Jerry Senkerik served in the Battle of the Bulge, and took up the unenviable task of retrieving fallen soldiers where they lay on the battlefields in World War II.
The 87-year-old Berwyn man served in the Army’s 70th Infantry division. During the two years he served, he suffered frostbite to his feet while sitting in foxholes in bitterly cold conditions. And he captured six German soldiers he found sleeping in a farmhouse — after he shimmied through an opening to search it.
“I’m nosy,” Senkerik said with a chuckle, adding that he had been feeling a bit hungry and managed to crawl into the pantry when he found the first sleeping soldier.
But he never had the chance to visit the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. — until Wednesday. Through the nonprofit organization Honor Flight Chicago, Senkerik flew for free to the nation’s capital and took a bus tour with other World War II veterans. One of the most important stops was the World War II memorial.
“It was great,” Senkerik said. “Other people can’t go. They can’t afford it.”
Honor Flight Chicago formed less than a year ago to honor and thank veterans, particularly World War II veterans. They work to collect donations to make such trips possible for veterans, before time runs out.
Senkerik’s wife of 65 years, Louise, heard about the organization, and enlisted their daughter, Mary Zajac, to help make the trip a reality. Zajac filled out an application hoping her dad would be chosen for the trip. Her sister, Linda, a nurse at Department of Veterans Affairs Edward Hines Jr. Hospital in Maywood, filled out a second application and was selected to accompany her father on the trip and serve as one of the guardians who look after the veterans.
“She watched over me like a hawk,” Senkerik said of his daughter.
About 30 percent of veterans taken on these trips have used wheelchairs, according to Honor Flight Chicago. Senkerik, too, was in a wheelchair for the long trip.
“I’m glad my dad’s healthy enough to take the flight,” Zajac said.
According to Honor Flight Chicago, more than 70 veterans on the waiting list for a flight have died before their turn.
“He didn’t even know we did this ‘til he got the letter in the mail and the lady (from Honor Flight Chicago) called my mom,” said Zajac, a Lemont resident.
It was a jam-packed day for Senkerik. The vets were to arrive at Midway International Airport in Chicago at 4 a.m., flying into Washington Dulles International Airport at about 10:30 a.m. In addition to the World War II Memorial, the vets visited the Iwo Jima Memorial and Korean, Lincoln and Vietnam memorials.
“It was very nice. The bad part of it is the elderly people. Everybody can’t move fast,” Senkerik said, chuckling.
Senkerik served in the Army from May 1944 through May 31, 1946.
Back home, there were more surprises in store for Senkerik when he walked off the Southwest Airlines flight. His 20-year-old grandson, Mark Zajac, was standing at the gate. Mark Zajac, who just joined the Navy and is in training hoping to become a Navy SEAL, wheeled his grandfather to the baggage claim, where he was met by his family, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a sea of posters, a band and other well-wishers.
“It was so emotional (Wednesday night). Everybody was crying,” Mary Zajac said.
