After more than a half-century, vet receives WWII photograph of himself

By MATT BODENSCHATZ
The Tribune-Democrat

May 15, 2006 11:55 pm

— They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. But, when Paul Smatlak found out he would be receiving a World War II photo of himself climbing into a foxhole, he was speechless.
“It’s nice to be getting a picture of a time when you were on the battlefield,” he said at his Geistown home. “There were 17 medics, and I happened to be the one going into the hole at the time.”
Smatlak, 83, served as an Army medical technician in Europe for 18 months. He was involved in the Battle of the Bulge and spent significant time in Kleinhau and Hurtgen Forest, Germany.
The photo was taken during his time at Hurtgen Forest.
But Smatlak never got the chance to see it until last week, when he was informed that an overseas couple had the photo and wanted to send it to him.
Carole and Alun Jones of Nairne, Australia, acquired nearly 100 World War II photos from a relative. Five of them, including the photo of Smatlak, had names attached.
“We have often shown them to people and wondered if we would be able to get these back to the families of the soldiers,” Carole Jones said. “But it wasn’t until the Internet became available that we have been in a position to start the search for these men or their families.”
To find the owners, the Joneses contacted Jason McDonald, Webmaster of worldwar2database.com. Within days, he was able to get hold of Smatlak.
“I was surprised when Jason contacted me,” Smatlak said.
“He seemed to know everything about me.”
Soon after, the Joneses phoned the veteran and mailed the photo to him.
“Our sole intention is to give these photographs to the soldiers and, consequently, I have posted the original one back to Mr. Smatlak this week,” said Carole Jones in an e-mail. “I was very pleased to speak to him this week. He sounded very happy to send a photograph of his family back to us.”
Carole Jones said she has yet to find the subjects of the other four photos.
“Jason has not been able to find any others so far. So it may well be that Paul Smatlak will be the only one with a happy ending.”
Smatlak said that though he cannot remember what was going on at the time the photo was taken, he has a general idea of the situation.
“We were in central Germany,” he said. “We stayed in a foxhole all the time. It was one of the coldest winters in Germany. We put our raincoats over the foxhole to keep it warm because there was no heat. I never caught a cold that winter because I never went into heated areas.”
According to those close to Smatlak, receiving the photo was just another reward for a deserving man.
“He’s not a boastful and bragging type of person, but something like the photo would mean a lot to him,” said his friend Andrew Boratko of Geistown.
“He’s very proud of his service, and just the fact that something like that exists – a surprise – it will mean a whole lot to him as it would to most people.”
“I’m going to send (copies of) it to all of my kids and my family,” Smatlak said. “And I’ll probably hang it on the wall in the bedroom with my other pictures.”
The photo will be an addition to a growing World War II collection Smatlak has started.
In 2001, he was awarded the Bronze Star for valor.
Smatlak attributes his survival to his relationship with God, which remains central in his life.
“Because I was raised in a Christian home with many caring brothers and sisters, and with proper parental guidance, I was able to go into battle feeling very confident that I would make it through,” he said.
He received an honorable discharge in 1945.
The retired Franklin car shop foreman and school bus driver has a wife, Sophie, five children and 13 grandchildren.
Smatlak has returned to Europe three times since the war: Once in 1990 with the Richland Band, and again in 1994 and 1997 to locate ancestors in Slovakia.

Matt Bodenschatz can be reached at 532-5061 or mbodenschatz@tribdem.com.

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