Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Projects
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
themselves and their friends, they bravely took part in deadly battles, where enemy forces were strong- er. Thus on March 19, 1950, Myroslava Levytska, a sister of mercy, was killed in battle. She remained to cover, with machine-gun fire, the retreat of insur - gents, among them wounded gunmen. Another example: In the summer of 1947, the cap- tain of the highly praised Rizun company, Myroslav Hresko, was wounded in battle. The company nurse, after bandaging his wound, led the company into battle for victory. She was awarded the Silver Cross of Military Merit. One of the most dangerous professions of war is in- telligence gathering. The scouts were in mortal dan- ger everywhere. Most often, scouts walked a few dozen meters in front of the detachment, providing reconnaissance of the road ahead, warning of danger. No less dangerous was the work of the insurgent li - aisons, which required heroic devotion, endurance, and lightning-fast decisions in critical situations. In the darkness of night, during snowstorms, through rain and searing heat, on foot through the woods, fording through the icy water, liaison officers main - tained communications between the insurgent de- tachments, commanders, and the underground. History will always remember the women who served as insurgent liaisons of the UPA Command - er-in-Chief Roman Shukhevych: Kateryna Zarytska, Odarka Husyak, Halyna Didyk, and Olga Ilkiv, the au- thor of the famous “Insurgent Tango.” Many women played a direct role in UPA combat units, sometimes as division commanders. Togeth- er with the men, they carried out several months of raids and were participants in fierce battles against enemy forces that prevailed numerically and tech- nically. Olga Horoshko led a detachment after the death of her husband, the detachment commander. Under her leadership, the insurgents continued to fight successfully against the enemy. Kalyna Lukan, a district leader of the Kosiv region, took part in many battles and died with her hus - band, Skidan, in her last battle in 1950. In battles and campaigns, in the difficult daily life as an insurgent, women soldiers of UPA did not yield to men in courage, endurance, and military skill. Let me tell you about one more heroine – Luba Komar- Prokop, an UPA liaison and radio operator with whom I was personally acquainted because we were both members of UNWLA Branch 64 in New York. Before the war, Luba Komar studied at Lviv University and joined OUN (the Organization of Ukrainian Na- tionalists). After she and many other boys and girls were arrested by the Bolsheviks in 1940, they were tried in Lviv under the name “Trial of 59.” At that time, 42 people were sentenced to death, including 11 girls. Among them was Luba Komar. The death penalty was later commuted to ten years in prison and five years in exile. When the detainees were be - ing transported in box cars, the train came under fire (battles were under way), and Luba, along with other compatriots, miraculously escaped. During the Ger - man occupation, she returned to Lviv and joined UPA as a liaison and radio operator. At the end of the war, as the Soviet front approached, she was assigned to a group tasked with retreating to the West. After the war, Luba Komar found herself in Ameri- ca and lived in New York with her husband Myroslav Prokop and their two daughters. She published a book of memoirs, The Trial of 59 , that her daughter, Chris- tine Prokop, later translated into English, supplement - ing the text with photographs and materials about the group’s journey across Europe to America. The translated book, Scratches on a Prison Wall: A Wartime Memoir , is available on Amazon. I advise everyone to buy this extremely interesting publication. Eternal glory to the Ukrainian heroines who gave their lives for an independent Ukrainian nation, one that we have now had for almost 30 years. We have but one Ukraine – let us protect her! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes! Our Life | Наше життя December | Грудень 2020 27
Page load link
Go to Top