He
enlisted with the Constabulary August 1, 1917, and was assigned to Troop D, Butler. He resided
at 48 Grace Street, Swoyersville.
On April 28, 1918, Privates Czap, Van Kampen and Kelly
responded to a call from Homer City about a robbery. As the trio approached the hideout of the
robbers at Tide, Indiana County, just before midnight, Czap was shot in the chest from ambush.
He was taken to the Indiana Hospital and died five hours later.
An investigation revealed that the four men robbed of $1500
were professional gamblers, who were robbed by men they had fleeced.
Private Czap's body was shipped by rail to Wyoming,
Pennsylvania. He was buried in Holy Trinity Cemetery, Swoyersville, with military honors in
which 18 Troopers participated. His fellow Troopers were pallbearers.
He was survived by his mother, Mrs. Anna Netick, of
Swoyersville.
At 24, he had completed nine months of Constabulary service.
Of Private Czap's death, Acting Superintendent Captain George
G. Lumb announced:
"The hero's death, in the face of overwhelming odds, is in
keeping with the splendid records by the members of this Force in all time past. Private
Czap's death is a striking example of the fact that one need not go overseas, or don the
khaki, to prove his loyalty to his country and his devotion to the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. It is this unfaltering devotion to duty which has made the Pennsylvania State
Police Force an example and a model that other states are striving to exemplify."
