Name Edward Victor Baranski
From Cook County, Illinois
Born February 15, 1917
Death January 24, 1945
War World War II
ID O-422520
Rank Captain
Specialty Intelligence Officer
Branch US Army
Group OSS, Office of Strategic Services, 2677th Regiment
POW Status Reported Dead while Captured, Prisoner of War
MIA Status Declared Dead while Missing
Cause Missing in Action, Prisoner of War
Location POW Camp, Czechoslovakia
Awarded
★ Silver Star
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart
Captain Baranski
served with the 2677th Regiment,
Office of Strategic Services, U.S.
Army.
The following is a written account
of Edward Baranski's military service
and history as was submitted by
William Rayher, a fellow soldier
of Mr. Baranski.
"Kathie Lund never met her
father, Capt. Edward Victor Baranski.
She has only a few of his possessions,
including his Army-issue first-aid
kit. However, Baranski, a gifted
amateur singer, left behind a song
for his daughter about a rose garden.
Over the years, Lund has listened
to that song again and again. That
is why she would like to see a bronze
plaque bearing a rose bouquet at
the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
in Austria, where her father and
33 other Americans were executed
during World War II. Victor Baranski
was a mess sergeant in 1944 when
he volunteered for a special assignment
to Slovenia. The Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) accepted him for
the operation and promoted him to
captain.
Baranski's mother was of Slovak
descent, and he was fluent in both
Slovak and German. Baranski's linguistic
skills put him at the front with
the OSS mission almost immediately.
In this case, the front was Slovenia,
where an uprising against the Germans
was about to take place on August
29, 1944. At some point, Baranski
and his radioman, Daniel Paveletich,
had to go underground. The Hubner
family of Piest hid them. While
the Hubners knew that their "guests"
were partisans of some kind, for
their protection, Baranski told
them that he and Paveletich were
German lumber merchants. Some time
in the early fall of 1944, both
men were captured and taken to a
German prison. OSS records of Baranski's
interrogation there show that his
translated "answers" to
Nazi questions were really prayers.
Lund says this evidence of faith
is the greatest gift her father
could have given her. Before he
was captured, far from home and
his wife, daughter, and son, Baranski
would often sing to the Hubners'
granddaughter, Maria. In August,
2005, Kathie Lund and more than
30 members of her family met Maria
Lacatova in the town of Piest. 'Maria
threw her arms around me,' Lund
said. 'She told me she knew that
my father was really singing to
me.' "
Captain Baranski is listed as Missing
in Action or Buried at Sea on the
Tablets of the Missing at Epinal
American Cemetery, Epinal, France.
He was awarded the Silver Star and
Purple Heart.
-submitted by William Rayher, fellow soldier, and information taken from Illinois Alumni News, April, 1947 and Web site above
From Cook County, Illinois
Born February 15, 1917
Death January 24, 1945
War World War II
ID O-422520
Rank Captain
Specialty Intelligence Officer
Branch US Army
Group OSS, Office of Strategic Services, 2677th Regiment
POW Status Reported Dead while Captured, Prisoner of War
MIA Status Declared Dead while Missing
Cause Missing in Action, Prisoner of War
Location POW Camp, Czechoslovakia
Awarded
★ Silver Star
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart
Captain Baranski
served with the 2677th Regiment,
Office of Strategic Services, U.S.
Army.
The following is a written account
of Edward Baranski's military service
and history as was submitted by
William Rayher, a fellow soldier
of Mr. Baranski.
"Kathie Lund never met her
father, Capt. Edward Victor Baranski.
She has only a few of his possessions,
including his Army-issue first-aid
kit. However, Baranski, a gifted
amateur singer, left behind a song
for his daughter about a rose garden.
Over the years, Lund has listened
to that song again and again. That
is why she would like to see a bronze
plaque bearing a rose bouquet at
the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
in Austria, where her father and
33 other Americans were executed
during World War II. Victor Baranski
was a mess sergeant in 1944 when
he volunteered for a special assignment
to Slovenia. The Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) accepted him for
the operation and promoted him to
captain.
Baranski's mother was of Slovak
descent, and he was fluent in both
Slovak and German. Baranski's linguistic
skills put him at the front with
the OSS mission almost immediately.
In this case, the front was Slovenia,
where an uprising against the Germans
was about to take place on August
29, 1944. At some point, Baranski
and his radioman, Daniel Paveletich,
had to go underground. The Hubner
family of Piest hid them. While
the Hubners knew that their "guests"
were partisans of some kind, for
their protection, Baranski told
them that he and Paveletich were
German lumber merchants. Some time
in the early fall of 1944, both
men were captured and taken to a
German prison. OSS records of Baranski's
interrogation there show that his
translated "answers" to
Nazi questions were really prayers.
Lund says this evidence of faith
is the greatest gift her father
could have given her. Before he
was captured, far from home and
his wife, daughter, and son, Baranski
would often sing to the Hubners'
granddaughter, Maria. In August,
2005, Kathie Lund and more than
30 members of her family met Maria
Lacatova in the town of Piest. 'Maria
threw her arms around me,' Lund
said. 'She told me she knew that
my father was really singing to
me.' "
Captain Baranski is listed as Missing
in Action or Buried at Sea on the
Tablets of the Missing at Epinal
American Cemetery, Epinal, France.
He was awarded the Silver Star and
Purple Heart.
