By Sasha Uzunov
We do the heavy lifting in research but Dnevnik newspaper in Skopje & TV Station Orbis in Bitola take the credit…. It‘s not our fault if we don’t sit around all day in a Skopje or Bitola cafe drinking coffee and chain smoking. Some of us like to actually “work” as journalist !
NO CREDIT FROM DNEVNIK NEWSPAPER IN SKOPJE, & TV STATION ORBIS, BITOLA, MACEDONIA.
We solved a 70 year mystery over Pande Matevski (Panta Matevich) – the US soldier from Bitola, Macedonia who was killed in Normandy 1944- but Dnevnik reporter Zaneta Zdravkovska doesn’t give us credit for uncovering that he enlited in the US Army under the name of Panta Matevich and his rank was Private First Class and not Petty Officer.
However, the Dnevnik article keeps repeating the mistake that he was in Airbourne (desant). He was in infantry. The Dnevnik article also keeps repeating the mistake that Pande Matevski was a “junior officer – podoficir.”
Private First Class is not an officer rank nor is it an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer rank – Staresina-in Macedonian- Corporal, Sergeant, etc).
We also mentioned his brother Peter.
The original Dnevnik article, on April 8 2014, which broke this story could not understand why Matevski’s name did not appear in US military records. This is where we solved the mystery by going through US immigration and Army records and uncovering Matevski’s family: his sister Kalopia Tasseff, his brother Peter, his father and mother.
After we solved this mystery, all of a sudden Zdravkovska has quoted an organisation based in Skopje called Programme de coopération décentralisée entre la Région Basse-Normandie et la République de Macédoine (see the link) the with the answers on 27 May 2014…This organisation has given funding to TV Station Orbis in Bitola to make a short documentary about Private Matevski. We have not been contacted by any of the three organisations.
But prior to this no one had any idea…about why his name did not exist in US Army records. Hilarious.
Even the idea or theme such as the Saving Private Ryan/Steven Spielberg tagline for the documentary film mentioned in the Dnevnik article is similiar to our introductory paragraph of our April 28, 2014 story:
by Sasha Uzunov
June/July 1944 D-Day and Normandy Landings – Steven Spielberg had Saving Private Ryan, we have SOLVING PRIVATE MATEVSKI .
With the 70th anniversary of D-Day approaching… I began seeking any information on a Private First Class Panta Matevich (Pande Matevski) 28th Infantry regiment, 8th Infantry Division, US Army, who fell in July 1944 in Normandy.
The Dnevnik article:
link:
За неговата трагична животна приказна Асоцијацијата на агенции за локална демократија со финансии од Франција снимија краток документарен филм, кој ќе биде прикажан по повод 70-годишнината од десантот во Нормандија. Филмот се вика „Војникот Рајан од Битола“, а насловот е инспириран од оскаровецот „Спасувајќи го војникот Рајан“ на Стивен Спилберг. Премиерно ќе биде прикажан утре (петок) во 12 часот во Центарот за култура во Битола, а за неколку дена, најверојатно, и на главната манифестација во Франција.
– Жанета Здравковска –
http://teamuzunovmedia.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/solving-private-matevski.html
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On Facebook – April 9, 2014 we uncovered Pande Matevski had enlisted in the US Army under the name of Panta Matevich. On 28 April we published our story…
Note on Facebook homepage
Sasha Uzunov
April 9 ·
I believe I might have solved the mystery of the Macedonian, Pande Matevski (1914-44), serving in the US Army who was killed in Normany, 1944.
According to US military records a Private First Class Panta Matevich, born 1914, enlisted in the US Army from Cook County, Chicago Ilinois, US. Army ID number is 36032731. Later killed in Action.
He was an unskilled labourer, single, working with metals in civilian life.
Note: the Republic of Macedonia was from 1913 to 1941 under the occupation of the Kingdoms of Serbia & later Yugoslavia and names had been forcibly changed or Serbianised.
This might be the gentleman referred to the article below but we would still need more confirmation:
see link
– UPDATE –
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The Australian Macedonian Today (Denes) newspaper, 5 June 2014 – gives credit where credit is due and puts the overall story in context. The caption to my photo reads: “Australian journalist Sasha Uzunov’s role in solving the mystery behind Pande Matevski (Panda Matevich).”
