As we look toward America’s 250th anniversary, we are reflecting on the diverse threads that weave the fabric of Knox County. This month, our storytelling initiative focuses on the theme of Innovation & Industry, a theme often defined by factory lines and technical breakthroughs, but one that is truly built on the backs of the resilient individuals who powered them. The story of Boris Koriduzki is a profound reminder that our local industrial history is inseparable from the global quest for freedom. From the coal mines of Ukraine to the heart of PPG Industries right here in Mount Vernon, Boris’s life reminds us that the "American Dream" isn't just a concept; it is a legacy forged through grit, survival, and a quiet, steadfast commitment to home.
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As told by Boris’ granddaughter, Knox County native, Natalie Roth….
“When people in Knox County knew Boris Koriduzki, they knew him as a hardworking neighbor, a devoted family man, a homeowner, and a reliable employee at PPG Industries. He voted in every election, raised four daughters, and lived a life that looked, on the surface, like that of countless American citizens.
What few may have realized was the extraordinary journey that brought him here. Born in 1918 near the Black Sea in what is now Ukraine, Boris came of age during some of the darkest chapters of the 20th century. The son of a coal miner, he grew up working and studying at the same time, attending mining school by day and laboring in the afternoons. He trained as a machine technician in a coke-processing plant, part of the industrial backbone of the Soviet Union.That life was shattered by World War II.
Drafted into the Red Army, Boris was trained to operate anti-tank artillery and sent west as Nazi Germany launched its massive invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Ordered never to surrender—and to save his last bullet for himself—he rejected that fate outright. When German forces surrounded his unit near Vitebsk, Boris escaped, discarding his uniform and spending nearly two years moving through German-occupied territory, evading capture through courage, ingenuity, and sheer will to survive.
He was captured more than once—imprisoned in POW camps, forced into slave labor in occupied Poland, and held near Auschwitz, where he learned firsthand of the atrocities unfolding there. Hunger became a constant companion. “If you’re hungry enough,” he later said, “you’ll eat anything.”
Like millions of others trapped between brutal regimes, Boris made impossible choices to stay alive. Joining the Russian Army of Liberation spared him starvation but marked him as a traitor in the eyes of the Soviet government. When the war ended, that decision made returning home impossible. Former comrades warned him that imprisonment, or Siberia, awaited.
Instead, Boris escaped one final time, jumping a transport train in Austria. There, in refugee camps amid the rubble of postwar Europe, he rebuilt his life from nothing. He worked construction, met his future wife Maria—herself a forced laborer during the war—and started a family.In 1952, Boris and Maria immigrated to the United States. By 1960, he became a naturalized American citizen and Knox County became home.
Boris went to work at PPG Industries (now the site of Ariel-Foundation Park) , where he spent 25 years as a dedicated employee. When PPG later closed its Knox County location (1976), Boris stayed on as night security so he could reach retirement. In doing so, he became the final employee of PPG in Knox County, quietly closing the chapter on a major industry and local employer. From war refugee to American worker, from displacement to belonging, Boris Koriduzki’s life stands as a powerful example of the American Dream—lived and earned right here in Knox County.”
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