“We were thus in the barracks and we watched them pass by. The Poles came in there, it was probably on the third day or so, and we then decided: ‘If we are not allowed to leave the barracks and we cannot do anything, we will start with cleaning our military vehicles.’ We pulled out the cannons and guys started working on them. But the Poles saw them from Zebín, they probably had an observation post there, and armored vehicles immediately arrived to all the gates of the barracks and took control of them. Their negotiators went to the barracks and they warned us that we were not allowed to… We thus put everything back.”
“We took the Scout oath on October 28, 1968 in the quarry, and we were watched by Poles in an armored vehicle. That was the first taking of the oath in the restored Junák in Jičín.”
“We experienced the first currency reform while we were in Český Těšín. Money was being distributed and we thus went together with those who were distributing them in those schools or other places, and one guy from us - he was later promoted to the corporal’s rank, though - shot a farmer and wounded him. What happened was that the farmer was standing in the door and shouting, and he was probably holding the old money in one hand and he ran over to the committee, and the young soldier panicked and he shot him in his legs. As a result, this soldier was sent on a one-week leave and he was immediately promoted a corporal.”
Jaroslav Drozen, (aka Šotek by his Boy Scout nickname), was born May 11, 1934 in the village of Hasina, near Jičín, in a farmer’s family. After the war he joined the Boy Scout patrol Racci (‘Seagulls’) from Rožďalovice. He learnt the toolmaker’s trade and then studied at the School for Young Officers in Český Těšín and later in Ružomberok. He graduated from the military academy in Hranice na Moravě, specializing in artillery training, and then he served as a professional soldier in Jičín. Due to his activity during the second restoration of the Junák (Czech Boy Scout) organization and verbal disagreement with the Soviet occupation in 1968, he was dismissed from the army. Once released, he began working as a plumber. He also participated in the third restoration of Junák in Jičín and served in several official positions. He received many Scout decorations for his dedication and became a member of the honorary Svojsík’s Troop. In 1990 he was fully rehabilitated and promoted to lieutenant colonel and later to colonel. He died on March 1, 2015.
