Strojny, Raymond, Sgt.
(1918 - 2008)Decorated Hero of Omaha Beach
Sgt. Raymond Strojny, 90, a combat veteran of 1st Infantry division who fought in North Africa, Sicily, Omaha Beach, France, Belgium, Germany - in combat for 32 consecutive months and one of the most highly-decorated soldiers of the U.S. Army in World War II - died May 31, 2008 at his home in Lynwood, Washington.
He was one of three or four soldiers on Omaha Beach that turned almost certain defeat into victory.
In an almost miraculous performance he rounded up a few survivors, destroyed a German pillbox, then led them off the beach by scaling the bluffs, and killed many German soldiers. Strojny took over command of a unit, whose officers - being paralyzed with fear - refused to move. Cornelius Ryan, in his definitive book on D-Day ("The Longest Day"), cites Strojny and only a couple of others as being the decisive factor on Omaha. One of the others was Sgt. Philip Streczik, also a Polish American of the Big Red One.
Strojny's decorations include: Silver Star Medal (Sicily); Presidential Citation Ribbon (Sicily); Distinguished Service Cross (Normandy); Oak Leaf Cluster to Presidential Citation (Normandy); Combat Infantry Badge (France); Purple Heart (Germany); Bronze Star Metal (Germany); and Seven Battle Stars.
Strojny, although wounded slightly on three occasions, missed not a single day of duty with his company during campaigns which took him across Africa to Tunis; through Sicily; D-Day in France; on through Belgium; Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, the Belgian Bulge and into the heart of the Siegfried Line.
Source: Polish American Journal, August 2008, Vol. 97, No. 8.