Smolina Valasske Klobouky on May 27
100th birhday anniversary of Col. Joseph Balejka is coming to climax on this day on purpose.
On the same date the 75th assassination anniversary of the Acting Reich-Protector Reinhard Heydrich will be recalled. One of the secret agents involved in this event - Joseph Valcik [Valcheek] - was born at the village of Smolina nearby. That reason for the ceremonies will remember him too. At 10.00 hrs both the Service and paying tribute will be held at the Joseph Valcik Memorial at Smolina. Two jets of the Czech Air Force are to fly past. Col. Balejka used to go to Smolina and paid tribute to Joe Valcik every year.
In honour of Col Joseph Balejka an event will be launched in the vicinity of the Czechoslovak Unity Memorial in the Masaryk Square at Valasske Klobouky at 1245 hrs. WWII vehicles, re-enactment groups as well as equipment will be seen in this square. The RAF WWII post of command is to be seen on a Local Council premises. The ´Czechoslovak Airmen in WWII´ Exhibition will be seen in an old Town Hall.
On Apr 26 the second wife of the pilot - Mrs Maria Balejkova - unveiled a statue dedicated to her husband in front of a local school. More - HERE
Sgt Joseph Valcik landed in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia on Dec 29, 1941. He was a member of a Silver A Group consisting of three Secret Agents. On May 27, 1942 Joe signalled by his pocket mirror to the assassins Sgts Joe Gabcik and Jan Kubis : ´The car with Reinhard Heydrich is approaching to the scene´.
Being deluged Sgt. Joseph Valcik and three more Secret Agents - Joseph Gabcik[Gabcheek], Jaroslav Svarc[Yaroslav Shwarts] and Jan Hruby[Yan Hrubbee] shot themselves in a crypt of the Orthododox Church of Cyril and Metodus in Ressel St, Prague on June 18, 1942. Eight Valciks were executed inside a bunker of the Mauthausen Extermination Camp,Austria on Oct 24, 1942. There names are both HERE and on one of the columns in the vicinity of the Church.
An embriodery made by Joe´s nineteen year old sister Ludmila can be seen HERE Made during Ludmila´s being behind bars at the Theresian Stadt Prison. A picture of her embriodery was used for a memorial plaque dedicated to the children interned at the Jeneralka Chateau at No 6 Prague Borough HERE
NOTES :
1/ A text on Col Balejka has been on a http://fcafa.worpress.com website since Dec 4, 2011
2/ A black-and-white picture of saluting Joseph Balejka over a grave of Sgt Joseph Frantisek DFM&Bar in the Northwood Cemetery London during WWII can be seen in the ´Broken Wings´ Book.
3/ Pictures of the gravestones of Sgts Joseph Frantisek DFM&Bar and Wilhelm Koszarz made on June 4, 2004 are in the ´Northwood Cemetery Sgt Joe Frantisek´s grave´ four minute excerpt : www.svazletcu.cz, the Documentaries Section, CzAA in England 2004. Last but one.
4/ A picture of ´The Czech cloverleaf´ - Balejka, Frantisek, Pavlovic and Koszars can be seen as No 45 at : www.svazletu.cz, Exhibits, Nos 01 - 05 VK Panels as well as on No 198 pg of the ´Cz Airmen in Polish War of Defense 1939´ Book published by the AVIS Publ of MoD in 2003.