A lot of crowds have been clamoring to see Francis Wolowic in the past few days.
Last week, his five sons and five daughters, plus their own children, came back to Long Grove to help him and his wife, Lorraine, celebrate their 65th anniversary. And on Sunday, the man friends know as Frank took part in the welcome-home ceremony at the end of an Honor Flight for veterans of the Korean War, to and from the memorials in Washington, D.C.
“That was one of the most wonderful things,” Wolowic said of the brief tour. “They treated us like royalty. A lot of shaking hands.”
Wolowic, now 87, said he joined the Army in 1949 at age 18, and fought in Korea for a little more than 11 months. He retired from the military in 1951, he said.
On Saturday and Sunday, Wolowic and 20 other veterans of Korea flew from Milwaukee to the nation’s capitol and back on a trip made possible by Lake County Honor Flight. After returning Sunday afternoon, the group held a celebration at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Honor Flight volunteer Maggie Powell served as Wolowic’s guardian for the trip. She joined the group in 2010, and has since been part of trips by bus and plane.
“My family has a strong history of being in the military,” Powell said, adding that volunteering for Honor Flight was a way for her to take part in that.
When Wolowic came back from the war, his first order of business was to marry Lorraine. They moved to Long Grove in 1953, and he built their ranch home in the Towner subdivision.
When they ended up with 10 children, Wolowic ended up making a few additions.
“It was a little crowded at times,” he said with a chuckle.
He said he worked as the general foreman of machining at Frank G. Hough Co. in Libertyville, where his crews built front-end loaders. He was 47 when International Harvester Co. bought Hough.
Wolowic went to work for Vernon Township after that, and he retired at 60.
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