Private First Class (ret.) Rudolf Veltruský

“In the Záběhlice castle in Prague I decided to surrender my life to God. So I have completely changed my way of life compared to how I had lived before. Lord Jesus says: ´Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you.´ I took this seriously and no one could make me angry anymore. Before, I suffered from heart problems whenever I became upset. But now I knew: ´Don’t be mad at anyone, for your heart is still beating. Don’t get angry, for your Bible tells you so.´ So I always tried to stay calm. When someone offended me, I automatically extended by right hand to him and greeted him as a friend.”

Then we were occupied by the Soviet Union and in 1941 by the Germans. We were Czech patriots, we even had a Czech teacher in our school and he taught us Czech. When our region was re-conquered by the Soviet Union again in 1944, our delegation set out for Lucko. There we had a meeting with certain captain Dědeček and we agreed we would join the Czechoslovak army. Then there was a recruitment session and we all voluntarily joined the army; about a week after we all went to Lucko. I eventually ended up in the artillery, because at the time when our unit was leaving, I was lying in hospital with influenza. At that time our unit was moving to Galicia, there was an army field training there. When I was released from the hospital, they were just recruiting for the artillery, so I signed up. I got out of the hospital later; I hardly made it to the thirteenth transport of our unit, which was the very last one.

“Then I served in the artillery as a telephone operator in the heavy howitzers unit. Our great advantage was that unless the front moved, we would always remain in one place for a long time, whereas the smaller howitzers had to be carried frequently from one place to another, because after a firing their position would get disclosed and the Germans would immediately start shooting back. I served in this unit as a telephone operator, which does not mean I would have any training for it. Due to unfavourable circumstances, mainly my stay in the hospital, I received almost no training. So I was learning to shoot only after I had got to the front. I would take a rifle, go to the forest and try to aim at trees. This was my ´training.´ I was an exception, the others have gone through a training. But because I lacked it, I often served as an intermediary for the Soviet officers. Part of my duty was also getting food for them. I would often go to the Orthodox priest, and he, because he feared the Soviets, would often rather give me something for them. I was getting food for my comrades as well. Especially during our campaign in Poland. My Ukrainian comrades could not speak much Polish, but I could speak well. And when I came to some house to ask for food, the locals would say: ´What a pleasure to hear the Polish language, it sounds soft as honey.´ I also often exchanged food for cigarettes, because I was a non-smoker.”

“Once in Slovakia we hit a mine area. There were also mines in the entire village. The civilians were evacuated, maybe in order not to find out where the mines had been placed. I think the place was called Velký Bukovec or something like that. There was a small shack, and we would go there to cut wood for our use. A soldier was there with us, and he always cursed in such a blasphemous way that I have never heard before in my life, not even in the Red Army. We were cutting a log together, and again he began to curse Lord Jesus. I have to mention that the area was already de-mined by then. But perhaps that one mine was waiting there just for him, and he stepped on it. And since it exploded inside that small shack, it was a terrible blast. I stood right next to him, and I became deafened by the explosion. My comrade was hit in the eyes, and the blast allegedly wounded his leg as well. But I only know this from what the others told me; at that moment I was so stupefied I cound not remember anything.”