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Philip Streczyk

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Philip Streczyk
Born(1918-11-25)25 November 1918
Died25 June 1958(1958-06-25) (aged 39)
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
United States Army
Service years
1941–1945
Rank
Technical sergeant
Unit16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Conflicts
Awards

Philip Streczyk (25 November 1918 – 25 June 1958) was a technical sergeant in the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army during World War II. He is best known for being one of the first Soldiers off Easy Red sector on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Biography

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Streczyk was born to Polish parents Andrzej "Andrew" Streczyk (born 1876 in Austria-Hungary) and Marya (born 1886 in Austria-Hungary). Streczyk was a native of East Brunswick Township, New Jersey.[1] He had nine siblings.

Streczyk quit school in eighth grade to help support his family, working as a truck driver for the Wagner truck company of Cliffwood, New Jersey until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1941 at the age of 22. Streczyk was able to speak Polish and German, and used this ability during D-Day.

World War II

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The 16th Infantry Regiment participated in 8 European-Africa-Middle Eastern (EAME) theater campaigns, including 3 amphibious assault landings (each denoted with an arrowhead device): Algeria-French Morocco, Sicily and Normandy. The regiment earned several Presidential Unit Citations as well as the Croix de Guerre with palm.[2]

General Eisenhower speaks to 1st Infantry Division Soldiers on July 2, 1944 after awarding medals for combat actions on D-Day. Streczyk is visible (center frame, second row of the horseshoe formation) behind Lieutenant John M. Spalding [3].

Prior to D-Day, Streczyk saw action in other major battles with the Big Red One including: Tunisia and Sicily. From March to August 1943, across both campaigns, he earned three Silver Star medals for gallantry in action.

Streczyk is famous for being one of the first men off the beach at Omaha Beach. He served in E Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, under Lieutenant John M. Spalding. He and his men helped make the breakthrough there on D-Day possible. His platoon landed on the Easy Red sector, and made it to the shingle embankment largely intact, unlike most in the first wave. Instead of attacking up the beach exits, as was planned, he instead helped find and clear a path up the mined bluffs, left of Exit E-1. Once at the top, he attacked the enemy fortifications from the rear, clearing out trenches and pillboxes along Exit E-1 and taking prisoners. He was able to interrogate several of the Ost battalion prisoners of war because he spoke fluent Polish, German and English.[4][5] Later on D-Day, he was involved in actions further inland at Colleville-sur-Mer.

TSgt Streczyk receives the British Military Medal from Field Marshal Montgomery for gallantry in action during D-Day.[6]

For his actions on D-Day, Streczyk was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, pinned on him by General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 2, 1944. Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery personally awarded him the British Military Medal in July 1944.[3][6][7]

After D-Day, Streczyk fought in the Battle of the Mons pocket in Belgium, the Battle of Aachen in Germany and the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in Germany. Philip was awarded his fourth Silver Star for combat actions in Belgium in September 1944. Overall, his 440 days of combat across multiple theaters earned him six bronze campaign stars along with several other service medals.[8]

During the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, Streczyk reached a breaking point. After an intense bombardment, he "shook uncontrollably and babbled incoherently". He was evacuated to an Army General Hospital at Camp Butner in North Carolina in November 1944. In an interview with a journalist during his convalescence, he called his unit "the best platoon a man ever had".[9][10] He was subsequently discharged from the United States Army in 1945.

Streczyk's hometown paper dubbed him "a one-man invasion".[11] His company commander, Captain Edward Wozenski, later called him "the greatest unsung hero of World War II".[12] Wozenski also stated that "if he did not earn a Congressional Medal of Honor, no one did”.[5][13]

May 2026, Display Case, East Brunswick High School, NJ
Upper photo: May 2026, Display Case, East Brunswick, NJ. Lower photo: July 2023, Memorial Brick, Fort Belvoir, VA

Post-war life

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Streczyk married Sophie Karanewsky at St. Mary of Ostrabama Church in South River, New Jersey, in 1945 and they had four children.[14][15] The family spent some time back in East Brunswick, New Jersey, then St. Petersburg, Florida, and moved to Warwick, New York, in the mid-1950s.

