World War II Honoree

Chet Anthony Wazny

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Munger, Michigan

Honored By

Phil Wazny

Relationship

son

Honorably served from immediately following Pearl Harbor attack, first as an army airplane mechanic, He was later accepted into Army Air Corp cadet training school. Passing thru challenging levels of flight & classroom testing completed at Moore Field, Mission TX, dad graduated advanced single engine fighter pilot training in AC class '43K' December 1943. Deployed to the highly strategic Panama Canal zone flying P-40s & later P-39s assigned to the 32nd fighter squadron (the 'Drooling Wolves' insignia), Sixth Air Force Antilles Air Command along with his friend from flight school Lowell Philbrook.  Lowell later related to mom how he saved dad by alerting him of trailing smoke from his P-39 during a CAP flight from which dad made an emergency landing just as his Allison v12 engine seized up from overheating due to a broken coolant hose.  Dad told how he didn't have the altitude required to bail out at the time. Another time as element lead at a critical moment dad led airplanes to avoid calamitous weather that ended up causing loss of flights.  Dad earned high regard in flight leader rating from his commanding officer Major John Kilian Jr. in May 1944. He got thru imminent danger at various times flying CAP and related gunnery exercises as did his colleagues. Throughout his well-lived life one of the most difficult things dad carried with him was the unfathomable sadness at the loss of friends he flew with in the canal zone who did not make it back to their families.  Most of all dad credited his Lord Jesus Christ for leading him safely thru it all – carrying a Christian Cross with him at all times deployed.  He was mustered out in 1945 with three stripes on his sleeve and a large life laying before him along with some who truly & deservedly honor him.