Posted by Sam Hartwell on September 4, 2014:

There was a troubling, derogatory piece of propaganda published by RT (the Russian controlled media outlet) regarding Mark's life. This was my rebuttal: "I graduated with Mark from West Point in 1981. We were very close friends over the past 18 years. He was not related to the Lebed mentioned in the article. His relation had a similar name, but it is not the same man. His true uncle, Myhailo, who is not related to Mykola, died in 1972 and is buried next to Sophia. Mark was also definitely not an anti-Semite either, as the author seems to imply. Mark was not anti-Russian. The Russian people are fine folks, as we both knew well having many Russian friends. Mark served in the active duty US Army from 1981-1986. He was a reservist for a few years afterwards. He was never married and has no children. He lived in Ukraine since 1992 and was a great idealist with high hopes for the future of Ukraine. He took Ukrainian citizenship a few months ago in order to join the Donbass Battalion in the noble cause of defending Ukraine against Russian government backed terrorists. He is the only known American to do so. If anyone knows of any other Americans that have done so, then please let us know. You are correct that Mark Paslawsky was no "average Joe". He was fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, and spoke proficient Turkish as well. He was an intellectual with wide ranging interests and extensive knowledge of finance, economics, international history, and American, Ukrainian and Russian literature. He was extremely generous to those in need and did not seek favors in return. He was a fantastic person and a great friend to all who knew him well." Mark was a terrific guy. I never saw him without a smile or a good laugh. As he told me once, "the best times were all about the laughs". I had to set the record straight. As his friend and classmate Mark "Mac" McKearn said to me upon hearing of Mark's death, "we lost a great one". Very true. SAO, Sam, or "Sammy" as Mark would say.

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