CLARK, NJ — A lot has happened to Paul Wojtowicz in the past two months. Wojtowicz, who lived in Clark for more than 20 years before moving to Toms River a year and a half ago, had decided to get involved in Ukraine. His experiences as a contractor quality control systems manager had shown him what he could do, and he decided he wanted to help the people of Ukraine firsthand. First, he had to get there though, and part of his trip to help others involved checking off an item on his personal bucket list of experiences he wanted to have during his lifetime.
“I did see the Rolling Stones on July 3,” he said in an interview with Union County LocalSource on Saturday, Aug. 27. It was the band’s second of two headlining appearances at British Summer Time Hyde Park, an annual musical festival held over two or three weekends in London’s Hyde Park. “The Rolling Stones were awesome, incredible!”
But afterward, it was back to the business at hand.
“I had a meeting on Ukraine in London,” said Wojtowicz.
From there, he said, he took the high-speed Channel Tunnel train to Paris.
“I met another person that was part of my Ukraine group out there and then headed to Warsaw the next day, and that really started the trip out,” said Wojtowicz. “I got to Ukraine on July 9. I was volunteering for a group called Task Force Yankee, a nonprofit organization. They do military/medical training, humanitarian supplies and medical supplies to the front. We were 100 miles away from the front.”
Logistically, the trip to Ukraine proved increasingly difficult and time-consuming for Wojtowicz, the closer he got to his ultimate destination.
“There’s no flights in there because the airspace is shut down, so you have to take a train or a bus,” he said. “The biggest problem is the trains are sometimes shut down. So you take a bus and it’s a six-hour trip from Warsaw into Krakow.
“From Krakow to Lviv leaving took nine hours,’ he continued. “It should have been a four-hour travel time, 200 or so miles, but it took that much longer because everything is so congested. From Warsaw to Lviv was about a six- or seven-hour trip. All for $20. It’s not Euros; Poland uses its own currency, and no one wants Ukraine currency. Poland used the zloty. One hundred parts of Ukrainian currency, hryvnia, is equal to two singles of American money,” said Wojtowicz, although the official conversion rate on Aug. 27 was one U.S. dollar to 36.92 Ukrainian hryvnia.
One of the things Wojtowicz said he noticed right away was the Ukrainians’ patriotism.
“Ukrainian people would speak Russian right now, but after this war, they’ll speak only Ukrainian,” he said.
“From Lviv, we were helping … people,” Wojtowicz conituned. “I went over to Dnipro, another Ukranian city. I was helping another group that was evacuating people from war areas. That’s where we had to suit up, because they were shooting at us. From Dnipro, we went over to Kyiv. Over in Kyiv, I met with some people and helped evacuate some people. But we couldn’t go back to Dnipro because it was under assault, so we had to leave another way from Kyiv to Lviv. Then I was on my way to Krakow and back to the United States around July 25 or 26.”
Zaporizhzhia, with six separate nuclear reactors, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Located in Ukraine, it was captured by Russian forces on March 4, according to CNN, and worldwide concern has only increased in the last six months. On Monday, Aug. 29, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he would be leading a team from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to visit the facility in the next few days. But Wojtowicz says he isn’t worried about the situation.
“I do not think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his group are going to do anything nuclear, because they need the infrastructure if they are going to take it over,” Wojtowicz said. “Second thing is, What good is land if there’s a meltdown? I think if he decides to do something, he’s shooting himself in the foot.”
In the meantime, Wojtowicz is still focused on what he can do in Ukraine.
“I went out there and I volunteered and I gave of my time, so many hours, and I did what I had to do; however, I had friends in the military who said, ‘Your life is going to change, Paul; when you come back, your life is going to be different.’”
Their words proved prophetic.
“It’s almost miraculous,” he said. “I was looking for a job to get back into society, as I lost the wind in my sails after my wife died, and I went to Ukraine and got my wind back. And I came back to the United States and I was immediately offered a job at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. … And then, a week into that job, I got offered a job 30 miles from my home in New Jersey. So now I work at Naval Weapons Station Earle. Everything is just good in my life right now. My whole view on life has changed. I just appreciate it more.”
But time and again Wojtowicz referred to Ukraine and the effect the country and its people had and continued to have on his life. He couldn’t stop talking about the strength he saw, exhibited by everyone he met.
“The women are the backbone of that country,” he said. “All you see in that country are women, older people and children, because the men 16 to 60 are fighting. But the women are absolutely incredible. They are very proud people.”
He then illustrated his point.
“I had a video of this lady picking up trash. She was dressed nicely. And these people are so proud of their country. Their country is everything to them.”
Despite his hope for Ukraine, he admitted that the fighting is far from over, and that it would get worse before it got better.
“There’s going to be an air war soon, I’m pretty sure,” said Wojtowicz.
In the meantime, he said he’s going to continue to do what he can from wherever he winds up.
“I may be able to go to work for NATO after this project is done,” Wojtowicz said, referring to his current task at Earle. “I have some certifications I need. I’d probably do construction. They have to build NATO bases, support structures; it’s all important.
“Then, after the war, I want to help rebuild Ukraine.”
For the present, Wojtowicz intends to do what he can while in the United States.
“Right now, we’re looking to outfit 10 warriors with helmets, ballistic vests, camouflage, boots, socks, gloves, glasses, coats, the works,” he said. “It comes out to about $1,200 a person. I outfitted two people on my own, out of my own pocket, but I can’t keep doing it on my own, so I’m looking for donations. My paypal is [email protected].”
It’s only a matter of time before Wojtowicz is back in Ukraine in person, doing what he can to help.
“I’m going to be going back hopefully in January, and I’m going to be teaching tactical combat casualty care,” he said. “It teaches you how to take care of severe injuries under fire. We teach them not only to take care of other people but to take care of themselves.”
Photos Courtesy of Paul Wojtowicz