petrosky - my last name

the united states marine corps (MILITARY?SOLDER) told me my surname was RUSSIAN. my father hated RUSSIANS ,,and said he was from POLAND . my father worked with polish immagrants after world war 2 in europe ,,and helped sort out the impostors ,and criminals .he was able to repatiate some poles and to get papers for polish national to the USA .. HE dispised RUSSIANS . also we were catholic ,,devote the american spelling of my name is petrosky/but my uncle spelled it petrowskie. can anyone help me . my father and his brothers told me my grandfather and my grandmother had to swim across a river to escape POLAND ,,and were shot at ,,my grandfather carried his first child on his back .that was either 1913 0r 1914 ,,we were never sure. someone help me

If it was Polish, it was probably Piotrowski or Pietrowski

It could easily have been changed upon entry to the US. I believe quite a few names were altered to make things easier for the officals doing all the paperwork and stuff.

I have a step great grandfather with the name of John Petroski. His actual name, before being Americanized was Pietrowski.

you get the russian comment because of the way you spell your surname. petrosky is definitely russian spelling.. could be ukrainian too.. -kie is not polish either. petroski, pietrowski.. and all the ones above would be polish.

Just because your father hated the Russians doesn't mean that he wasn't Russian. My Great Grandmother said that she wasn't Polish, that she was German. Hated the Polish, and all that stuff. But she was still Polish herself. Some people jsut hate either who they are, or what their people did. Others just don't want to be a part of a certain group.