Stanislaw and his Four Armies

 

Note: A No. 10 can is a metal container which holds about 1 gallon of food. 

I was drafted into the Army

And served from 1953 to 1955

Where I ran into Stanislaw

Who was serving in a different army for the fourth time

Stanislaw, a Pole, feared the prospect of fighting the Germans

But did so in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland and occupied the Polish west

Pursuant to the Nazi-Soviet pact entered into before the war began

The Russians occupied the rest

But as the war progressed, and Hitler invaded Russia

The Germans sought out Poles who were physically fit

And conscripted them into the German Army

To help defeat the Soviet communists

So by now Stanislaw had served in the Polish and German armies, but his WW2 military service was not yet complete

The Germans ran into deep trouble in Russia, primarily because of terrible winter weather that caused them great harm

During and after Stalingrad, the Russians captured thousands of German soldiers

And poor Stanislaw was forced to join the Russian military, his third different army

That was the end of Stanislaw’s military career in Europe in WW2

But post war conditions were harsh and Stanislaw found a way to improve his fate

By some legal loophole, I never did understand

He could become a U.S. Citizen by joining the Army of the United States

So there is where I met Stanislaw, and his actions clearly reflected

What he had learned from serving in the armies of several different nations

Which he told me were basically the same, they want you to fight if in combat

If not so engaged, look busy whatever was your station

Which brings up one particular incident

Where we were both assigned as kitchen police, a job distinctly lacking in fun

Stanislaw grabbed a rag and a No. 10 can

And rubbed the rag against the can until our shift was done

He later explained his logic to me

There were numerous very unpleasant tasks done by the kitchen police to help with the mess hall feed

Cleaning out kitchen grease pits, scrubbing sidewalks and gigantic pots

All of which Stanislaw avoided by endlessly shining his No.10 can, a totally useless deed

It was a bold move on his part

But he wasn’t the least bit tense

He knew from his past history, as long as you’re looking busy

They rarely question whether what you’re doing makes any sense

Stanislaw was also very wise in the matter of languages

He privately confided to me one day that he spoke six tongues fluently, including English- whether formal, slang and even cursing

But if what he was told to do was unpleasant, he pretended not to understand

And started jabbering in some language foreign to the other person

Stanislaw and I spent only a few months together

But I’m sure he continued his usual plan

I’m confident his remaining army time went smoothly, by failing to understand any unpleasant orders

And always staying close to a rag and a No. 10 can