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WWII veteran Matwich to attend All-Star Game
By Jordan Cohen
HOWLAND
Ray Matwich still wears a Cleveland Indians baseball cap and remembers his first Indians game. The life-long resident of Leavittsburg, who now resides at Shepherd of the Valley nursing home in Howland, was 12 years old at the time. The year was 1933.
“I just looked around and said ‘wow,’” recalled the 92-year old Matwich.
Next Tuesday, millions of Americans are likely to have the same reaction to Matwich and 29 other military veterans who will be honored by representing each major league team in ceremonies at the annual All-Star Game in New York City. Matwich was selected from a group of northeastern Ohio veterans to represent the Indians, his favorite baseball team.
SDLqPeople Magazine called and said, ‘Congratulations—you’re No. 1,’ and I said ‘No. 1 what?’” Matwich said. “I didn’t really know about it.”
But Matwich’s daughter, Patricia Kosiba of Crystal Beach, Ont., did. “My son Adam saw an ad for the contest and said, ‘We should enter grandpa,’ so I did,” said Kosiba, a registered practical nurse in Canada.
The “Tribute for Heroes” contest, jointly sponsored by the magazine and Major League Baseball, invited fans to nominate a military veteran and provide information about each nominee’s service record. The contest encouraged frequent voting, so Kosiba and the rest of Matwich’s family went on Facebook and other social networks to rally support. The list of nominees was narrowed to three finalists for each team before the Leavittsburg native was declared the winner on behalf of the Indians.
Matwich’s service record in World War II clearly moved the judges, but the veteran is modest about his accomplishments.
“I don’t see myself in the sense of being a hero, but I have seen a lot,” he said.
He had been assigned as a private first class to guard the so-called “war room” where generals secretly planned a surprise invasion of southern France. The planning occurred shortly after the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
Matwich said he was personally assigned by General Lucien Truscott, the invasion commander.
“He wanted to go into the war room and I knew who he was, but I demanded to see proof of his identification and that’s exactly what [the general] wanted,” Matwich said. “The guy before me didn’t do that and that’s why I was assigned.”
The information in the war room was classified as top secret and Matwich, who served in the North Africa and Italian campaigns, understood its importance.
“All the guys were betting against each other on the location and no one guessed it was in the south of France,” he said. “I could have made thousands of dollars, but I stayed tight-lipped.”
The young soldier had his share of close calls during the war. During the convoy of his unit to Europe in the southern Atlantic, he watched as a torpedo from a German submarine narrowly missed his ship. Later, a jeep he was riding in went out of control after striking a bomb crater throwing him against a tree, knocking him out and breaking his leg. He managed to escape other serious wounds and injuries during his three years of service overseas.
Married for 65 years to his wife, Dorothy, who still lives in Leavittsburg, Matwich is mostly confined to a wheelchair at the nursing home, but tries to stay active. Last February, one month after his 92nd birthday, he went skiing at Ohio’s Brandywine slopes on a snowmobile modified with skis that he could guide with the help of instructors. Now he looks forward to next week’s ceremonies and seems in awe that millions will be watching.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel,” Matwich said. “It still hasn’t sunk in.”