Jan Koukal, Infantryman, Austrian Army

John Koukal, Sr. was our immigrant ancestor, having arrived in America in 1884. With money borrowedfrom a friend, he purchased a small farm just west of the town of Plattsmouth, Nebraska in Cass County.Plattsmouth is in the eastern part of the state, situated on the Missouri River about 18 miles south of Omaha. He was born in the tiny village of Rovné, in the district of Bystrice in Moravia, on 4 March1856. Rovné is located about 50 km northwest of Brno, the capitol city of Moravia, which along withBohemia and Silesia, form the Czech Republic today. At the time of his birth, there was noCzechoslovakia or Czech Republic. Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia were part of the Austro-HungarianEmpire.On 5 May 1876, two months past his 20th birthday, Jan Koukal complied with the laws of the land andregistered with the Austrian military authorities. With the promise of a bonus of three shillings, he wascommitted to a term of two years of active duty in the 54th Infantry Regiment militia, and sevenadditional years of reserve duty. Thus, he would not complete his military obligation before mid-1885.Five months later, a few months shy of his 21st birthday, Jan was inducted into the Austrian Army andreceived his bonus. His records state he had blond hair and gray eyes. He stood 1.69 meters tall, or 5' 6",and wore size 9 boots. On 1 October 1876, Jan Koukal, resident of Rovné, district of Bystrice, provinceof Moravia in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, was now a recruit in the Austrian Army serving EmperorFranz Joseph.He had been vaccinated upon induction, and spoke only Czech. With a 32" chest, he was described as"slightly underdeveloped of chest". There were no special identifying marks; his mouth was described as"normal", his chin "round", his face "oval", his nose "regular".His initial training and active service found him stationed in Olomouc, north of Brno, the capital of Moravia. Meanwhile, a war was being fought in the nearby Balkans as a result of a peasant uprising inBosnia, leading to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. The War was brought to an end by the Treaty of Berlin on 13 July 1878, which also granted Austria the right to occupy and govern Bosnia andHerzegovina. The 54th Infantry Regiment was ordered to participate in the occupation, and Jan foundhimself in action for the first time. Bosnian Moslems, reinforced by mutinous Turkish regiments,strongly resisted the Austrian troops. The Austrian occupation force, which was small at the outset, hadto be reinforced to 150,000 men. It suffered 5,000 casualties. Fortunately, although he served from mid-1878 through most of 1879, Jan survived intact, without wounds or injury. On 4 September 1878, hefought in the Battle at Lipac (today a suburb of Doboj), and on 24 August 1879 was awarded a WarMedal for "courageous and reliable service".One other incident of note while he served in Bosnia was recorded in his record. On 13 August 1878, Janwas sentenced to three days of solitary confinement for "lack of respect toward Private Wedra". A mereinfantryman was expected to show total respect to even the lowest level non-commissioned officer, andJan apparently had words with Wedra, perhaps leading to something more than just words. In any event,he served his sentence.On 26 November 1879, a year beyond his initial commitment, Jan was released from active duty andassigned to the Reserves. He was obliged to attend periodic training of about two weeks a year. Hisrecord of conduct in December 1881 states Jan was a "cheerful, happy character; speaks Bohemian; noprevious errors, no war wounds or injuries, awarded War Medal". Apparently his run-in with the non-com was not considered worthy of further comment.

His marksmanship during training in June 1883 appeared questionable. He was given nine bullets to fire,and scored three hits from a standing position and three from a prone position. Meanwhile, his conductreports indicate no change in his demeanor.The last entry in his military record was dated 6 July 1885, when he was noted as absent from reservetraining and listed as a deserter. As we know now, Jan had emigrated from Moravia sometime in 1884and was living in Plattsmouth where he was called John Koukal. His census record in 1900 states heimmigrated to America in 1884. He was living in Plattsmouth in June 1885 when the Nebraska StateCensus was enumerated. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1889, according to his1920 census record. One had to have lived in the country for at least five years before becoming a citizen.Therefore, it appears he left Austria before his military obligation was fulfilled. In fact, family traditionsays he left his homeland in order to "avoid the army".Perhaps there is more to this. Most likely he thought he had fulfilled his obligation when he left. He hadover a year of duty in occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was counted as war service and could haveshortened his years of service. He had served three years of active duty, not two as originally required. Itmay be he felt he had met his obligation and left without reporting for training in the summer of 1885.Otherwise, he could have asked for permission, which likely would have been granted, perhaps inexchange for a fee of some sort.The source of the information on Jan Koukal's military service is found in a microfilm obtained from theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormon Church. The film can be obtained from oneof the Family History Centers by ordering film #1790428 (Koubek-Kovar), "Grundbuchblätter Diverse1780-1930", Military Foundation Registers for the Austrian Army for personnel from Bohemia, Moraviaand Silesia. He is listed as Johann Koukal, born 1856 in Rowny, Bystrizitz, Mähren (German spelling),Rovné, Bystrice, Moravia in Czech.