Liberation80: Partisan Pavol Harustiak Saved Several American Airmen

Myjava, April 26 (TASR) - Partisan Pavol Harustiak saved several American airmen during the Second World War, but he became a target after the war and was shot by the erstwhile communist-era secret service the StB, and activist Ondrej Jansto, who has been researching war stories from the Myjava Highlands for over 20 years, has called him a forgotten hero. Harustiak began his partisan activities during the Slovak National Uprising and helped to rescue American airmen. In September 1944, he led eight airmen from a crashed B-24 Liberator through the forests to Banska Bystrica. Later, in November 1944, he helped another American airman, James Morse Kirchhoff. Harustiak's story didn't end at the same time as the war did. He got married, but after the 1948 coup, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He went into hiding and later illegally emigrated at the request of his former commander. After 16 months, he returned for his wife. "He fell into a trap. He was brought to a safe apartment where he was to wait for a smuggler to bring his wife. A secret service unit knocked on the door. He hid in a wardrobe, following the advice of the landlord (an agent). When the secret service burst into the room, they emptied a submachine gun magazine into the wardrobe, and Harustiak was killed," added Jansto. In 1994, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, one of the airmen who Harustiak saved, Roy Madsen, had a memorial plaque installed in his honour at the Aviation Museum in Utah. lin/df/ko