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Sepko receives scholarship

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<p>This is the story about how my maternal grandfather came to America in 1903.</p><p>His name was Anthony Czarniecki, born in 1885 and he lived in Eastern Poland. The section of Poland he hailed from was controlled by Russia at that time, and my grandfather was drafted into the Imperial Russian Navy at the age of 17. He was assigned to serve aboard the Russian cruiser Ryukyu.</p><p>In 1903, the Ryukyu steamed into the American port of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to take on fuel and provisions. My grandfather and three of his Polish-born shipmates were granted 24 hour shore liberty. When they failed to return to the ship on time, they were declared AWOL (absent without official leave), retrieved by Russian Shore Patrol and remanded to the brig.</p><p>As luck would have it, the sailor who had watch over the brig was also a Polish draftee. My grandfather and his friends convinced their fellow countryman they had no loyalty to the Czar and implored him to release them; all five of them, including the watchman, jumped ship and defected to America.</p><p>The shore patrol was once again dispatched to find the men and return them to the Ryukyu, but the effort was unsuccessful and the patrol returned to the ship empty handed. The ship was under orders to continue on its mission and become a part of Russia&#8217;s Pacific Fleet. The Ryukyu steamed off and eventually made its way to the Sea of Japan, where it was sunk during the Battle of the Tsushima Strait during the Russian-Japanese War in 1905.</p><p>Anthony made his way to Pennsylvania after learning there was plenty of work to be found in the coal mines. He eventually came to Wilkes-Barre where he would purchase a house in the Parsons section of the city, a property still owned by his children.</p><p>If my grandfather had remained on that ship, my mother&#8217;s family and future Czarniecki offspring would never have been born.</p><p>Dzienkuje Dziadziu! (Thank you, Grandfather.)</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Anthony Czarniecki </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Anthony-Czarniecki.jpg</photo0><caption0>Anthony Czarniecki </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Rich Zawatsky</p></bylineMeta></div>

2016 Coming to America: The Czarniecki family