World War II Flight Training Museum and
63rd AAF Flying Training Detachment

Douglas, Georgia

Frank Rudek


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Frank Rudek

lass of 1944-D Wife: Genevieve Smolak

Born on May 1, 1921 in Hartford, Connecticut, the eldest son of John and Victoria (Kuzera) Rudek, and was raised in Newington. He passed away peacefully in Carmichael, California on Saturday, October 8, 2016.

From his obituary: Frank joined the Army Air Corps in 1942. He was a member of the Second Graduating Class of the 23rd College Training Detachment, University of Buffalo, graduating in 1943. He was also a member of Class 44-8 of the Army Air Forces Navigation School at Selman Field in Monroe, Louisiana in 1944.Frank Rudek

He was in the 486th Bomb Group, 834th Bomb Sqdn flying his missions from England with the Eighth Air Force. Frank flew 37 missions over Germany during the height of World War II, as both the navigator and medic of a B-17 flight crew.

In June 1945, Frank married Genevieve Smolak, his grade school and high school classmate, also of Newington, Connecticut.

Frank’s long military career took the family to live around the world, including France, Germany, the Philippines, and across the USA, in Texas, Delaware, Mississippi, Florida, California, where he served as Commander of the Cambria Air Force Station from 1965-67, and New York, where he served as Commander of the Lockport Air Force Station from 1967-69. He retired from the Air Force in 1969 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

After retirement, the family moved to California, where Frank started his second career with the US Postal Service in the mid 1970s, retiring in the early 1990s.

Frank was a devout Catholic and long-time parishioner of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Carmichael, California.

Frank will be remembered for his intelligence and accomplishments, his honest, humble, and generous nature and his engaging sense of humor. He loved golfing, playing his last round on his 90th birthday with his son Michael. He had a passion for music and song, playing piano, organ, violin, and accordion for many years, and singing with little encouragement. He was always eager to help his family and friends with anything from babysitting and taxi-service, to preparing the church for Mass, to plumbing repairs, roofing, pouring driveways, and building fences.

Frank was always there for his family and now is dearly missed by two daughters, three sons, four grandchildren, one brother, three sisters, and many nieces and nephews.

Frank was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 63 years, Genevieve, daughter Joanne, brothers Steven, John “Happy”, Julian, and Stanley, sisters Valerie Coppola, Victoria Konopka, and Helen Cyr.

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