Oskars Kalpaks
Oskars Kalpaks (born January 6, 1882 in Meirāni , † March 6, 1919 with Airītes ) was a Latvian officer.
Life
Oskars Kalpaks was born as the son of the Latvian couple Peter and Ilze Kalpaki in simple living conditions. He had two siblings. First he attended a local school, later the community school of Lubahn . In 1903 he voluntarily entered the Russian military service in order to open up the possibility of studying. From September 1905 he attended the sea school in Irkutsk . As a member of the Russian armed forces, he took part in battles in Hungary , Poland and Romania . He was honored and promoted to regimental commander in 1917. In 1918 Kalpaks returned to Latvia and stayed in Riga in December 1918 . Here he entered the service of Latvia, which had recently declared its independence from Russia, and commanded the Latvian armed forces. On March 6, he was killed by an accidental fire by actually allied German troops.
First he was buried in the north cemetery in Libau, but then reburied in his home town of Visagals . A memorial and a museum were later set up at the place where he died. He was posthumously awarded the Latvian Bear Slayer Order in 1927 . His death is the motif of a picture by the painter Kārlis Sūniņš . In 2006 the Kalpaks monument was erected in his honor in Riga .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kalpaks, Oskars |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Latvian officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 6, 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Meirāni |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 6, 1919 |
| Place of death | at Airītes |