Anthony “Andy” M. Klasinski, 81, Burbank, Ill., a former Stevens Point resident, died Monday, Dec. 13, 1999.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hann Funeral Home, Bridgeview, Ill., with an 11:15 a.m. Mass at St. Fabian Catholic Church. Burial will be at 9:45 a.m. Monday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Ill.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Funeral Home.
Mr. Klasinski was born on Sept. 15, 1918, in Little Chute, a son of the late Leo and Bernice (Harycki) Klasinski. He attended Stevens Point schools, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Loyola University in Chicago. He received a master’s degree in Polish literature at the University of Illinois.
He was married to Marie C. Kosakowski on Dec. 9, 1943, at Homestead Military Base in Florida.
He served in the U.S. Army Air Corp from 1942 to 1945 as a B-17 “Flying Fortress” pilot on more than 50 missions and also flew missions as a P-51 fighter pilot in the European theater.
He was in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and worked for Prudential Insurance until 1957 when he was recalled to active duty during the Hungarian Crisis.
He remained in the U.S. Air Force after that in the air intelligence service in Germany and Vietnam. He served a total of 31 years in military service until about 1975 when he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
He was an air attaché and one of the first 50 U.S. advisors to South Vietnam, serving two tours of duty there.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Vietnamese Medal of Honor, Vietnam’s highest military decoration for foreigners.
He was a member of the Summit Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6863, Summit American Legion Post 735, past grand knight and charities director of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 967, T.R.O.A. Retired Association of Military Officers and St. Fabian Parish, where he was involved in many church ministries.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Larry (Patrice), Aurora, Ill., and Fred (Corine), Citrus Heights, Calif.; three brothers, Frank (Wanda), Hot Springs, Ark., and Florian (Madeline) and Dr. Mike (Barbara), both of Stevens Point; one sister, Jean Stroik, Stevens Point; two sisters-in-law, Martha and Agnes Klasinski; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
He was also preceded in death by two brothers, Louis and Edmund, and a sister, Clare Byrd.
