subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite map
 
November 11, 2000

'You could see the glasses on the gunman'

Veteran receives medal, talks of his experiences
By DAN SANDERSON
Record-Eagle staff writer
      
      GAYLORD - An Otsego County veteran who fought in one of the first World War II battles in the Pacific was honored Friday 59 years after his valiant efforts.
      Ralph Holewinksi was given the Bronze Star Medal of Valor at Gaylord Middle School's fourth annual Veterans Day celebration.
      "It's so great to be here, it's so great to be honored and to be welcomed home," said Holewinksi, who compared the ceremony to when Gaylord residents welcomed World War II heroes then they arrived home on a train. "I would rather get this medal here among my friends, relatives and students rather than in a casket or having it pinned on by the president."
      Holewinski, who had to wait two years to join the service because he was 16 when he graduated from St. Mary's High School, fought on Wake Island in the Pacific.
      He was assigned to guard nearly a mile of beach as an anti-aircraft gunner. On Dec. 23, 1941, he and a lieutenant fired at Japanese destroyers that were converted into landing crafts for troops. They were able to hit two ships, causing severe damage and taking out a number of the soldiers on the ship.
      Japanese troopers eventually landed on the island. Holewinski continued to fight with grenades and machines guns while bombers flew overhead.
      "They came down so close, you could see the glasses on the gunman," he said.
      Holewinksi said he was hit in the back with a grenade and shot in the legs. He and his fellow soldiers eventually were ordered to surrender, and he was held in seven Japanese prisoner of war camps for 45 months.
      "I felt that they got rid of me at some of the camps because I couldn't work," he said.
      After the war, Holewinksi said he was recommended for a medal. In recent years, after talking with a nephew of one military commander, officials agreed to follow up with the recommendation.
      "It was great to be remembered," said Holewinksi, who served as Otsego County Sheriff for 34 years. "I don't know why I didn't get the medal after the war; I guess everyone wanted to get back home and try to forget about the war."