Stephen J. Byzek – Major, United States Army

I would like to add the name of Stephen J. Byzek, Major, USA to your list of names.

Steve was a friend of mine who died on January 6, 1996. He was born on July 11, 1911.

While serving in the U.S. Army in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Byzek was witness to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shortly thereafter, Byzek went to northern Africa as a paratrooper with the O.S.S. During that time, he was wounded by a land mine and received the Purple Heart.

He later served in both the Korean War with the Army and the Bay of Pigs invasion with the CIA. He retired to Annandale, Virginia after serving at Ft. Lee, Virginia. He is survived by his wife Madeline, his daughter Bonnie and his grandson Alexander. He was pre-deceased by his son Steven.

In addition to his military service, Byzek was well known as a Jujitsu teacher. He studied under the famous Professor Henry Okazaki in Honolulu. After recovering from his wounds, he returned to Hawaii and trained the troops at Ewa Marine Base in the arts of hand-to-hand combat.

Major Byzek in interred in grave 60-1918.

Thanks for considering this addition.
George Arrington

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard