Nastal, Stanislaus
Director of Radio Program. Born. Feb. 5, 1899 in Stara Wies, Poland. Received secondary education in Poland, where he graduated from the Military Academy and the School of Journalism. Served in World War I, was discharged with honors, and with a captain's rank. Very active in civic and patriotic affairs. Member of the P.N.A. group 54; married and director of a Polish Radio Program Hour in Milwaukee, Wis. Resides in Milwaukee, Wis.From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943
Capt. Stanislaw Nastal (Feb. 5, 1899 - Sept. 7, 1947)Capt. Stanislaw Nastal, writer, dies.
Capt. Stanislaw Nastal, 48, of 2136 S. 7th St., internationally known figure in military and political circles, author and radio commentator, died early Sunday. He was part owner and program director of Station WFOX and conducted its Polish hour.
Capt. Nastal held commissions in four armies and was decorated by France, Canada, Poland, and the United States. In World War I he served in France with Gen. Haller's famed "Blue Division" of youths to young for regular military service. He came to Milwaukee in 1924.
He was author of a book "The Blue Division" and other published works. He was a member of the Polish National Alliance, the Catholic Union of America, and Polish Officers' Alliance, St. Stanislaus Parish was vice president of American Relief for Poland and Friends of Polish Soldiers. He was active in the Citizens' Committee in the war bond drives during WWII.
In the last war he volunteered in the U.S. Army but became ill just before he was to have been commissioned.
He is survived by his wife Helen; two sons, Stanislaus Jr. And Richard, and three sisters living in Poland.
Services will be at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Rosolek Chapel, 1403 W. Hayes Ave., and at 9 a.m. At St. Stanislaus Church. Burial will be at St. Adalbertıs cemetery. The body will be in state at the funeral home after 5 p.m. Monday.
From: Obituary, Milwaukee Sentinel, Mon. Sept. 8, 1947
NOWINY POLSKIE, Milwaukee, WI, Monday Sept. 8, 1947 (front page, p. 8)
Captain Stanislaw Nastal has Died
Unexpected Death Happened on the Night of Saturday to Sunday in Hospital
Funeral with Military Honors will take place on Wednesday at 9 am
On the 6th of September at about 11:30 pm at St. Joseph's Hospital died Stanislaw Nastal; a Polonia activist, director of the Polish Radio Hour at station WFOX also a co-owner of that station, radio commentator, member of Polish organizations, patriot, aged 48, husband of Halina and father of two sons: Stanislaw and Ryszard, and brother to three sisters in Poland.
All living on the south side knew him, and it is no surprise that news of his passing quickly spread in that area.
The death has made a huge impression on Polonia.
Last Saturday morning he was at the resort at Wind Lake with his sons and wife. He said that he felt ill and immediately decided to return to Milwaukee. He drove the car himself. As soon as he reached Milwaukee he went to the office of Dr. E. Brzezinski and was examined. The doctor said that his pulse and heart were in good working order.
But that afternoon he felt unwell and called several doctors, but they were not at home. Therefore he went to St. Joseph's Hospital.
Fr. Bartlomiej Snella telephoned the hospital in the evening to find out the state of Stanislaw's health. He was told that there was no danger. Mrs. Halina [Nastal] and the Kwasieborskis went to the hospital. It appeared that everything was alright. Because Stanislaw's condition did not raise any cautions, Mrs. Nastal and the Kwasieborskis were advised to go home, this was at 9 pm.
At 11:30 at night Mrs. Nastal was informed by the hospital that her husband was not doing well. She quickly went to the hospital driven by Fr. Bartlomiej [Snella]. She was followed there by her son and the Kwasieborskis. She arrived after her husband had passed. He quietly died at 11:30 pm without suffering, it was said.
The dear departed Stanislaw was born in Stara Wies, famous for a miraculous picture of Our Lady. He attended the high school in Brzozow. He came to America in 1914. He joined the Polish Army being 17 year old. He started service in the Second Polish Class of Officers at the Canadian Military School in Camp Borden, Ontario in the first half of 1917. After finishing officers' school he was one of the first at the Polish Army Camp in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. From there he left on the first transport to St. Johns, Quebec, and then on the first transport to France.
Stanislaw Nastal commanded the First Platoon, First Company, in the First Rifle Regiment of the Polish Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant. He went through the entire campaign of his regiment on the front in Champagne and Voges. He was one of the officers in the honorary company which represented the Polish Army in the Victory Parade in Paris at the end of World War I.
In January 1919, the dear departed Stanislaw Nastal was made a lieutenant and advanced to the staff of the First Division as an officer in the communications and intelligence service.
In this post he came to Poland with the Division and then went through the two year campaign on the Wolyn front, from Kowie to Kiev, then to Lwow, to Rawa Ruska, Komarowa, Zamosc, Chrubieszow and then back to Zwiachl in pursuit of Budienny's scattered army.
During many battles and skirmishes S. Nastal distinguished himself through his bravery, as in his role as staff officer of the 13th Border Division (the name of the First Division of the Polish Army in France) which was recognized as one of the few best Polish divisions in Poland.
Shortly before demobilization, the dear departed S. Nastal was, at his request, transferred to the cavalry receiving the rank of captain in the 14th Uhlan Regiment.
He returned to America after several years of service on various fronts, coming on the United States Army transport "President Grant" in February 1921.
After his return to the United States he first settled in Detroit, MI where he worked untiringly for the Polish cause, taking part in activities of Polish American organizations, but especially in the Society of Polish Army Veterans in America.
He held the position of co-editor at the "Rekord Codzienny" [Daily Record]. He wrote for the "Weteran," the news organ of the Society of Polish Army Veterans in America and published several short stories of the military, including one titled "Niebieska Diwizja" [The Blue Division].
