Kazys Musteikis
Born(1894-11-22)November 22, 1894
Stučiai, Tauragnai District
DiedJune 6, 1977(1977-06-06) (aged 82)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
NationalityLithuanian
OccupationsBrigadier general of the Lithuanian army
SpouseGražina Musteikienė
ChildrenKazimieras Musteikis,
Marija Gražina Musteikytė
AwardsOrder of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 3rd Class
Order of Vytautas the Great, 3rd Class

Kazys Musteikis (November 22, 1894 – June 6, 1977) was a Lithuanian military brigadier general and served as Lithuanian minister of national defence from 1938 to 1940.[1][2][3][4]

Biography

On September 1939, at the beginning of the Invasion of Poland and World War II, Musteikis supported Lithuania's neutrality and was against Adolf Hitler's call to Lithuanians to attack Vilnius. After receiving the 1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania on the night of June 14, 1940, during the last meeting of the Lithuanian government held in Kaunas, he urged that the ultimatum be rejected and argued for military resistance. On June 15, 1940, he called on the 9th Infantry Regiment of Marijampolė to cover the departure of President Antanas Smetona and to symbolically resist the Army of the Soviet Union; the regiment marched but was stopped in Vilkaviškis. The same day he left for Germany with Smetona.[5][6] He then relocated to the United States in 1949,[7] where he lived in Roslindale[7] and then Dorchester, Massachusetts.[8] He died in Chicago in 1977.

Musteikis was a recipient of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas 3rd Class (1929), the Order of Vytautas the Great 3rd Class (1935), and other medals.

Family

Musteikis was the son of Kazimieras Musteikis (c. 1853–1909) and Anastazija Musteikienė (née Dicevičiūtė, 1866–1942). He was married to Gražina née Rudvalis (1910–2006).[8][9] They were the parents of Gražina Musteikis (1937–1974).[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "It's an Honor!". Berwyn Life. Berwyn, IL. October 23, 1968. p. 7. Retrieved September 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ↑ "Busby Decries Terror Tactics in Baltic Grab". Suburbanite Economist. Chicago, IL. December 2, 1953. pp. 1, 21. Retrieved September 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ "Kazys Musteikis (1894–1977) - Genealogy". Geni.com. 22 November 1894. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Gureckas, Algimantas. "Ar Lietuva galėjo išsigelbėti 1939–1940 metais?". lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Madigan, John (November 29, 1953). "Lithuanians Urge Aid for Small Nations". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, PA. p. 8. Retrieved September 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ Musteikis, Kazys (1970). Atsiminimai: Prisiminimų fragmentai.
  7. 1 2 "Naujausi naujakuriai". Dirva: Field. Cleveland, OH. May 20, 1949. p. 6. Retrieved September 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. 1 2 3 "Soviets Doom Lithuanians". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, CA. June 26, 1949. p. 18. Retrieved September 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. 1 2 "Musteikis". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. December 7, 1974. p. 144. Retrieved September 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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