Francis Anthony Wolak

West Point, 1949

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Terry Powers on January 8, 2023:

FRANCIS A. WOLAK 1949 Cullum No. 16783-1949 | December 15, 2019 | Died in Albuquerque, NM Cremated. Inurned at West Point Cemetery, NY I, Francis Anthony Wolak, was the oldest of four boys whose parents were immigrants from Poland. They came to America separately, married, and established a household and a business in Clifton, NJ. I decided to go to West Point as a teenager when our family visited it on a vacation trip to the Catskills. It took four tries to get a nomination. By that time, I had attended Newark College of Engineering for two years, enlisted in the Reserves, served as an enlisted man and then as a second lieutenant engineer after graduating from OCS. Because of my prior experiences, my time as a cadet was not very stressful. I enjoyed my cadet years, learned a lot, and was chosen by my classmates to be chairman of the Honor Committee. This was an honor that I have cherished above all others and that gave me great satisfaction while fulfilling the office. I firmly believe that the Honor System leaves a permanent mark on each cadet. After the usual basic officer schools at Fort Riley, KS and Fort Belvoir, VA, I was assigned to HQs, Rycom, Okinawa. The Korean War had broken out, and my classmates in Japan were the first to be assigned as replacements to the fighting units. Eventually, the engineer officers and all the enlisted men that could be spared were assigned to the 93rd Engineer Construction Battalion and shipped to Korea. That unit was disbanded when President Truman eliminated separated black units. I moved on to the 10th Engineer Combat Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division. After 21 months in Korea, I took a slow boat to Seattle, WA, where I was given orders to report to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Sandia Base, Albuquerque, NM. After months of weapons schooling while awaiting a Q Clearance, I was assigned to the Stockpile Control Office that coordinated movements and storage of weapons with the Atomic Energy Commission. It was a glorious assignment, job wise and personally speaking. I met my wife, Jane Ellen Donnelly, who was a schoolteacher. After a swift courtship, we married and had our first child, Mary, in 1954. The next assignment took me to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to earn a Master of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering. Our son, Frank Jr., was born in Boston, MA in 1957. From there, I was assigned to the Alaska District to monitor the construction of a nuclear reactor at Fort Greely. I was then elated to teach electricity and nuclear physics at the USMA Department of Electricity for three years, a very rewarding assignment for both me and my family. From West Point it was back to the Far East, this time by plane rather than by boat, to Saigon, Vietnam. I was assigned to the Base Development Section of J-4 MACV and saw the increase of U.S. troops from 18,000 to 150,000. Upon that tour's completion, I was assigned to the Nuclear Power Division of the Chief of Engineers. Since I saw no practical applications for nuclear power in the Army (plus the daily commute in heavy traffic), this was not a pleasant assignment. I was pleased to get orders to attend the associate CGSC course, after which I was assigned to the Engineer Section, USAEUR in Heidelberg and then to the Engineer Section of V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany. I retired in 1970 after returning to Sandia Base to serve as base engineer. I then moved on to work as a construction analyst at the Department of Housing and Urban Development for 15 years before fully retiring in 1986. In retirement, I enjoyed improving my tennis and squash games and even took up golf. I traveled extensively after my wife's passing in 2009, including trips back to Korea and Vietnam, with a final trip touring Poland in 2017. I realize that I have been blessed with a fascinating and special life. I am grateful for my loving and devoted wife, children, and grandchildren who bring me great joy. I am fortunate and proud to be a member of the Class of '49, which exemplified the ideals of West Point - Duty, Honor, Country. My thoughts on matters of Spirit: The earth is a classroom. Man is here to learn. Sometime in the past those on earth rebelled against God. Now we must learn to correct this and other mistakes. Eventually, after returning many times, man can perfect himself to that level that he can unite with God and no longer be required to return to earth (salvation-ascension). God has given man free will and dominion over the earth. This means man has full control of his individual choices. The communities in turn are also responsible for their decisions. God cannot be blamed for the bad conditions. He did not state that free will and dominion were limited to only certain situations. You reap what you sow. The term "karma" is used to describe this law. If you do good, you reap many times over. If you sow evil (sin), you reap its consequences. God does not punish. The law does. Sometimes it appears that the law of karma is unjust. Looking at it from one lifetime, it might be so. But looking at past lifetimes, it would be just. God is not mocked. The purpose of life is simple: Graduate this school on earth and move on to higher realms of God's kingdom. Man on earth should focus his efforts on the ultimate reality of existence rather than on the transitory things that pass away with his body. See you soon as we reunite and move on to other lives in other universes. - Self-written

admin