Stasys Pundzevičius

Stasys Pundzevičius (2 September 1893 – 20 October 1980) was a Lithuanian division general and lecturer. He held high-ranking military positions in the interwar Lithuania: Chief of the Lithuanian Air Force, Chief of the General Staff, multiple times temporarily was the Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and was assigned Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces by the Provisional Government of Lithuania during the June Uprising in Lithuania. and on 1 May 1927 he was elected member of the Board of the Lithuanian Aeroclub. Pundzevičius was one of the founders of the Lithuanian Aeroclub.

On 23 November 1929, Pundzevičius was promoted to the military rank of colonel of the General Staff. He was the 22nd and the last Chief of Staff of independent Lithuania's armed forces. On 2 September 1940, he was appointed commander of the 179th Rifle Division of the 29th Rifle Corps of the Red Army, however on 11 December 1940 the order was cancelled and he was fired from the armed forces. One 24 June 1941, the National Defense Council was formed, which included div. gen. Stasys Pundzevičius, div. gen. Mikas Rėklaitis, Col. Juozas Vėbra, Kaunas Military Commandant Col. Jurgis Bobelis and Kaunas Burgomaster Kazimieras Palčiauskas. The members of the council were soldiers who held high positions in the army of independent Lithuania. On 15 September 1941, he together with other representatives of the LAF (e.g. Vladas Nagevičius) signed a memorandum Apie Lietuvos būklę pradėjus veikti vokiečių civilinei valdžiai Lietuvoje . and worked as a gardener.

Awards Pundzevičius was awarded the following medals and orders: Knight's Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis (1925) Medal of Independence of Lithuania (1928) Commander's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1928) Commander's Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (1933) Star of the Riflemen (1937) Silver medal of Klaipėda Revolt (1934) Commander's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1930) Officer's Order of the White Lion (1927) Commander's Order of the Three Stars (3rd class, 15 November 1935) Latvian Liberation War 10th Anniversary Participants Medal (1929) Cross of Merit of the Aizsargi (1939)