Streczyk had frequent nightmares and was in persistent pain from the physical and emotional wounds he sustained during his time in combat. This ultimately led to his suicide on 25 June 1958.[5] Streczyk died in Warwick, New York, but was buried at the Polish Old Catholic Cemetery (later owned by the Church of Religious Science cemetery) off Dunham's Corner Road in East Brunswick. The cemetery rests on a portion of land that the Streczyk family used to own and farm. Streczyk, his brother John (a US Navy veteran) and their parents, as well as several other Polish-American veterans are buried in the same plot.[16]

Posthumous honors

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In 2023, East Brunswick High School honored Streczyk with a display case in the lobby featuring two photographs of him, a banner outlining his military accomplishments and a replica memorial mini-brick with an official certificate from the National Museum of the United States Army. The original, full-sized brick was laid down at Warriors Plaza & Field, outside the Museum in Section C-4.[17] A brick for Captain Joseph T. Dawson (Section D-2 of the plaza) and another for 1st Lieutenant John M. Spalding (Section C-4 of the plaza), were also placed together, as all 3 men led the pathway off Easy Red for others to follow.

On November 8, 2024, in honor of the 80th anniversary of D-Day and Veterans Day 2024, Streczyk's son, Ron, received several awards on his father's behalf during a ceremony at VFW Post 133 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.[18]

Afterwards, a brief wreath laying ceremony was conducted at Streczyk's newly cleaned grave to honor and remember his bravery and sacrifice during World War II.[20][21][22]

November 2024, Philip's Grave, East Brunswick, NJ

Ahead of the 82nd anniversary of D-Day in 2026, Philip received two additional accolades:

References

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  1. ↑ Pogue, Forrest C. Pogue's War: Diaries of a WWII Combat Historian. p. 64. ISBN 9780813191607.
  2. ↑ "Campaigns & Honors". 16th Infantry Regiment Association.
  3. 1 2 "General Eisenhower talks to 1st ID Soldiers after awards ceremony in Balleroy, France, July 2, 1944". Eisenhower Presidential Library – via Planet News Service (TopFoto). US Army Photo 66-769-1.
  4. ↑ McManus, John C. "A Knife in the Vitals: Omaha Beach".
  5. 1 2 3 McManus, John C. The Dead and Those About to Die: D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach. pp. 89, 91–92, 129–130, 151–154, 182, 225, 274, 275, 293–294, 299–302. ISBN 9780698142787.
  6. 1 2 "General Montgomery Presents Medals To American Officers". Imperial War Museums.
  7. ↑ Knickerbocker, HR; Thompson, Jack. "Danger Forward: The Story of the First Division in World War II". p. 474. ISBN 9781163152669.
  8. ↑ "Phillip Streczyk". Hall of Valor by Military Times.
  9. ↑ "No Place Like Old United States, Much Decorated Sergeant Says". The Herald-Sun (NC). 4 March 1945.
  10. ↑ "Sgt. Philip Streczyk's Homecoming". War Chronicle.
  11. ↑ "East Brunswick Soldier Gets D.S.C. for 'One-Man Invasion'". The Daily Home News. 6 February 1945.
  12. ↑ "Edward Wozenski, D-Day". War Chronicle.
  13. ↑ "Stories from the past – Sergeant Phil Streczyk". West Bay Discovery Centre.
  14. ↑ Bayne, Richard J. "Milford man finally gets dad's war medals". Times Herald-Record.
  15. ↑ Privitar, Ginny. "Son revives amazing lost story of Philip Streczyk, D-Day hero". Pike County Courier.
  16. ↑ Sarkar, Debjeet. "D-Day 77th Anniversary". Operation Restore Decency.
  17. ↑ "National Museum of the U.S. Army Brick Locator Map". brickorder.com.
  18. ↑ Sarkar, Debjeet. "Veterans Day 2024". Operation Restore Decency.
  19. ↑ "Distinguished Members". 16th Infantry Regiment Association.
  20. ↑ Lewis, Alexander. "East Brunswick D-Day hero no longer forgotten". Courier News.
  21. ↑ Berzok, Maureen. "East Brunswick's 'Hometown Hero' Philip Streczyk Opened a Path to Victory on D-Day". TAPInto.net.
  22. ↑ Salvadore, Sarah. "East Brunswick's D-Day Hero Receives NJ's Distinguished Service Medal". Patch.com.
  23. ↑ "Congressional Record". Congress.gov. 2 June 2026. Volume 172, Number 93, Page E512.
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