Frank S. Pyrcz

Biography:  Frank S. Pyrcz was born on October 24, 1912 in Thompsonville, CT to Josef Pyrcz and Sophia Rusin.  He and his family moved back to Poland when Frank was only two years old.  It would be in Poland that he would attend school until he was 15, when he moved back to Thompsonville alone to live with relatives.  He then started a job as a weaver for the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Company.

Service Time:  Frank entered the service on December 22, 1942 at Hartford, CT and was assigned to Recon. Company of the 807th.  He went on to serve with them throughout the war, including while they were attached to the 95th Infantry Division and were in the spearhead of the attack on the fortress city of Metz.  The battalion shares the moniker with the 95th as the "Iron Men of Metz". They later attacked toward Saarlautern and battled the German Nordwind offensive in January 1945. The unit shifted north for the offensive to the Rhine and defended the Rhine River bridges in April.  They converted to M18s just in time to join the drive through Bavaria late in the month and reached the vicinity of Salzburg, Austria.

Frank's childhood home in Poland was near the Russian border and in addition to speaking English, Frank was fluent in Polish and also spoke some Russian and German.  His language skills were very helpful when dealing with displaced persons.  At the time of his discharge, Frank was a Sergeant.

When Frank returned to the states, he went back to the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Mill and worked as a Jacquard weaver.  On October 5, 1946, he married the former Stella Czech.  She was the daughter of Anthony Czech and Josephine Firlej also of Thompsonville.  Together the couple would have one son, Thomas.

In addition to his job and family, Frank enjoyed bowling and was a member of the American Legion Post #154 and the Polish National Home Association.  Frank passed away on February 15, 1981.

I want to thank his son Thomas for providing this information and photos of his dad.