Despite his status in the US Army, four-star General Samuel Jaskilka was always proud of his Ukrainian heritage and participated in the life of Ukrainian diaspora.
Olha Sukhobokova, historian
Samuel Jaskilka was a four-star general, deputy commander of the U.S. Marine Corps (1975-1978), and a participant in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars.
He was born to Ukrainian-American parents on December 15, 1919, in Ansonia, Connecticut, USA. His military career began during World War II, in September 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps as a graduate of the University of Connecticut (Bachelor of Business Administration). In March 1943, after graduating from the Reserve Officers’ Class, Marine Corps School in Quantico and the Sea School at Portsmouth, he was assigned to the USS Princeton, which performed important combat missions in the Pacific.
For his heroism in combat during the Korean War, particularly in the Incheon Naval Operation, S. Jaskilka received two awards of the Silver Star and a Bronze Star for bravery and the rank of Major (1951). As a brigadier general (from 1968), he participated in the Vietnam War, where he was assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the US Navy.
Upon returning to the United States in 1970, General Jaskilka became the Command and Staff College Director at Quantico, then Deputy Director for the Development Center and Assistant Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps. From 1973, he served as commander of the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, where he was promoted to lieutenant general in 1974 and appointed deputy chief of staff for manpower at Headquarters Marine Corps. In 1975, he was appointed Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and soon became a four-star general, the highest peacetime military rank in the United States.
Having an active civic and Ukrainian national position, Samuel Jaskilka willingly maintained ties with the Ukrainian community and American military personnel of Ukrainian descent. He spoke at various celebrations of the Ukrainian diaspora, especially after his retirement in June 1978.
General Jaskilka died on January 15, 2012, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Many Ukrainians were among the many people who accompanied him to his final resting place.
