ON VETERANS DAY WE acknowledge the sacrifices of those who have served our country and thank them for their service.
Robert Szymczak of San Clemente and Our Lady of Fatima parish is like many other local veterans. He walks tall and straight, looks right into your eyes when he talks to you and is extremely proud of his service to our great nation.
But Szymczak is also the recipient of two Purple Hearts, a medal of the U.S. Military awarded on behalf of the president of the United States to those who have been wounded or killed while serving.
Born in Chicago in an area known as Polish Broadway, he was an only child, graduating from Gordon Technical High School, a Catholic school run by the Congregation of the Resurrection in Chicago. He then attended nearby DePaul University.
As a freshman Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) student, the head of the ROTC program suggested he apply for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. After graduation in 1962, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
He became an artillery officer with his first assignment at the former Fort Baker located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito.
He served two overseas tours during the Vietnam War.
On the first tour of duty, he was serving as a military advisor to the Army of the Republic of (South) Vietnam. In early 1965, Szymczak and his fellow soldiers were caught in an ambush in Quang Nai Province. He suffered various injuries during the attack.
“We were rescued by Marines that had just survived attacks at Chu Lai in Quảng Nam Province,” Szymczak said. “During the ambush, one of the medics and I helped a South Vietnamese soldier who had been wounded. We were later presented an award by the South Vietnamese Army for aiding this wounded soldier.”
His next assignment was in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
“We were housed at the old Victoria hotel, which they used as barracks,” he recalled, “when the barracks where I was staying was blown up when the North Vietnamese drove a truck filled with explosives into the building.
“This was April 1, 1966,” he said. “So ironic because it was April Fool’s Day and the same day that my wife Camille and I were engaged in 1962.”
He and his wife Camille (nee DePaolo) from Philadelphia were married December 8, 1962, in Runnymede, N.J., while he was in Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Szymczak continued to serve a total of 25 years before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1983.
In addition to two Purple Hearts, he was also awarded the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit (his highest-ranking award), three Meritorious Service Medals as well as the Basic Airborne (“Jump Wings”) and Combat Infantry Badges.
He then went to work for Ford Aerospace in Newport Beach.
“I retired from the Army on a Friday at Fort Myer in Virginia,” he shared, “and went to work on Monday morning at Ford Aerospace in California.”
He continued his career at Ford for the next 15 years before retiring from there.
Szymczak and his wife have a daughter, Rebecca, who lives in Dana Point; and a son, Robert II, who resides in Virginia. He proudly points out that they each have two sons.
“I am a grandfather four times now,” said Szymczak. “They are all grown now, but I am still their granddad.”
He and his wife have been parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima ever since they arrived in California.
He has been an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the past 20 years.
“It’s ironic,” he shared. “This church was built in 1962, the same year that Camille and I were married,” he said with a smile. “The parishioners are so friendly and there are so many activities we do together.”
Szymczak is active in the parish. He belongs to a bridge group that meets on Monday mornings. He has been a Brother Knight since 1990 and takes on many roles at Knights of Columbus events.
“Every Lent we have Fish Fries, an Oktoberfest, a Christmas party for the children and even a St. Patrick’s Day celebration,” he shared.
Every month, Knights of Columbus Council 3772 hosts a free breakfast for all parishioners.
“I’ve worked so many different jobs at the Knights of Columbus breakfast,” Szymczak shared. “I’ve cooked. I’ve served. I’ve even worked the condiments table.
“But pancakes are my specialty,” he said with a grin.
For more information on the Military Order of the Purple Heart, go to: https:// www.purpleheart.org/ and Our Lady of Fatima parish in San Clemente https://www.olfchurch.net/