Andrew J. Orloski

First generation American served in U.S. Army during WWII.

By Petra Chesner Schlatter, BucksLocalNews.com

Seven decades ago, Andrew J. Orloski, 91, was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. He was 21. The year was 1942.

Orloski grew up in Burnham, Pa., which is 30 miles from Penn State and about 60 miles northwest of Harrisburg. Upon his return home from the service, he would work in the steel mill.

Later, he would move to this area and work at U.S. Steel – Fairless Works as the second helper at the open hearth. He lives in Fairless Hills.

When Orloski was drafted, he was the sole supporter of his Polish mother who could not speak English. He is first generation American. His sister would take care of her mother in his absence.

After he left, his mother was known to lie down on the ground and pray that her son would return to Burnham safely.

Orloski does not talk much about the flesh wound he got in his shoulder while he was in Italy. But when he does, there’s often a joke behind it.

There was a big hole in his jacket. “One of the soldiers said, ‘Were you in that?” I said, ‘Yes, I was in that when it happened.’”

He does tell the story seriously. “I was on a hillside,” Orloski said. “I was sitting down, taking my rifle apart and I was cleaning it. A shell came over and exploded and tore a big hole in my shoulder in the back.”
Orloski was given The Purple Heart.

He has other medals: the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
“One time I was up on top of the hill,” Orloski said. “I was on the downside and I was sitting there and I heard the Germans firing way down in the valley and I saw three shells go over the top and down in another valley. They were behind me. They were firing at some of our troops that were in front of me.”

When Orloski went in the service, he was a private. He reached the rank of sergeant. He was honorably discharged in 1945.

Boot camp was in South Carolina near Spartanburg, Va. He then went to Camp Edwards in Massachusetts. “I joined the 36th Division – that was the Texas National Guard – there were a lot of Texans!” he said.

From Massachusetts he was sent down to Virginia to get mountain training. “We did a lot in the mountains -- up and down,” he laughed. “I just carried a rifle. I was in the 60 millimeter mortar…It’s a tube and there’s a base plate. You drop a shell and it goes up way far and drops on the enemy.

“We went overseas from New York,” he continued. “We landed in Oran, Algeria in North Africa near Morocco and Libya. We just did some more training there.

“Then we got on a convoy and we made the landing in Salerno, Italy near Naples – about 30 miles south of Rome,” Orloski said. “We made the landing. You had to get off those little boats. We got in the water.
“We got on the beach,” he continued. “We walked a little bit and BOOM!! I hit the dirt. It was another BOOM!! A tank was shooting at our ship.”

They kept going. “We cut across a big field,” Orloski said.

“There were a lot of big black cattle. They started attacking our guys. We started shooting them.
“We kept on going,” he continued. “We went up the hills and then we saw the tank shooting the people who were doing the landing. Some of our guys started shooting at the tank.

“I remember once we were up in the mountains and I could hear those bombers that bombed the abbey at Monte Casino,” Orloski recalled.

Later on, they were near Rome. “We fired the 60 millimeter mortars there before we got to Rome,” he said. “When we conquered Rome, that’s when they made the big landing in Normandy. We were glad.”
“They sent us to relieve Patton’s Army so he could relieve Bastogne,” he said. “It was an important village. There were different crossroads. It was like in a forest -- The Ardennes.”

Among the many photographs of his service days, Orloski has a Christmas card from 1944 that he sent to his mother, Anastasia, from France. His wife just ran across the treasure this last year.

Orloski and his wife, Cecelia, have three sons: Andy Jr., Stephen and Perry.

One of their grandchildren, Anastasia, is in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed in Alaska.

Pete Gilbert

Major Gilbert has served three tours of duty in Afghanistan

By John Williams, BucksLocalNews.com

It’s funny how the simple things in life are always the most enjoyable, and oftentimes, the most cherished.

The same can be said of Army Major Pete Gilbert, who had the opportunity to meet his niece, Sophia, for the first time over the Easter holiday when visiting his sister in Newtown.

