Short Biography Pfc. Bernard "Bernie" Stanley Czarnecki, U.S. Army 111th Infantry Division Medical Corps (WW2, DOW)

(As originally written for and sent to family friends)

Born in Sugar Notch, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1920, Bernard Stanley Czerniecki was the youngest son of Ashkenazi Crypto-Jews Julian and Alexandria Andrulewicz Czerniecki. Entering the United States Armed Forces shortly before he turned 21 years old, Bernard (now Bernard "Bernie" Stanley Czarnecki) served in the 111th Infantry Division Medical Corps of the United States Army for exactly five years—from December 12, 1940 to December 12, 1945. Bernie enlisted shortly before his brothers Edward ("Ed")—who enlisted on January 21, 1943—and Joseph ("Susi")—who enlisted on February 17, 1941—did (Incidentally, Bernie either re-enlisted on the same day as Susi enlisted or did not have his original enlistment recorded until the day that Susi registered.).

Having received a shrapnel-effected wound in combat, Bernie underwent surgery to remove the shrapnel. Given that the surgery was botched, Bernie was discharged from the Army at the Newton D. Baker General Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia. From Baker Hospital, he moved to the Veterans' Affairs Housing and Hospital complex in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Living at the VA Housing and Hospital complex in Lebanon for the rest of his life, he succumbed to his received-in-combat injuries on July 16, 1963 in the VA Hospital in Lebanon.

He died of Schizophrenia and a Coronary Occlusion as a result of his battle wars at 6:30 AM EST in the VA Hospital on that July 16th. Having an autopsy performed on him by Dr. A.H. Heisey of Quentin, Pennsylvania, he was not received by his family and the George Strish Funeral Home in Ashley, Pennsylvania until July 20th. Once he was received, he was buried in Holy Family Cemetery in Sugar Notch.

Pfc. Bernard "Bernie" Stanley Czarnecki, then, was:

1. One of the Nazis' post-war victims of the Holocaust. Since Bernie came from a Crypto-Jewish family, he—along with his brothers Ed and Susi, along with his other family members—was a target of the Nazis solely on account of his Jewish heritage.
2. An unrecognized Jewish-American soldier of World War Two. Whether he even received a Purple Heart is unknown, and he has nobody who the Department of Veterans' Affairs considers to be a next-of-kin family member who may claim.
3. A Jew who had to go through the additional agony of having an autopsy performed on him—since Jewish tradition forbids autopsies except for in cases when the law and/or extenuating circumstances require that an autopsy is to be performed on the Jewish decedent in question.*

*All information comes from documents that were found on Ancestry.com, Bernie's nephew Anthony "Tony" John Czarnecki, Jr. (1946-2014) and other family sources, and prior knowledge.