Józef Masiuk, NCO - researched thanks to the literature.

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This is an example of a group researched in a way almost identical to the one I suggested in "researching polish baward groups" thread. I suggested that regiment history books would be a good source of information about awardees, as some even list extracts from award citations. Here, the book was a bit different, but it brought a lot of information, and when I put my hands on his regiment's history book, maybe more information will be available.

Anyway, I got both lucku and unlucky with this docs.
Unlucky, because I missed the auctions of most of his wartime docs (including the ww2 military ID of a type I have been looking for lately).
Lucky, because I got 3 later docs from a different source, being unaware that they were his and most of all, because I got tchem while I was reading the book "Na drodze stał Kołobrzeg" (Kołobrzeg/Kolberg was blocking the way) - a documentary book about the fights for the city of Kolberg in march 1945 (the city was declared a stronghold by the Nazis) written by it's participant andlater journalist/writer Alojzy Sroga. Masiuk shows up in the book and there's even his photograph there.

Basic data:
Józef Masiuk, son of Piotr, was born in Aziorków, Kolomyja powiat, Stanisławów voivodeship (Stanisławów is currently Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine). He served in the National Defense Battalions in 1938 (a kind of auxiliary troops before the war) and on 8th May 1944 became a soldier of the 14th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division, 1st Army, Polish Army in the East (with a short service in the Red Army before).
In the 14th rgt, he was a chief of the company of the anti-armor rifles (PTRD).

First doc - 1946-dated departure order - commanding him to go to Prądnik (probably near Kraków)as a demobilised.

1955-dated diploma of the Służba Polsce (Service to Poland, a youth organisation that was responsible for basic military and ideological training, helping also in all kinds of state labor - mainly liquidating war damage but also helping in the farms, for some time, joining SP was obligatory) organisation:
"Comrade MAsiuk Józef
For exceptional achievements in the educational work with the youth in the organisation "Service to Poland"

Voivodeship Commandant of the SP
Wrocław
/-/
Matuszewski J., mjr.

Wrocław 29.12.1955"

1978-dated promotion to sr sgt

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1984-dated promotion to sierżant sztabowy (almost the highest NCO rank)

A photograph from Sroga's book. Caption:
"Józef MAsiuk was a Company chief. He tried to fulfill his duties as good as he could."

A first fragment about him (pages 236-237):
"Among those who are at the ground floor, Józef Masiuk, a stubborn chief of anti-armor rifles company shows up. He brought ammunition, brad, few tins of meat.
'The chief has reached us!' The soldiers cheerfuly comment on his quick arrival.
'I used to acieve harder goals.' Murmurs Masiuk.
He has no time to explain. He knows how much he and a group of his collegues from Kołomyja had cost someone's mistake. Someone made a mistake in the voenkomat and instead of being sent to the Polish Army, he was sent to the Red Army, far to Moscow. So he and his friends would write letters to themain directorate of the Polish Patriots Associacion complaining that there had been a mistake. They, the Polish, want to the Polish Army. After almost 2 months, they were sent to the 6th division. The fact that MAsiuk, as a 19-year-old fought in the National Defense Battalions in 1939 speeded up his promotion to corporal and than to plutonowy [actually, he got the rank of plutonowy after liberation of Warsaw in which he participated - translator's note].
If he was so stubborn in his way to the Polish Army, how could he be less stubborn now, when soldiers need ammunition and bread so desparately?"

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Next part, from page 354:
"It's safer on the Artillery street, but even tough, Józef Masiuk, chief of the AAR company, when joined his company with food, was wounded, and not by a fragment, but by a sniper's bullet.
"The pigeoners" sit in their nests and deal damage.
So he lays in the street, clost to the "long house" and thinks how to survive. It's good he had manager to give one granade bag to corporal Bronisław Hojszyk, who managed to get to the house.
The mud he is laying in is cold, but he feels hot when he observes the sniper's bullets hitting nearby. That bastard doesn'tlet him getup and move. And the safe place - the house is so close!
After few minutes, an artillery shell hits nearby. Wounded Masiuk gets hit by a fragment. A fear takes him over. "They will finisz me off here!" His neck and arm are bleeding.
Finally, the fire stops. From the "long house", a medic crawls. He bandages his arm.
'Let's go chief, we have to crawl, there's no other way.'
Masiuk, who fought in 1939, is a man with military experience. He knows how to crawl. They reached the door.
Here, through the basement, through the hole made by the artillery fire 2 days earlier he gets to the safe area. The doctor treats him and directs to the hospital.
'I can walk doctor. I would prefer to stey in the regiment. Haven't seen the sea yet and it's so close...'
The doctor is not surprised - it's not the first time someone asks for that.
'In 1939 in the army I sang about the Baltic. How we will guard it. We didn't manage than. Maybe now...' He doesn't have to finish.
'Alright. Just keep coming for the bandage change.'"

Page 557:
"Józef MAsiuk, chief of company, wounded, but not sent to hospital thanks to his asks has reached the sea. He remembers how he sang in 1939 in NDB "We will guard You faithfully [our sea]"."

And a note from the book's final chapter:
"Masiuk Józef, son of Piotr (1920), corporal, 14th Inf. Rgt. The company chief who didn't want to hide behind collegues' backs. Awarded with the Cross of the Brave, Sgt. of the reserve. Works in "Wałbrzych" Factory as a Benzol destiller. Lives in Wałbrzych"