Andrew Babjak (ANDREJ BABJAK in Slovakian) was born on January 20, 1924, in Žbince, okres Michalovce, Košický, Slovakia. He was the son of Andrej Babjak and Maria Mitnik. He emigrated to the United States in 1939, just before the outbreak of WWII. After arriving in New York, he settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he worked at the Frisbie Pie Co. In 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and enlisted on May 15, 1943. He completed basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, earned U.S. citizenship in Macon, and joined the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division as a Private.

In December 1943, he deployed to Europe with the 508 PIR, training in Northern Ireland and Nottingham before preparing for Operation Overlord. On the night of June 5–6, 1944, during Operation Neptune, Babjak parachuted into Normandy as part of Mission Boston. His aircraft, a C-47 Skytrain (Chalk #3), flew successfully despite poor visibility.

Tragically, Babjak drowned in the flooded Douve River basin, an area intentionally flooded by German forces to impede Allied landings. He was one of three from his plane who did not survive the night of June 6, 1944. Pvt Babjak is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France.

Source of information: spectator.sme.sk, Pavol Hornak