Theodore Bulat was born October 12, 1919 in Utica, NY to Ludwig Bulat (1893-1941) and Victoria Packa (1893-1976). His parents were both from Poland. His dad came to the U.S. in 1909. His mom came to the U.S. in 1912. His dad was a weaver at a local cotton mill. His parents were married on May 14, 1914 in Oswego, NY. He had an older sister Wanda (1917-2007) and an older brother Edward (1915-1970). The 1930 US Census recorded the family living on Catherine St., Utica, NY. Later they moved to Bleeker St. After his dad died in 1941, his mom remarried and was identified in local papers as Victoria Waronietz. His older brother Edward and he weren't the best of kids. In 1937 they were both arrested for stealing auto parts from a local store and sentenced to 30 days in the Herkimer jail. They both pleaded guilty and had their sentence suspended. Theodore attended St. Stanislaus School and was employed by Utica Radiator Inc. before his induction.

Theodore was drafted into the service on March 3, 1941 with service number 32043603. He received his basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and finally Fort Dix, New Jersey. Just before going overseas to Devon, England in January 1944 he spent a few days in the hospital at Camp Kilmer, N.J. From January – July 1944, while in Devon, England, the 22nd trained for their role in the invasion of France. The 22nd Infantry landed in Normandy on July 7, 1944, coming ashore on Utah Beach a month after D-Day. Once ashore they fought in the difficult bocage country west of Saint-Lo, making slow progress through the hedgerows there.

On July 26, 1944, the 22nd Infantry Regiment was just west of Saint-Lo, Normandy during the American's attempted breakout from the Normandy hedgerows. Pfc. Bulat was killed in action during this fighting and initially buried in the La Cambe Cemetery near Bayeux, Normandy, France. In May 1948 his remains were returned home aboard the USAT Lawrence Victory and buried with full military honors in the St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Whitesboro, NY. A year later, in 1949, his mother was honored along with other "Gold Star" Mothers at the Polish Legion's State Convention.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1847-1849, 1907-1936 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/171349546/theodore-bulat: accessed June 24, 2026), memorial page for PFC Theodore Bulat (12 Oct 1919–26 Jul 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 171349546, citing Bishop and Martyrs Cemetery, Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by F. Robert Falbo (contributor 49003729).

National Archives at College Park; College Park, MD; Report No. 99: August 27, 1944; Record Group 92; Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Series: General Correspondence Relating to Organizations; File Unit: 314.6 T/O (European) Weekly Burial Reports 99: 1944 (2 of 2); NAID: 28268824.

National Archives at Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Applications for Headstones For U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941; NAID: 596118; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General

"Pfc Theodore Bulat Dies in France, Mother Learns", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, data and page illegible.

"Polish Legion Elects Today at Closing of State Convention", Utica Observer-Dispatch, June 19, 1949, pg. 6A.

"Rites Slated For Pfc. Bulat", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, May 17, 1948, pg. [illegible].

"Son Killed in France, Bulats Hear", Utica Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY, August 20, 1944, pg. 7-C.

"Three Young Uticans Nabbed in Frankfort Theft of Auto Parts", Utica Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY, September 25, 1937, pg. 9.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Utica, Oneida, New York; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0109; FHL microfilm: 2341356

Supporting Documents