New Netflix docuseries profiles Polish-American Medal of Honor recipient
The online movie streaming platform Netflix has released a new documentary series which presents the heroic accounts of Medal of Honor recipients. Through a combination of reenactments and testimonials, the series, aptly named “Medal of Honor” familiarizes viewers with nine stories of incredible gallantry from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The very first hero to be portrayed is Army Sergeant Sylvester Antolak, a Polish-American from Eastern Ohio who served with the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II.
As a member of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Sgt. Antolak took part in the fighting near Anzio. On May 24, 1944, Sgt. Antolak’s name would go down in history for actions which would be posthumously recognized as above and beyond the call of duty. “During the second day of the offensive which broke through the German cordon of steel around the Anzio beachhead” reads Sgt. Antolak’s Medal of Honor citation, “he charged 200 yards over flat, coverless terrain to destroy an enemy machine gun nest”
The citation continues, “Three times he was struck by bullets and knocked to the ground, but each time he struggled to his feet to continue his relentless advance… By his supreme sacrifice, superb fighting courage, and heroic devotion to the attack, Sgt. Antolak was directly responsible for eliminating 20 Germans, capturing an enemy machine gun, and clearing the path for his company to advance.”
Due to the bravery and determination of men such as Sgt. Antolak, the Allied breakout of Anzio was successful, the German Caesar C Line captured, and Rome liberated shortly thereafter.
“Medal of Honor” shines a light not only on Sgt. Antolak’s battlefield gallantry, but also on his upbringing and Polish heritage. As one of 11 children, Antolak’s childhood on the family farm was probably not unlike that of many other Polish families who settled in the countryside at that time. Viewers learn that when military personnel arrived at the family farm to notify of Sgt. Antolak’s death, his mother Mary had to call her children in from the field to translate because she did not speak any English. Later, during a ceremony at Fort Hayes, Major General James Collins would hang Sgt. Antolak’s Medal of Honor around the neck of his grieving mother.
It is moving to see that during a recent commemorative ceremony dedicated to Sgt. Antolak which the series recorded, the flags of the United States and Poland are positioned side by side, capturing the essence of what one of the Antolak family members declared, “I’m very proud of the Polish heritage we are a part of, and I’m sure Sylvester was as well.”
This article was published in the February 2019 edition of the Polish American Journal
