Castaic resident and World War II fighter pilot Kenneth Placek turned 102 years old on Tuesday. He celebrated his birthday among a group of military veterans during a Coffee4Vets meeting on Thursday morning at Crazy Otto’s Diner in Canyon Country.
There to celebrate Placek’s birthday with him and to present certificates of congratulations to him were representatives from the offices of Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce; Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Acton; Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth; Los Angeles County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger; the city of Santa Clarita; and the Santa Clarita Valley Memorial Day Committee.
According to Juan Blanco, founder of Coffee4Vets Inc., Placek is a true American hero.
“On occasion, we are blessed here at Coffee4Vets to have veterans that served during World War II,” Blanco told a restaurant full of veterans. “We have Don Kuhl, who was a forward observer World War II artillery. A round of applause for Don. Today, we’re honoring Ken.”
Blanco spoke about Placek’s accomplishments to a crowd that seemed appropriately impressed.
Placek is a decorated World War II fighter pilot who flew almost 100 combat missions. He became an aviation cadet in November 1942. Upon finishing his training, he was commissioned to second lieutenant and subsequently promoted to first lieutenant. He went overseas with the 378th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force, nicknamed Mogin’s Maulers, in February 1944.
Placek flew 95 combat missions, totaling 240 combat hours and 675 military hours. He took part in battles and campaigns that included Normandy, North France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe. He spent one year and seven months overseas, and he came home in November 1945.
Born on Mother’s Day, May 13, 1922, in Austin, Minnesota, Placek grew up with no aspirations of joining the military but joined due to the draft. After the war, he received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of North Dakota, worked a successful career in the insurance business, and with his wife, he helped raise three kids. He has six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
At his birthday celebration on Thursday, Placek shared some of his experiences with veterans in the group, and he expressed his gratitude for all the appreciation he and others who served in World War II have received.
“I don’t know how to express my thanks to everyone who acknowledges us,” Placek said in an interview at the event. “There are so few of us left that the appreciation has grown. It’s becoming greater and greater as time goes by.”
Placek’s oldest son, Paul, and youngest son, Greg, came with him to the birthday celebration.
“It’s been really an honor to live with him,” Paul said. “Throughout our whole lives, he’s been a support and an inspiration.”
Greg added, “I’m blessed to have a dad like this. You know, first of all, he’s my father. He’s done a great job with our family, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren, and being a World War II veteran is just icing on the cake.”
To read The Signal’s recent profile of Kenneth Placek, go to tinyurl.com/43h48p4y.
