Posted on: Saturday, July 2, 2005
A poignant reunion at Punchbowl
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Army Pvt. John Jedrzejek was killed on Jan. 18, 1943, fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal during World War II. But his funeral with military honors was not held until yesterday.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser With an American flag pin attached to the collar of her dress, Augustynski stood with two of her children, Adam and Ursula, as a 21-gun salute rang out and taps were played near Jedrzejek's headstone.
"This is a big honor for me and my family," she said. "God bless my dad. I love my dad. I love America."
Lt. Col. Michael Browder, 2-35 Battalion commander for the 25th Infantry Division, presented Augustynski with the flag, along with the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals her father had won. He thanked her for her family's sacrifice.
Adam Augustynski, a Chicago lawyer, said he was very grateful that after more than 60 years, his grandfather finally had a proper burial ceremony.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser John Jedrzejek was born Dec. 11, 1914, in Detroit. His parents had moved to America in 1918 to escape the Austrian occupation of Poland during World War I.
After that war, the family moved back to Poland, but as World War II approached, Jedrzejek decided to return to America to provide a better life for his family.
"The plan was to bring his wife and baby daughter to the U.S. as soon as he could," Adam said. "World War II broke out, and the forces of totalitarianism shut down the borders, and John was never able to return."
Jedrzejek joined the Army and was assigned to Company I, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, and sent to the Pacific.
After his death, Jedrzejek was buried in the Solomon Islands until 1947, when his remains were moved along with those of many other soldiers to Punchbowl.
"I always prayed for him to come back, and my uncle who was in Germany," said his daughter. "I had a dream that the holy mother came to my bed, she took my hand and said, 'Your father will never come back, but your uncle will come back.' After one month, my uncle came back, and we received the letter that my father had died."
The family wanted to come to America and finally escaped communist Poland in 1963. They never knew where Jedrzejek was buried.
In 1985, Adam was attending Harvard and working for former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois when he met former Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward Derwinski, also of Polish descent and from Chicago.
"We talked about Chicago and he said, 'If you ever need anything, son, let me know,' " Adam said. "A month later, I though of my grandfather. I called Derwinski, and he found him."
Another delay was caused because his grandfather's name had been misspelled.
"It probably happened in the heat of battle," Adam said.
The Army cross-checked records with service numbers, discovered the error, and found where Jedrzejek was buried.
Finally, after years of effort and confusion, the ceremony was planned and the family made the trip to Hawai'i.
"In light of circumstances going on in the world, our service men should be treated well," Adam said. "I hope on this July 4th weekend that a lot of Americans are able to appreciate that and do something special for our current service people."
His daughter, Genowefa Augustynski, who last saw her father in Poland when she was 9 months old, was presented an American flag at a ceremony near his grave marker at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Army Pvt. John Jedrzejek was killed in action in 1943 on Guad-alcanal. For many years, his family had no idea where he was buried.
"Grandfather, we love you," he said. "We thank you for your service to our country. May you rest in peace."
Lt. Col. Michael Browder yesterday presented a flag to Genowefa Augustynski, daughter of Pvt. John Jedrzejek, killed in action on Guadalcanal in 1943. Augustynski and her son, Adam, and daughter, Ursula, came to Hawai'i to receive her father's flag and medals.
