In Memorium: John passed away on January 5, 2019 at age 94 of natural causes. His vibrant, energetic spirit will be missed by all of us who knew him.
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(Originally published March 29, 2018)
Quality Life Homes Introduces….John Orliski, Age 93
John Orliski was a pilot in the US Air Force, serving our country for 30 years. His military career began in October 1942 at age 18 when he joined the Air Force. After his training at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City, he became an aircraft commander in the 55th Reconnaissance Squadron, Long Range Weather, flying missions in the Pacific to capture weather information during World War II. His crew was comprised of 10 men and a plane he named Li’l Angee. (See photo below. John is standing in the middle of the back row with a cigar and a smile.)
photo: 55th R Reconnaissance Squadron, Long Range Weather – Crew 22
L to R back row: 1) Eduard Kopart, radar operator; 2) James Flannery, co-pilot; 3) John Orliski, pilot & aircraft commander; 4) Lex G. Cranney, navigator; 5) Albert E. Holmboe, weather Front row: 6) Arthur D. Grell, engineer; 7) Richard Melin, radio operator; 8) Stanley Grushin, radio operator; 9) Harry W. McKinnon, tail gunner; 10) Philip J. Kernz, armorer gunner
The 55th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew hazardous long range weather missions, flying into tropical storms and typhoons over Okinawa and Iwo Jima to provide critical meteorlogic data for strategic war planning. John remembers one day when they flew through not one but two typhoons.
John has a favorite story of one flight over the Pacific when his crew spotted a US submarine on the surface. They signaled the sub and were supposed to get a response back as acknowledgement. When no response was received, they circled around and flew over again, this time with the bomb doors open. At that point, the sub signaled back in record time. There were actually no bombs in the plane but it sure did scare the boys below into action!
He says with a laugh that his crew hated him because he kept volunteering for everything. He wanted to be where the action was in Europe. “They thought I was crazy. The more I tried to get to England & Germany, the further away they (the Air Force) sent me.” The Air Force kept him in the Pacific for the duration of the war and he was in Okinawa for the Japanese surrender ceremony in 1945.
Japanese surrender ceremony at the headquarters of US 10th Army, Okinawa, Japan, 7 Sep 1945
After the war, John attended Wayne State University in Michigan on the GI Bill, studying Civil Engineering. There he met a bright high school student named Sylvia who was taking college level chemistry classes at the university. After they married, John joined the Air Force Reserves (he said he wanted the TV!) and when the Korean War started, he got called up to fly again. He served during the Korean War and then stayed through the Vietnam War, flying missions and working as an interface with the Thai Air Force in Bangkok. He lived in Bangkok for a year and said everyone was very friendly there.
During the Cold War, John flew long-range missions over Russia as part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) for which he received a Distinguished Flying Cross Medal, awarded for “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.” They took off from Greenland and flew across Russia all the way to Alaska. He became involved in Missile R&D at the Air Force Base in El Segundo and ultimately ended up at the Pentagon as a Colonel in R&D, approving orders from missile manufacturers and making sure they passed all the production safety specifications.
John retired from the military in 1972 after 30 years of dedicated service and bravery. He went to Law school and passed the Bar but didn’t practice law. Instead, he helped people in other ways. He drove a school bus and was a driver for Dial-A-Ride, a transit service for seniors and people with disabilities. His hobby was refinishing furniture which he would then sell at swap meets.
After his military career, John also began a couple of athletic hobbies: cross-country bicycling and marathon running. He has run the 26-mile LA Marathon four times (twice with his daughters Claudia and Connie), including the 1993 race at age 68. He started long-distance bicycling in his 50’s and has made three 2,000 mile trips across the country by himself. He has cycled the West Coast from Portland to San Diego numerous times, both on his own and with his grandson. His last ride was at age 78 when he cycled cross-country from Spokane, WA to Cadillac, MI to visit his sister.
John’s family is important to him. He came from humble beginnings. His father was an immigrant from Poland, arriving at Ellis Island and settling in Kentucky as a coal miner. John was born in KY, but in the late 1920’s the family moved to Detroit, MI where his father worked as a technician in charge of the automobile assembly line for Nash Motors. Although John’s father had no formal education, he could fix anything. Nash’s slogan from the late 1920s and 1930s was “Give the customer more than he has paid for” and the cars lived up to it. John’s father made sure the production line ran smoothly.
John and his wife divorced but he still was there for her and helped her until her death from cancer. John is close to his 3 children, 2 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. He earned the nickname “GPJ” (or “Jeep” for short) after a family road trip across the country when everyone started calling each other by their initials. (He was “Grand-Pa-John” which became G-P-J).
John attributes his longevity to “clean living and good scotch” (that’s Black Label ONLY!). In his own words:
“I couldn’t ask for better. I wake up every morning and say ‘Thank You Lord – I’ll take another day if you give it to me but if you tap me on the shoulder, that’s ok.’”
His advice to us is “You never know when your time is up. Make the most of it.”
John has certainly made the most of his life. He has had a lifetime of serving our country, serving his community and setting an example of how to stay active after 50. He is an inspiration and it has been an honor to meet him and share his life story here. He’s only 93 and I expect him to stick around for quite some time!
~ Interview by Deborah Garrett, owner of Flashback Music Memories, dedicated to helping Seniors in Assisted Living connect to their memories and live more vibrant lives through live vintage music and customized activity programs. ~