-submitted by William Rayher, fellow soldier, and information taken from Illinois Alumni News, April, 1947 and Web site above
Name Edward Victor Baranski
From Cook County, Illinois
Born February 15, 1917
Death January 24, 1945
War World War II
ID O-422520
Rank Captain
Specialty Intelligence Officer
Branch US Army
Group OSS, Office of Strategic Services, 2677th Regiment
POW Status Reported Dead while Captured, Prisoner of War
MIA Status Declared Dead while Missing
Cause Missing in Action, Prisoner of War
Location POW Camp, Czechoslovakia
Awarded
★ Silver Star
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart
Captain Baranski
served with the 2677th Regiment,
Office of Strategic Services, U.S.
Army.
The following is a written account
of Edward Baranski's military service
and history as was submitted by
William Rayher, a fellow soldier
of Mr. Baranski.
"Kathie Lund never met her
father, Capt. Edward Victor Baranski.
She has only a few of his possessions,
including his Army-issue first-aid
kit. However, Baranski, a gifted
amateur singer, left behind a song
for his daughter about a rose garden.
Over the years, Lund has listened
to that song again and again. That
is why she would like to see a bronze
plaque bearing a rose bouquet at
the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
in Austria, where her father and
33 other Americans were executed
during World War II. Victor Baranski
was a mess sergeant in 1944 when
he volunteered for a special assignment
to Slovenia. The Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) accepted him for
the operation and promoted him to
captain.
Baranski's mother was of Slovak
descent, and he was fluent in both
Slovak and German. Baranski's linguistic
skills put him at the front with
the OSS mission almost immediately.
In this case, the front was Slovenia,
where an uprising against the Germans
was about to take place on August
29, 1944. At some point, Baranski
and his radioman, Daniel Paveletich,
had to go underground. The Hubner
family of Piest hid them. While
the Hubners knew that their "guests"
were partisans of some kind, for
their protection, Baranski told
them that he and Paveletich were
German lumber merchants. Some time
in the early fall of 1944, both
men were captured and taken to a
German prison. OSS records of Baranski's
interrogation there show that his
translated "answers" to
Nazi questions were really prayers.
Lund says this evidence of faith
is the greatest gift her father
could have given her. Before he
was captured, far from home and
his wife, daughter, and son, Baranski
would often sing to the Hubners'
granddaughter, Maria. In August,
2005, Kathie Lund and more than
30 members of her family met Maria
Lacatova in the town of Piest. 'Maria
threw her arms around me,' Lund
said. 'She told me she knew that
my father was really singing to
me.' "
Captain Baranski is listed as Missing
in Action or Buried at Sea on the
Tablets of the Missing at Epinal
American Cemetery, Epinal, France.
He was awarded the Silver Star and
Purple Heart.
-submitted by William Rayher, fellow soldier, and information taken from Illinois Alumni News, April, 1947 and Web site above
From Cook County, Illinois
Born February 15, 1917
Death January 24, 1945
War World War II
ID O-422520
Rank Captain
Specialty Intelligence Officer
Branch US Army
Group OSS, Office of Strategic Services, 2677th Regiment
POW Status Reported Dead while Captured, Prisoner of War
MIA Status Declared Dead while Missing
Cause Missing in Action, Prisoner of War
Location POW Camp, Czechoslovakia
Awarded
★ Silver Star
★ Prisoner of War Medal
★ Purple Heart
Captain Baranski
served with the 2677th Regiment,
Office of Strategic Services, U.S.
Army.
The following is a written account
of Edward Baranski's military service
and history as was submitted by
William Rayher, a fellow soldier
of Mr. Baranski.
"Kathie Lund never met her
father, Capt. Edward Victor Baranski.
She has only a few of his possessions,
including his Army-issue first-aid
kit. However, Baranski, a gifted
amateur singer, left behind a song
for his daughter about a rose garden.
Over the years, Lund has listened
to that song again and again. That
is why she would like to see a bronze
plaque bearing a rose bouquet at
the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
in Austria, where her father and
33 other Americans were executed
during World War II. Victor Baranski
was a mess sergeant in 1944 when
he volunteered for a special assignment
to Slovenia. The Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) accepted him for
the operation and promoted him to
captain.
Baranski's mother was of Slovak
descent, and he was fluent in both
Slovak and German. Baranski's linguistic
skills put him at the front with
the OSS mission almost immediately.
In this case, the front was Slovenia,
where an uprising against the Germans
was about to take place on August
29, 1944. At some point, Baranski
and his radioman, Daniel Paveletich,
had to go underground. The Hubner
family of Piest hid them. While
the Hubners knew that their "guests"
were partisans of some kind, for
their protection, Baranski told
them that he and Paveletich were
German lumber merchants. Some time
in the early fall of 1944, both
men were captured and taken to a
German prison. OSS records of Baranski's
interrogation there show that his
translated "answers" to
Nazi questions were really prayers.
Lund says this evidence of faith
is the greatest gift her father
could have given her. Before he
was captured, far from home and
his wife, daughter, and son, Baranski
would often sing to the Hubners'
granddaughter, Maria. In August,
2005, Kathie Lund and more than
30 members of her family met Maria
Lacatova in the town of Piest. 'Maria
threw her arms around me,' Lund
said. 'She told me she knew that
my father was really singing to
me.' "
Captain Baranski is listed as Missing
in Action or Buried at Sea on the
Tablets of the Missing at Epinal
American Cemetery, Epinal, France.
He was awarded the Silver Star and
Purple Heart.
-submitted by William Rayher, fellow soldier, and information taken from Illinois Alumni News, April, 1947 and Web site above
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