John Sikes of Joliet is a great-nephew of Emil Wasilewski and has Emil's purple Heart, the flag that was draped over the empty coffin, the letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt offering his condolences, Emil's cigarette lighter and a letter sent to the family by Sgt. George F. Clark, the only survivor of the crash.
In part, it read: "...The pilot then ordered us to jump. I can't say for sure, but I imagine we were between one and two thousand feet when we were told to jump. I jumped and soon after my chute opened...I heard the plane crash. I looked down and saw it burning."
The remains of Emil Wasilewski are scheduled to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on June 26, 2012. If more remains are recovered, relatives say they will be cremated and sprinkled over the grave at St. Casimir's.
Quite the interesting story.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
No comments:
Post a Comment