Thomas Ontko

A photo of Tom Ontko, donating blood on Hawaii in WW II at a Red Cross station on Oahu at Helemano #2, near the small town of Ewa.

Tom served in the 198th Field Artillery Battalion, 24 Corps. Besides Hawaii, he also served in New Guinea, Leyte & Luzon in the Philippines, and Okinawa, Japan, separating from the Army in 1946.

Returning to Cleveland, Ohio, he married his sweetheart, Irene Strauch, the two of them moving to Detroit, Michigan when he secured employment with the U.S. Post Office.

Tom was a Life Member of the VFW post in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, a member and contributor to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana where he had a memorial brick laid on a walkway. He was also a member of the 198th/138th Field Artillery Association, attending several reunions after his retirement.

Tom also traveled to the National WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.

He was a member of Sacred Heart Church in Livonia, Michigan.