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6 | August 8, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie news
OPPrairie.com
Orland Park senior living facility cares
John Barkowski is
one of two living
UDT-23 veterans
Amanda Del Buono
Freelance Reporter
In the early- to mid-
1940s, military service
was a part of life for
America’s young men. As
the Second World War was
waged, it was their duty to
serve their country.
“I had to get in line with
the rest of the guys,” said
John Barkowski, a United
States Navy “Frogman”
who served during World
War II and is one of two
remaining members of
his platoon, Underwater
Demolition Team 23, or
UDT-23.
Barkowski, now 93
years old, lives at Evergreen
Senior Living in
Orland Park. Regularly
seen sporting one of four
U.S. Navy-themed hats,
Barkowski remains proud
and humbled by the role
he played in the war effort.
Despite his battle with
dementia, the memories
of his time in the military
have, for the most part, remained.
With the help of
a couple of his daughters,
Orland Park resident Susan
Mackanin and Darien
resident Ellen Gniadecki,
and a manuscript he dictated
to Mackanin several
years ago, he can recall the
stories of his time in the
service.
John Barkowski became a member of the United States Navy when he was 18, during
World War II, saying, “I had to get in line with the rest of the guys.” He’s is pictured
here at Naval Station Great Lakes. Photo submitted
Early experiences
Born April 2, 1926, in
Summit, Barkowski was
raised during the Great
Depression, which began
when he was just a child.
Only a few years later,
the second World War began
and became a part of
everyday life for many
Americans.
In fact, it became an intimate
part of Barkowski’s
life when he was in high
school. In the early 1940s,
Barkowski was in school at
Chicago Vocational High
School. One day, a group
of gentlemen came into
the shop classroom to find
students who were able to
best use a lathe. Barkowski
was among them and
was enlisted to help on the
Manhattan Project, he and
his daughters said.
After being selected,
Barkowski remembers
having to undergo an FBI
background check as a
teenager.
“They interviewed my
whole neighborhood,”
he said. “They wanted to
know if I was a communist
or not. They wanted to
make sure I was an American
citizen.”
After being chosen, Barkowski
would leave school
halfway through the day
and travel to the University
of Chicago, where he
cut rare materials.
“We worked with a
bunch of rare materials for
the War Department,” he
said. “The scientists would
use the materials that we
would cut up into various
sizes and shapes, and
they would experiment on
them. Some were radioactive.
If you chucked them
up in the lathe and made
too deep of a cut or something
like that, it would
incinerate and go into a
flame, and you’d have to
evacuate the laboratory
because the smoke was
terrible.”
Becoming a ‘Frogman’
Because of his fading
memory and minimal documentation,
Barkowski is
unclear if he enlisted himself
or was drafted into the
military. Regardless, he
reported to Naval Station
“We looked like frogs, with fins
on our feet and face masks on
our face. We had a safety belt.
We had an underwater slate; we
could write down whatever we
found on our reconnaissance.
... And then you’d turn it all
in to the commanding officer,
and then they’d prepare for the
invasion.”
John Barkowski — World War II ‘Frogman,’ on
the nature of his service
Great Lakes in August of
1944 at the age of 18 years
old. After boot camp, Barkowski
entered the Navy
with a rank of apprentice
seamen, second class,
and was assigned to Fort
Pierce, Florida, according
to his manuscript.
A sudden reassignment
to the chow hall left Barkowski
unhappy with his
job. It was because of this
that Barkowski found his
way into the UDT, more
commonly known as
“Frogmen” during World
War II, he said.
One weekend, Barkowski
was given a liberty pass,
which allowed him to
leave his base. On his way
back, the bus broke down,
and he was AWOL returning.
When he finally made
it back, he immediately
reported to the chow hall
and began his daily work,
he said.
“I was in the galley,
cleaning my pots and pans
and stuff, and the chief
came in and says ‘You’re
late; you’re going to go
and see the captain,’ and
I says, ‘I’d rather see him
than you,’” Barkowski
said. “So, he gave me a
shove into the pots and
pans, and I got up and I
gave him a punch in his
nose and knocked him
down. … I went to the officer
of the base, and I told
him the story, and he says,
‘We’re looking for guys
like you.’ And that’s when
I volunteered to join Underwater
Demolition.”
From that point on, Barkowski
was a part of the
UDT-23 aboard the USS
Balduck (APD-132). He
received the rank of Gunner
Mate 2 and was transferred
several times — to
Miami, Guam and Okinawa.
He said his missions
often included the mapping
of underwater tundra,
documenting the depth
of the water and currents,
and handling explosives in
preparation for invasions.
“I did the same thing
as the rest of the guys,”