On the day of September 23, 1925 he married Halina Leonarski, daughter of well known members of Milwaukee Polonia, where he settled for good and worked as a journalist and also as director of the Polish Hour on radio station WFOX in Milwaukee.
Before coming to Milwaukee, the dear departed Captain Nastal worked as a pioneer in presenting Polish films in the United States. At the same time he was a correspondent and distributor of the "Dziennik Zwiazkowy" in Milwaukee.
Cap. Nastal was a success in his work. There was no patriotic action in the United States in which he would not take part. He was respected and valued by Polonia not only in Milwaukee but everywhere that he took part in social work and promoted the Polish cause.
He made patriotic speeches at mass meetings of Polonia, both in Milwaukee and in Chicago. The early death of Captain Stanislaw Nastal has left the Polonia of Milwaukee, as wall as that of the entire United States in deep mourning. To his funeral are hastening his brothers-in-arms from Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities.
Funeral on Wednesday.
The Funeral for the dear departed Stanislaw will take place on Wednesday. The remains are at the funeral parlor operated by A. Rosolka.
The funeral ceremonies will take place at the Church of St. Stanislaw at 9 am. The funeral mass will be celebrated by Fr. Bartlomiej Snella, administrator of the village Nowiny; while the eulogy will be delivered by Msgr. S. Kobelinski. The casket with the remains will be carried by officers of the Polish Army.
Taking part in the funeral will be uniformed members of the 3rd Exercise Unit, George Washington Post, who will fire an honorary salute, and also a unit of the drum and bugle corps from the Woodrow Wilson Post.
The deceased will be buried with military honors.
Already today, his remains will be placed in the casket.
Translation from: NOWINY POLSKIE, Sept, 8, 1947 by Peter J. Obst (2011).
NOWINY POLSKIE, Milwaukee, WI, Monday Sept. 8, 1947 (p. 8)
When the Great Heart Stopped Beating
A speech by J. Kosciuk delivered during the program "Our Polish Hour" on the occasion of the passing of Captain Nastal.
One always says "It is an honor that I can speak upon a matter, or that I have the honor of introducing someone." You have been listening to me for many years ... You have seen me for many years ... You know me for many long years ... Believe me, that which I am about to tell you, I would rather have someone else say about me...
I have always lived with the idea that the things I am about to say in a moment, would be said by someone else, someone much loved by me, about me.
But it was not to be...
I have received this awful, this painful, this terrible duty and must say that which for all the treasure on earth I would rather not say... What -- God be my witness -- I would refer that the one about whom I will speak would say about me the things I will say of him.
We have all heard the somber notes of the funeral march. You are probably wondering why it is being played. You are no doubt wondering this moment who had died. What great businessman, merchant, lawyer, doctor, priest or other influential person had departed from this vale of tears?
Not likely... None of those people died yet a great man has passed into eternity. He was not a merchant, nor a politician, nor a great lawyer, doctor or contractor ... He was a man ... He was a working man in that field where instead of fruit he gathered sharp thorns. It was a work in which he earned no fortune and left no treasure as inheritance. I speak of treasure in the material sense. But as it goes for moral treasure, he left much, such as none of the great ones will ever leave us.
He was great beyond our measure of greatness.
The man who died was known and respected by thousands.
I can boldly say that there is no other such man in America whose name is known from one end of the land to the other, and it is for him now that the funeral march plays.
He was a man known to everyone in Milwaukee. He was known by the older people, he was known by children. He was known to Poles and all others who make up our community.
Because for this community he lived, worked, and suffered.
He was known to all ... Some know him personally and others knew him from the beautiful words that reached them over the radio waves, or from the pages of our publications.
He was a man who loved his nation over his own life... He was a man who strived for a better and brighter life and who wanted to have everyone enjoy this life... He held the conviction that all Poles are the children of one nation, that among us there are no greater or lesser, no better or worse -- but all are equal. He was a man who proclaimed a message of love and told us to love even those who have hurt him and do well to those who would place obstacles in his way.
And who was this man?
He was a man who loved his nation, and the land of his fathers above all, so that he fought for the liberty of the old homeland and after his return he devoted himself, and all his work to bringing help to his suffering brothers in Poland.
He was a man who suffered and endured pain with the entire Polish nation which was pushed into the pit of tears and despair.
He was a man who fought for liberty, for the sun and the air, for daily bread, for that quiet place in one's home, which is so much desired by our brothers in Poland and those scattered around the world.
And who was indeed this great man, to whom these words are dedicated?
He was well known to us all.
He was the one to whom you listened and heard for many years.
He was the one who taught, and pointed the way onto the true road. That man was the creator of this program, to which you are listening -- he was Captain Stanislaw Nastal.
Yes, Captain Nastal, creator of the Polish radio program in Milwaukee, is no longer among the living.
He died last night at St. Joseph's Hospital.
He died after a sudden attack of weakness at his home at 2167 on South 7th Street.
A few years earlier he had a problem with his heart and spent several months at the hospital. Then it seemed that he recovered his health.
Unfortunately, it only seemed that way.
The worm of disease had entered his body and in the end finished its work. Captain Nastal, this man without stain, who did not have an enemy in this world, who loved and served all and who was loved by all -- pasted into eternity.
He passed away ... And what did he leave behind? He left us something that cannot be bought with all the world's treasure... He left a loving wife, two excellent sons and an entire legion of friends who will never forget him and who at this moment join me in saying:
Hail the memory of Captain Nastal! Rest in Peace!
Translation from: NOWINY POLSKIE, Sept, 8, 1947 by Peter J. Obst (2011).