Salem - Jack Wanek, long time resident of Salem, passed away peacefully early Monday morning November 30, 2009. His family was with him at his home in Salem, Oregon.
Jack was born in Tacoma Washington on November 6th 1922, to Frank Rudolph Wanek and Mary Louise (Griswold) Wanek. He was the second of three children; he had a brother Frank, and a sister Doris.
Jack’s early years were spent in the Tacoma, Washington area. He soon moved to Northern California, where he attended school and spent summers with his uncles herding goats in the hills of Red Bluff, California. Jack graduated from Yuba City High School in 1940, and continued his education at Yuba County Junior College receiving an associate degree in 1942.
Jack served his country by enlisting in the US Navy officer candidate school as a United States Marine Corp Aviation Cadet on September 3rd, 1942. His flight training took him to Corpus Christi Texas to the US Navel Air Training Center. Upon completion of flight training on June 26, 1943, Jack was commissioned into the United States Marine Corp as a Second Lieutenant, with orders to Marine Fighter Squadron VMF 218 (the Hellions) flying the F4U-1 Corsair. Jack’s combat flight training was completed at MCAS Mojave, California in December 1943. Leaving the United States aboard the Escort Carrier USS Barnes CVE-20 (Dec 1943) Jack arrived in Espiritu Santo (South Pacific) staging area for deployment to forward combat areas. From January 1944 to November 1944 Jack flew strike missions from Bougainville Island (Northern Solomon Island) and Green Islands against the Japanese Garrison at Rabaul. After the isolation of the Japanese base at Rabaul, Jack was moved back to Hawaii for further training for combat missions over the Japanese home islands. (1945) Jack was stationed at Midway Island when the war ended Sept 1945.
In September of 1948 Jack married Thelma Wilson of Yuba City, California. The couple moved to Corvallis, Oregon where Jack enrolled in the school of forestry at Oregon State University. Jack graduated in 1951 with a B. S. in Forest Management. Jack and Thelma were married for sixty years until Thelma’s passing in December of 2007.
After graduation Jack began his career with Oregon State Forestry in 1951. Jack served 35 years as the state’s tree improvement coordinator. He was responsible for the state of Oregon’s tree improvement program and helped establish the J.E. Schroeder Seed Orchard in St. Paul, Oregon. During his 35 years of service, he worked on the reforestation of the Tillamook burn area of Oregon’s coast range and other areas throughout Oregon.