Vladas Juozas Rėklaitis (18 January 1888 – 4 April 1952) was a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, lecturer of the

Higher Officers' Courses The Higher Officers' Courses ( lt, Aukštieji karininkų kursai) were military courses for senior officers of the Lithuanian Army in 1921–1940. Junior officers were prepared by the War School of Kaunas. In July 1923, the courses were named after ...

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; pl, Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. Etymology and variant names The city took its original name ''Vilkmergė'' from th ...

Personal life

Simonas, the father of Rėklaitis, was married with Teofilė and had nine children – five sons and four daughters. Simonas Rėklaitis told his children the history of his family even from the 17th century. According to his father, the Rėklaičiai family came from free peasants and never went to corvée. His parents were educated people, thus all their children graduated from studies. Three of them: Vladas,

Antanas Rėklaitis Antanas Simanas Rėklaitis (24 December 1897 – 30 April 1977) was a Lithuanian colonel, lecturer. In the interwar Lithuania, he was well known for his command of the Lithuanian cavalry units. Personal life Simonas, the father of Rėklaitis, w ...

, and

Mikas Rėklaitis Mikas Rėklaitis (6 September 1895 – 31 March 1976) was a Lithuanian people, Lithuanian division general. He was chief of supply of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Personal life Simonas, the father of Rėklaitis, was married with Teofilė and had ...

became

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. Vladas Rėklaitis brothers colonel Antanas Rėklaitis and division general Mikas Rėklaitis also served in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, all three brothers were arrested by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940, however, they were later liberated and emigrated.

Early life

In 1910, Rėklaitis was drafted into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

and in 1911 graduated from a military school. He fought on the front during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was wounded several times.

Interwar Lithuania

In February 1919, Rėklaitis returned to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and joined the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (whi ...

. In July 1919, Rėklaitis was appointed the commandant of the city of

Šakiai Šakiai (, pl, Szaki) is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village. By 1719 a church in Šakiai was built. By the 19th century Šakiai al ...

and Šakiai County. In 1920, Rėklaitis participated in the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles ( lt, Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Berm ...

with the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

. In 1920–1921, he served as Commander of the Seventh Infantry Regiment, and from 1921 he was Commander of the

Fifth Infantry Regiment Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

. In 1923, Rėklaitis graduated from the

of the Grand Duke

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, and since 1926 was its lecturer. In 1928, Rėklaitis was appointed Special Affairs Officer of the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania. In 1929, Rėklaitis went into reserve. In 1931–1940, he was the

Occupations and World War II

Following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940, Rėklaitis was arrested in July 1940 and imprisoned in

. He was liberated following the start of the Soviet–German War during the

June Uprising in Lithuania The June Uprising ( lt, Birželio sukilimas) was a brief period in the history of Lithuania between the first Soviet occupation and the Nazi occupation in late June 1941. Approximately one year earlier, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army occupied Li ...

in June 1941. In 1944, Rėklaitis was appointed Commandant of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force in Ukmergė.

Emigration

In 1944, Rėklaitis departed to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1949, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he died in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reklaitis, Vladas 1888 births 1952 deaths Lithuanian Army officers Lithuanian emigrants to Germany Lithuanian refugees in the United States Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force officers People from Suwałki Governorate