“It was awesome,” Gilbert, a Maryland native, enthusiastically said. “Over the past six years, I’ve missed out on some of the most important events in any person’s life, like Christmas’s and birthday’s…so being with them in person was a nice change of pace.”

“This all just comes at a great time for me when I’m transitioning to the next stage of my career and my sister having her first child,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”

Over the past few years, especially with the amount of work that his high tempo unit is assigned to, Major Gilbert didn’t have the opportunities to visit family in the States. He was serving overseas, in many different capacities, in Italy, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

“It’s truly a double-edged sword,” Gilbert said. “On one hand, you’re sacrificing a lot of family occasions and milestones, but on the other hand you’re improving the security situation over there. The long-term goal is the same – protecting the American people.”

He called his position in the military rewarding and said that all of his efforts are worth it to “secure freedom for this generation and beyond.”

Twelve years ago, at age 22, Major Gilbert was commissioned into the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at Indiana State University in 1998. He received a military scholarship while at college and earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications. He went on to serve three combat tours of duty in Afghanistan as a member of the 173rd Airborne Bridge Combat Team. He spent a total of 42 months in theatre.

Gilbert describes himself as somewhat of a military brat. His father served in the military as well as his grandfather – a World War II veteran.

Currently, he is stationed at the U.S. Army Command and Staff College at Webster’s University in Fort Leventhal, Kansas, and is pursuing his Master’s degree in Acquisitions and Procurement Management.

Typically when you’re ranked Major, you attend the advanced learning center as opposed to a war college, which is usually intended for veteran military personnel.

Upon graduation from the general staff college, he will be assigned to a higher echelon position based on his particular skill set. He plans to stay in the military “for as long as I can.”

He explained military operations in the Afghanistan, and the Middle East as a whole, as complex.

“After being deployed to that theatre of operation I can honestly say I see a lot of improvement in establishing security forces,” he said. “There’s been a lot of reconstruction projects and development in the Afghan national army, the core of security in the country’s police and security agencies.”

He said the objective is to assist the Afghan people with building a government that they can trust.

“Over the past 5 years, I’ve seen significant progress,” Gilbert said. “I partnered as company commander and I would consistently be in contact with the same Afghan leaders and village elders. They’re all tired of the violence in their country and just want a legitimate government.”

In his experience with civilians, he said they want an economy where their children can prosper – an attitude they share with Americans.

“It’s about helping out,” said Gilbert. “When we do bilateral military training, we’re looking to improve their system. In today’s world, we’re going to war as an allied force. It’s coalition-based. In the military, we have to be able to accomplish the mission at any time in any given situation. That’s what we do best.”

Major Gilbert also recognizes the importance in staying neutral when it comes to political rhetoric about the military.

“We can’t afford to lean to one side or the other,” he said. “At that point, we really become ineffective. You need to realize that you serve the American people on-or-off duty. Sharing and experiencing different cultures is critical because when you’re partnering with other countries, they may have a different approach than we may have.”

“The relationships we build at our level are more critical than political attitudes political attitudes that are portrayed in the news media,” he explains.

And his feelings on the U.S. Navy SEALs mission that killed 9-11 mastermind and notorious al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden?

“I think the death of Bin Laden is critical to destroying and dismantling the adversarial networks that exist world-wide,” he said. “[What a] great Job by our special operations forces in such a decisive operation.”
To sum everything up, Gilbert’s opinion is straightforward and said it will take the work of the international community to seek and rid the world of terrorist hotbeds.

“At a macro level, we’re already fighting in two theatres of operation,” he stated, “and we have to be sure to consider how far we are willing to stretch our already limited forces. It’s all tied back to the international community and what our allies are willing to contribute.”

For now though, it’s back to enjoying “life in the States” and the “smaller things in life,” like getting his degree, advancing his career and enjoying time with his family.

“My sister having a child has really changed a few things and the center of attention is on Sophia,” he said. “It’s nice to sit down, not venturing out too far, and sharing memories and stories. It’s something that I’ve missed in the past, but now can look forward to.”