Wacław Pacyno passed away

For many years he performed the function of chairperson of Home Army’s Veterans Club. He was Home Army’s soldier, he took part in Operation Ostra Brama, he was imprisoned in the Soviet camps. Wacław Pacyno died at the age of 87.

Wacław Pacyno was born where the present-day Belarus is. During the World War II, he was a soldier of Home Army, he worked in the intelligence. After the years of service in conspiracy, this is how he reminisced it: “Our main task was to get know where German troops are stationing. Lida and I, we had our observation point at the Kurham stop. My task was to get know where are the machine guns, German armament in general. That was what I did and what I reported to my officers. That was what I was good at”.

During Operation Ostra Brama his troops did not get to Vilnius. After the Soviets underhand partly disarmed Home Army, some soldiers from his troops moved towards Poland. Wacław Pacyno, however, stayed at his homeland. In 1951, he was arrested and sentenced for 10 years of prison.

In 1955, he was released.

Ever since Lithuania regained its independence, he performed the function of chairperson of Home Army’s Veterans Club. He was the one who initialized agreement with the soldiers of Vietinė Rinktinė gen. Povilasa Plechavičiusa. It is also the case that he was not certain about this idea afterwards.

“I am not sure about how much sincere was this agreement as far as Lithuanian are concerned. They were there when we signed the agreement but afterwards they disappeared. It should have been more like a friendly relationship. The reconciliation was something big, after all it was signed in the Presidential Palace, in the presence of President and all the dignitaries. Then, we had a trip to Grunwald. There was a Pavlavičius, he said: We will write a book and ask you to come to its presentation, okay? I said that I would come unless they had have written some dirty laundry. Some time later the book was written and they found some Mr. Lansbergis whose words they included in the book. He said that he had found some Home Army’s protocols in one of Vilnius churches. And it reputedly said that Home Army was supposed to take over all the land, all Lithuania, and to relocate all the Lithuanian and bring the Poles. It is not true. Such an order did never take place”. Those are the words of the old veteran, Wacław Pacyno.