Neighbors fete veteran as hero on return from Honor Flight
Flags lined the driveway of 90-year old veteran John Torchalski, and there were more in his front yard and across his bushes.
A thank-you sign stood in the yard and a photo from his military days was fastened to the front door, with a welcome home greeting - in English and Polish.
Yet, Torchalski of Arlington Heights greeted visitors with this disclaimer: "First of all, I'm not a hero."
His neighbors and family members begged to differ.
They worked together to nominate Torchalski for consideration by Honor Flight Chicago and the chance to travel with other veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials dedicated in their honor.
Their work paid off. Torchalski was one of 127 veterans - and the second oldest of the group - to fly to the nation's capital on Wednesday.
"The reception was unbelievable; everything was perfection," Torchalski says of his experience at both airports. "There were bands, bagpipes and so many cheering people lined up."
A highlight, Torchalski says, was shaking the hand of a four-star general, who presented him with a medal. It was one of several he received on the trip. Another, enclosed in a box, was engraved with these words: Korean War Veteran, Ambassador for Peace.
"We visited all the memorials and cemeteries," he adds. "It was a long day and pretty hot, but I didn't care. They offered me a wheelchair, but I wanted to walk. I wanted to take it all in."
Torchalski grew up in a farming village in western Poland, but his life changed dramatically when Germany invaded on Sept. 1, 1939, marking the start of World War II, a war that resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million civilian and military deaths.
Torchalski was forced to work on farms in western Germany until the end of World War II.
He ended up staying in Germany after the war as a civilian security guard before he emigrated to the United States in 1949. Torchalski found work in a meatpacking plant on Chicago's South Side, while attending night school to learn English.
He married Marge, another Polish immigrant, in 1951, and within a few months, he was drafted into the Army during the Korean conflict.
After basic training, Torchalski shipped out to Hanau, Germany, where he was assigned to an anti-aircraft artillery battalion. He remained there for 18 months, often traveling to Grafenwoehr, Germany, to carry on training exercises.
During his overseas tour, Torchalski became a U.S. citizen and was sworn in at the consulate in Frankfurt, Germany. When he returned home in 1954, he was promoted to corporal.
He would go on to make a career in the lumber business, working for 33 years with Joseph Lumber in Chicago, first as a driver and then a dispatcher, before working for Des Plaines Lumber as a special order buyer.
"That's what I can't get over, how loyal and hardworking he was," says his neighbor, Don Bussau, who decorated his yard and helped with the application process. "He kept learning new skills, even learning the computer for his job. He just had the drive and willingness to learn."
Torchalski and his wife moved to Arlington Heights in 1970, where they raised their three children - who are all college graduates - and they now enjoy spending time with grandchildren and their first great grandchild.
"I have had a great life," Torchalski says. "I cannot dream of a better life than the one I've had here."
While Honor Flight Network seeks to honor all the nation's veterans for their sacrifices, top priority for the visits is given to senior veterans - particularly World War II survivors and all who are terminally ill.
Among the 21,032 veterans currently on the waiting list, only 20 percent served in World War II, 43.5 percent served in Korea, 36.5 percent served in Vietnam and 0.5 percent served in other wars.