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

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

, lecturer of the Higher Officers' Courses,

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Municipality. Ukmergė (Vilkmergė) was mentioned for the first time as a ...

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 Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...

. 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 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 nine children— ...

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 The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

following the

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

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 () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was wounded several times.

Interwar Lithuania

In February 1919, Rėklaitis returned to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

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 Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

. In July 1919, Rėklaitis was appointed the

commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the city of

Šakiai Šakiai () is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. History It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village, which was first mentioned in 1599. In 1719 Šakaičiai was renamed to Šaki ...

and Šakiai County. In 1920, Rėklaitis participated in the

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

with the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. In 1920–1921, he served as Commander of the Seventh Infantry Regiment, and from 1921 he was Commander of the Fifth Infantry Regiment. In 1923, Rėklaitis graduated from the Higher Officers' Courses of the Grand Duke

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

, 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

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 () was a brief period in late June 1941 between the first Soviet and the Nazi occupations. A year prior, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army occupied Lithuania and established the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, w ...

in June 1941. In 1944, Rėklaitis was appointed Commandant of the

Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force The Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (; , LVR) was a short-lived Lithuanian volunteer military unit created in spring 1944, during the last year of the German occupation of Lithuania during World War II, German occupation of Lithuania in World ...

in Ukmergė.

Emigration

In 1944, Rėklaitis departed to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1949, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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