Leopold Oleniuk

Polish 2nd Corps

Leopold Oleniuk was born in a railway family in 1913 in Rudki near Lwow. He was the youngest of six children. In the 1920s he moved with his family to Sambor, where he graduated from the Teachers' Seminary.

In the September 1939 Campaign, Leopold fought as a reserve cadet in the ranks 5th Podhale Rifle Regiment. After crossing the Polish-Hungarian border, he was interned in Hungary, from where he escaped and made his way to Syria to join the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigades in Syria in 1940. As a platoon cadet, he fought in Tobruk in the ranks of the anti-tank artillery squadron.

During the September 1939 Campaign, he fought in the ranks of the 5th Podhale Rifle Regiment. He evacuated to Hungary where he was interned. He escaped and made his way to Syria, where he joined the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade and was one of the "Tobruk Rats". He commanded an anti-tank artillery battery. Leon fought the entire battle trail of the Polish 2nd Corps, including Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna. He was the commander of an anti-tank artillery battery in Italy and was promoted to captain.

He was awarded:

the Cross of Valour (three times)
the Silver Cross of VIRTUTI MILITARIA
the September 1939 Campaign Medal
the Monte Cassino Cross
the Star of Italy
the Star of Africa
the 1939-1945 War Medal
and numerous other Italian, English and French medals

After the end of the war, he spent two years in England, then returned to Poland and settled in Klodzko. He worked as a teacher of physical education, military training, geography, and English in The Pedagogical High School, Secondary School, and Mechanical Technical School. He also studied at Institute of Physical Education in Warsaw. He retired in 1974.

Leopold passed away in Klodzko, Poland on 17 March 2011 at the age of 98 years. He was buried next to his wife Zofia (née Sas-Bilińska) in the local cemetery, near the grave of the famous Emil Czech who played the bugle on Monte Cassino.