of Paluch’s military banner to the family members in attendance.
"I don’t think any of us have any idea what it’s like to get the knock on the door and get passed the bad news that your son or daughter who has been serving and gave their all," Gompers said. "The anguish, the pain and the suffering that the family goes through is something that I don’t believe any of us realize."
The Wheeling Military Banner Program honors not only salutes U.S. veterans from the city - living or deceased - but also active duty military personnel. More than 400 banners have been installed in neighborhoods throughout the city over the past two years. For information about the program, visit the city’s website.