Kazimierz J. Kasperek ("Kazik") was born in 1916 in Częstochowa, Poland. As a young man, he worked as a delivery boy. He attended teachers’ college for two years, then enlisted as a volunteer in the Polish Navy February 1, 1936. After two years training which included two windjammer cruises on a three-masted schooner O.R.P Iskra, World War II broke out with the Invasion of Poland. He was on the minesweeper O.R.P Rybitwa defending the port of Gydnia and the Peninsula of Hel. He was among the last fighters there to be taken by the Germans. Moved from POW internment camp to camp in unheated conditions in winter, he escaped to Holland. He soon united with the Polish Navy-in-Exile.
Kazik was a Supply Officer and Paymaster and rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. As a Chief Petty Officer, he served directly under the ship's commander and Kazik was often at the helm for as long as 16 hours at a time. With Allied forces, Kazik was involved in constant battles at sea from 1940-1945, including the suicide convoy to Malta, the evacuation of Dunkirk, the hunt for U-boats and Pocket Battleships, and at least 26 trans-Atlantic convoys in the North Atlantic. He served through V-E Day 1945. He is the most decorated officer from WWII in the Polish Navy. He retired as Lieutenant Commander.
In 1941, he met Irene Lance, and they were married in 1942 and had two daughters.
In an underhanded way, the Polish Navy and free Poland were obliterated at the end of WWII by the Potsdam and Yalta agreements. This left Kazik to find a new career. Kazik was retrained in England as a fine furniture maker. They immigrated to Chicago where he worked for Marshall Field’s and others as a marquetry and furniture repair field representative. Eventually he and his family became U.S. Citizens. He retired to Floridana Beach, Florida, and has been active in civic life in Brevard County. After Poland became free, he felt he could finally write the memoir of his adventures, complete with his never before published photographs.
Kazik was a Supply Officer and Paymaster and rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. As a Chief Petty Officer, he served directly under the ship's commander and Kazik was often at the helm for as long as 16 hours at a time. With Allied forces, Kazik was involved in constant battles at sea from 1940-1945, including the suicide convoy to Malta, the evacuation of Dunkirk, the hunt for U-boats and Pocket Battleships, and at least 26 trans-Atlantic convoys in the North Atlantic. He served through V-E Day 1945. He is the most decorated officer from WWII in the Polish Navy. He retired as Lieutenant Commander.
In 1941, he met Irene Lance, and they were married in 1942 and had two daughters.
In an underhanded way, the Polish Navy and free Poland were obliterated at the end of WWII by the Potsdam and Yalta agreements. This left Kazik to find a new career. Kazik was retrained in England as a fine furniture maker. They immigrated to Chicago where he worked for Marshall Field’s and others as a marquetry and furniture repair field representative. Eventually he and his family became U.S. Citizens. He retired to Floridana Beach, Florida, and has been active in civic life in Brevard County. After Poland became free, he felt he could finally write the memoir of his adventures, complete with his never before published photographs.
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Last Updated May 2010
