Washington Co., WI – On Saturday, April 20, 2024, Air Force veteran Gerald “Jerry” Kabelowsky of Hartford, WI, will be joining 5 other Washington County vets on the Stars & Stripes Honor Flight to Washington D.C.
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Kabelowsky served in the US Air Force from 1961 to 1965 as aircraft ground support and equipment repairman. He went to Basic Training in Texas and began his first assignment – 18 months in California in the high desert at George AFB. He then went on to Japan.
“After the Bay of Tonkin buildup, I went to Thailand instead of Vietnam and ran missions from there. We would go for 8 weeks and then we’d go back to Japan.,” said Kabelowski, “We also supported the hot pads in Korea as the Firebomber was atomic bomb capable.”
PKabelowsky said a hot pad was where planes are sitting ready to go to battle “fully loaded…all they need is to roll out and take off.”
While in Thailand, Kabelowsky lived at a Thai training base. “We used part of it. It was a big base in the jungle because it needed a long airstrip for the planes that were fully loaded with 16 500-pound bombs to take off. It was an old Japanese WWII barracks we stayed in. They converted the hot baths into latrines. You had to walk to the jungle to get to the latrine.”
Kabelowsky is one of 6 veterans from Washington County, WI
traveling on the April 20 Honor Flight
“In Korea, there were about 6-8 planes loaded with atomic bombs. We were able to go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice,” said Kabelowski, “The alert would go off and you’d have to be at your station in minutes.”
Kabelowsky worked as support and equipment repair on flood lights, air compressors, hydraulic and generator sets and “every kind of equipment that you can think of to support the mechanics and the people that took care of the planes.”
“Years ago, you used to see units sitting on a flight line. That’s what I worked on.”
Kabelowsky attended UWM for one year and had enrolled at MSOE for his associate’s degree in electrical work but “Uncle Sam needed me.”
“I joined the Air Force hoping to get into electronics training. It was either that or the Navy, which was my other option but I just couldn’t see living in closed quarters with a whole bunch of guys,” said Kabelowski with a chuckle.
Kabelowsky has been married to his wife, Nancy, for 50 years and they have two adult children, Kevin, who hails from Jackson, WI, and daughter Shaun, who lives in Denver, CO. They have 7 grandchildren.
In his leisure time, Kabelowsky enjoys fishing from his home on Pike Lake, especially with his son, Kevin, who he deems his “fishing buddy.”
While he is not a morning person and doesn’t look forward to being at the airport by 5 a.m. on April 20, Kabelowsky said, “I don’t know what to expect. I’ve talked to guys that have been on [the Honor Flight] before me and they say I’ll really enjoy it.”
Kabelowsky’s son, Kevin, who is a firefighter for the City of Milwaukee, will be his chaperone for the Honor Flight.
Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is the Milwaukee area hub of the Honor Flight Network. Founded in 2008, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown more than 7,600 WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans from southeastern Wisconsin on a one-day, all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C.
