Kulak, Stanley Blazei

Kulak was awarded the Légion d'Honneur (Chevalier degree) posthumously on November 11, 2011.

To the Honor Roll of the American Field Service is added the name of STANLEY KULAK, who was reported missing in action last spring. On the night of June 10th, 1942, Kulak took his place in the line of evacuation with Alexander McElwain, during the retreat from Bir Hacheim by the Free French. Together, they skillfully maneuvered their ambulance through the mine fields and cross fire of the German machine guns and reached the outside perimeter of this dangerous area when a shell struck their car, killing Kulak and wounding McElwain. Kulak's record of service is one of courage and unselfish devotion. During the fifteen day encirclement of Bir Hacheim, he worked incessantly under the stress and strain of the murderous barrage. His calm and steady manner during these days soothed the shattered nerves of the wounded. In the early days of his service, he narrowly escaped death when he was attacked from behind by two Messerschmidts which machine-gunned his ambulance, wounding Tom Krusi, his relief driver. He sacrificed his life for a common cause in helping to alleviate suffering. His loss is keenly felt by all those who had the privilege of knowing him and the honor of serving with him.

__ AFS Letters No. 10

McElwain drove his car through the minefield and then relinquished the driver's seat to Kulak.

"We drove further on, seeking to get away from the light of blazing trucks. Suddenly I felt intense pain in the bone of my right leg, but kept looking straight ahead in order not to divert Kulak's attention from the pandemonium through which he was driving. My whole leg then began to ache and throb with pain. On glancing toward Kulak at my side, I noticed that he had slumped in his seat and that the unguided car was slowing to a stop. A shell exploded over the radiator of our car and fragments ripped through the hood of the engine. An immediate examination of Kulak revealed that he had been badly shot up from the waist down by machine-gun fire. Kulak was sinking fast and asked to be put on the desert to apply a tourniquet. I tried to lift him into my seat. He was dead weight. It was almost impossible to get his wounded legs over the shifting levers in the center of the floorboard. I finally managed it, but my leg was giving me excruciating pain. I reasoned that it would be impossible to get him back in the car, even if I were able to get him out on the desert. It seemed better to drive till a surgeon was found. He agreed and lapsed into unconsciousness.

"A star shell then broke over the car, completely lighting up our position. The Germans had spotted the car and there was no time to lose. I staggered from the car, scarcely knowing that I had a broken leg, and hobbled to the rear to stow away two duffel bags that we had placed to the right of the open driver's seat as protection. Suddenly everything went black before my eyes. I leaned against the rear of the car until my mind slowly began to work again. With great effort I was finally able to heave the duffel bags through the open window of the rear curtain and to make sure that a wounded Senegalese had handled them inside the ambulance. With considerable difficulty I was finally able to get back to the driver's seat and get the car started. The car moved off slowly. Soon another star shell burst ahead of the car. In the instant of its flash, I caught the outlines of three men with fixed bayonets."

The German officer who captured them, with the aid of three Italian soldiers, promised to send medical assistance. But it was not until next day, when they had been driven to a German dressing station, that either received a doctor's attention. By that time, late in the morning, Kulak was dead.

__ George Rock. Chapter 3. "Middle East 1. Tobruk to El Alamein (November 1941 to September 1942)" History of the American Field Service, 1920-1955. New York 1956.

THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS has reported Stanley Kulak killed in action according to a cable from Stephen Galatti to AFS in Cairo.

Kulak was stationed with the Fighting French forces last June during the siege of Bir Hacheim. After the evacuation of Bir Hacheim, Kulak was reported missing. In Vol. 1, No. 1 of THE AFS BULLETIN an article by Lorenzo Semple 3rd, under the title "The American Field Service at Bir Hacheim", told of the siege and subsequent evacuation under devastating shellfire. Semple wrote that he was probably the last to see Kulak on the night of June 10 as the French and AFS were making their way to safety.

He says of the last two hours, "I realized I'd run into a coil, of barbed wire. My frantic efforts to pull loose only got us in deeper. About ten yards from me, across the passage, I saw that the head of the GSD had had the same misfortune. . .He abandoned it (his car), got in with Worden, and our private little convoy moved on again ---leaving me behind. Tichenor disappeared, following Worden, while a moment later Kulak and McElwain went ahead and also disappeared. . . There is no way of knowing what happened to Kulak and MacElwain. I believe I was the last to see them, as they pulled past me while I was stuck in the wire."

__ AFS News Bulletin No. 5