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Valley man honored as top vet for service work
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Ed Wojciak
Wojciak served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946.
CORTLAND — “We have veterans who are in bad shape and they need help,” says Edward “Ed” Wojciak, who was named Ohio Polish Legion of American Veterans 2008 Veteran of the Year in recognition of his volunteer efforts on behalf of veterans.
Wojciak, a Navy veteran of World War II, serves coffee and doughnuts to veterans at the Warren Veterans Affairs Clinic several times a month and transports veterans to their medical appointments in Youngstown or Cleveland.
Wojciak, of Cortland, is also active in Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 164 in Warren and the PLAV Department of Ohio, of which he is second vice commander. He was previously elected a state convention delegate in 2003 and 2005 and is a member of VAVS (Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service).
He said Post 164 raises money through the sale of poppies to send care packages and gift certificates to veterans and to active duty personnel in Iraq; and the post provides transportation for veterans to medical appointments, as well as Bibles and triangular flag displays.
“I was surprised I was even nominated. It’s a honor,” Wojciak said of being named Ohio PLAV Veteran of the Year.
Wojciak, 81, enlisted in the Navy in 1944 shortly after graduating from Garfield High School in Cleveland. He completed basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois; and after finishing cooks and bakers school he was transferred to Little Creek Amphibious Naval Base in Virginia, where he underwent more schooling and training. He was then transferred to Brown Shipyard in Galveston, Texas, where he was assigned to the USS LSM (R) (landing ship medium rocker) 517. After “shakedown cruises” in the Gulf of Mexico, he reported to assignment with the Seventh Fleet.
“We were heading for the invasion of Japan when our ship’s engine blew in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We had gotten as far as Panama when the war ended,” he said.
Discharged as a ship’s cook second class in July 1946, Wojciak returned to Cleveland where he attended Fenn College and he and his brother started a venetian blind factory in his brother’s garage in Garfield Heights. As the business expanded, they moved to Broadway Avenue in Garfield Heights and eventually to Woodland Avenue in downtown Cleveland, he said.
While in Cleveland, Wojciak joined the PLAV Ernie Pyle Post and became active in veterans affairs. He was a delegate to the PLAV state convention at Krakusy Hall Post 87 in Youngstown in the 1940s, where he was elected state financial secretary, a position he held for two terms.
After his marriage in 1950, he resigned from the state PLAV office and left Ohio for about 25 years for work in several states for the Grolier Society, a publishing house. He and his wife, Martha, have six children. They returned to Ohio and lived on Cumberland Drive in Austintown for many years.
When Wojciak retired from White Consolidated, based in Cleveland, he again became active in veterans affairs and joined PLAV Post 164 in Warren. He was instrumental in organizing the PLAV Welfare Fund and in persuading area grocery stores to set up stands for selling poppies on Memorial Day weekend and Veterans Day to raise money for various projects.
Wojciak will be honored at a banquet Dec. 6 at the Birchwood Banquet & Party Center, 7540 Northfield Road (state Route 8), Walton Hills, Ohio. The price per ticket is $30, which includes dinner, program and open bar. For table or individual reservations, call Dick Boll at (440) 885-5925 by Dec. 1.
Wojciak said he volunteers for a couple of reasons.
“I’m retired, but I’m still too young to give up everything, and it’s hard to get volunteers. We can’t even get enough drivers for the van. Some of the veterans just need someone to talk to. It’s an honor to help them,” he said.
alcorn@vindy.com