by Jonathan A. Ward

I live down 3-doors down from a Polish count. Well, his father was one, and his birth certificate declares him Count Charles F. Tyszkiewicz. I call him Charlie. He moved onto our street a couple of years ago. We’ve become friends as we visit while I take care of the roses by his house. He told me that he had been a football coach at Hawthorne High School in L.A. So every time we met we’d talk football, him being a Texas Longhorn fan and me being for the Georgia Bulldogs. 

One day when I asked how he had become a Texas football fan, he told me, “Oh, I’m not from here. I’m from Poland. ” What followed was a synopsis of his life from age four to his teen years. He loaned me a family history written by his older brother which expanded on the tale. His family — parents and four sons — were estate owners in eastern Poland when in 1939 the area was overrun by the Soviet Army. His family fled to a relative’s home in Lithuania. After some months that area also was invaded by the Red Army. The family was arrested and taken by wagon, train, and sled to a village in eastern Russia where they all lived in a peasant’s kitchen. The father was put to work in a nearby factory. After some months, he fell ill and passed away. The two older brothers fished and scrounged for subsistence while their mother mainly took care of the “home” and two younger sons.

After the United States joined the Allies, an agreement was reached with the Soviet Union that deported Poles would be repatriated. With the assistance of the Polish Red Cross, the family made their way through Turkestan, Uzbekistan, and Persia (Iran) to India. After several months in India they were loaded onto a troop ship carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers back to their home countries, and it transported the Polish refugees to Mexico. It was one of the countries offering them asylum. After a few years, the family was accepted into the United States where an uncle resided and sponsored them. After the war the family called America home; Poland remained behind the Iron Curtain.

The boys were smart, honest, and industrious. Through study and hard work they all found success in their new land. In the early 1950’s one brother was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Since he knew several languages, he served in Germany rather than the war zone. Another brother became a Navy flier and lost his life 

in Vietnam. The younger two brothers both spent time in the American Army. The family has served and sacrificed for America.

But that’s not the end of the story. I googled their name, Tyszkiewicz, and discovered more family history. They have their own Wikipedia.com page. None of this information was mentioned by my neighbor nor his brother in his book: The family was a centuries-old royal family in Poland, Lithuania, and Belorussia. Before World Ward II hey had owned lands, forests, estates, and businesses. So I’ve been living a few doors from ancient royalty and had no idea. It’s wonderful to get to know your neighbors. Try it; you never know what you’ll learn.