Thomas Joseph Shefchik, Jr.
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Air Force
SHEFCHIK Jr., Thomas Joseph
Thomas Joseph Shefchik Jr. was born on October 30th 1920 to Thomas Joseph Sr. & Margaret Paddock [Rice] Shefchik in Paris, France. The family called Duluth, Minnesota home.
Mr. Shefchik enlisted in the Army Air Force on July 15th 1942 out of Ft. Snelling, Minnesota and completed training in Texas and England.
He was a pilot in the D-Day invasion in France on June 6th 1944. Major Shefchik also piloted a C-47 in September of 1944 that was towing invasion gliders, but his plane was shot down over Holland. He was captured by German forces.
While a prisoner of war, Major Shefchik organized a prison camp band with the instruments donated by the Red Cross. On the night of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral, Major Shefchik thrust open the window shutters and played "Taps" from his barracks, shutting the shutters just before the guard dogs arrived.
Major Shefchik was released in May of 1945 and returned to Duluth, Minnesota to become an architect, husband, and father. After the war he returned home to Duluth and married Dorothy Louella [Carlson] and started a family.
Major Shefchik joined the Air National Guard in 1950. He served as a C-47 pilot for the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minnesota.
In 1961, Major Shefchik flew former President Harry Truman from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Kansas City, Kansas after Truman inspected troops from Kansas and Minnesota at Camp Ripley.
Thomas Joseph Shefchik Jr. passed away on July 5th 2002, at the age of 81. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Duluth.
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Thomas J Shefchik Jr in WWII Army Enlistment Records - Fold3
Thomas Joseph Shefchik Jr. (1920-2002) - Find a Grave Memorial
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 - Ancestry.com
