Stan Wolczyk Ends Library's WW2 Series With Memories of Little-Known Battle in Alaska

Stan Wolczyk began making appearances in the 1970s, dressed as American presidents, pilgrims and pistol-packing cowboys in school classrooms and before community groups to bring history to life.

“I still do that,” the 93-year-old Wadsworth resident said in a recent phone interview. “I do George (Washington). I do (Abe) Lincoln. I like Lincoln the best. He had more to talk about.”

At Saturday, Nov. 12, Wolczyk will talk about the historic yet little-known Japanese invasion of Alaska during World War II. Alaska was then a territory of the United States.

Wolczyk doesn’t need a costume to get into character to recreate this event. He lived it. As a member of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division in May 1943, he participated and was wounded in the recapture of Attu Island, the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands.

“This is the reason I do this,” said Wolczyk, a 1995 Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame inductee. “We lost 550 dead, 1200 wounded, and nobody knows about it, and that grieves me. Here we fought the only battle we fought on American soil against the Japanese. They were going to take over by way of Alaska.”

Wolczyk, a Cleveland native and son of Polish immigrants, received a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart for his wartime service. In the early 1980s, he became the first Ohioan to receive the American Educators Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

After the war, he attended Baldwin-Wallace College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.

While teaching in Germany, he set his sights on becoming a school administrator. To become a principal, he needed a master’s degree.

"I left Germany to report to Kent State three summers in a row to get my master’s degree,” Wolczyk said. “I felt that’s what I wanted.”

In the late 1960s, he returned to Ohio, became a principal for the Norton schools and settled in Wadsworth. After retiring in the early 1980s, he continued educating people about history with his presentations.

“He’s an entertaining storyteller,” said Tim Burns, the Twinsburg Public Library’s adult public services manager, who has coordinated World War II programs in Twinsburg and Medina. “We had high school kids last year totally intrigued by him. He mentioned sulfa drugs (early antibiotics), (machine gun) pillboxes – things they didn’t know about.”

Wolczyk may also talk at the library about the time he “stole a dozen tanks - accidentally, of course,” from legendary General George Patton during maneuvers in the Mojave Desert. He suggested including that in the headline for this article.

“The Lieutenant That Stole the 12 Tanks!” he said. “That would be an eye catcher!”

Wolczyk can be funny, but he also can deliver tear-jerking stories.

“I met a wounded American soldier in Attu,” he said. “He was spitting blood, covered with blood, in a field with nobody around. I gave his hand a squeeze to let him know he was not alone. ‘Help is on the way.’ A few moments later, he acknowledged my presence by squeezing my hand.

“After he passed away, he was still hanging onto my hand. Every year around this time of year, I can see that soldier in the field, holding my hand.”

Wolczyk will offer more about his wartime service during his library talk, the last in a three-part series on World War II, which begins at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Twinsburg Public Library, 10050 Ravenna Road.