Cause of death: Natural Causes
_______________________________________________
The Citizen (Auburn, NY) - Monday, May 26, 2008
The medals, gleaming in a little plastic case, were all that was left to solve the mystery of an Auburn man's service in the Korean War.
Joseph Babiarz, a corporal in the Army during the war, did not boast of his heroic deeds or eagerly discuss his adventures of trudging through the mud and snow under a hail of North Korean or Chinese bullets. Instead, he took all of his secrets with him when he passed away in 1992.
James Babiarz, Joseph's son, said the only thing he knew about his father's service was that Joseph was on the front lines and that he was proud to have served his country from March 5, 1952, to June 30, 1953.
James didn't even know his father had medals, much less how he got them.
Hilda Babiarz, who met and married Joseph after the war, said the family never thought about Joseph's service in the war until Auburn's Korean War Veterans Association began work on the memorial adjacent to County Office Building on Genesee Street.
In order to get Joseph's name onto the memorial, the family had to supply Joseph's discharge papers to prove he served in the war.
After two months of waiting, Hilda earlier this year received a package in the mail from the Army. When she opened it, she found a Korean Service Medal, a National Defense Medal, a New York State Medal for Merit, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and two Bronze Service Stars
The New York State Medal for Merit meant Joseph was a member of the New York State National Guard and was assigned to serve in the United States Army from 1952 to 1953. The National Defense Medal, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Medal for Korea were all given to soldiers who served in Korea during the war. The Bronze Service Stars were designated for various combat tours that the different branches of the military participated in.
There were only two military campaigns recognized by the Army during Joseph's tour of duty, which were the summer and fall defensive and the third winter defense.
Joseph's discharge papers also showed he served in Korean for 15 months, which meant he probably was fighting on the front lines during that period of time.
When it was time for Joseph to leave the fighting behind, he met and married Hilda and focused all of his energy into his civilian life.
"He was a good, hard-working husband and father," Hilda said of Joseph, who spent 35 years working at Crucible Materials in Syracuse.
Joseph never had a chance to stop working and enjoy life after retirement, Hilda said. Joseph died at 11 p.m. Nov. 11, 1992, of heart complications.
"He died on Veterans Day," Hilda said. "He was going to retire when he turned 62. He was three months away from making it. I never knew and he never mentioned it before he died, but I wonder if he even knew he had medals coming."
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or [email protected]
_______________________________________________
The Citizen (Auburn, NY) - Monday, May 26, 2008
The medals, gleaming in a little plastic case, were all that was left to solve the mystery of an Auburn man's service in the Korean War.
Joseph Babiarz, a corporal in the Army during the war, did not boast of his heroic deeds or eagerly discuss his adventures of trudging through the mud and snow under a hail of North Korean or Chinese bullets. Instead, he took all of his secrets with him when he passed away in 1992.
James Babiarz, Joseph's son, said the only thing he knew about his father's service was that Joseph was on the front lines and that he was proud to have served his country from March 5, 1952, to June 30, 1953.
James didn't even know his father had medals, much less how he got them.
Hilda Babiarz, who met and married Joseph after the war, said the family never thought about Joseph's service in the war until Auburn's Korean War Veterans Association began work on the memorial adjacent to County Office Building on Genesee Street.
In order to get Joseph's name onto the memorial, the family had to supply Joseph's discharge papers to prove he served in the war.
After two months of waiting, Hilda earlier this year received a package in the mail from the Army. When she opened it, she found a Korean Service Medal, a National Defense Medal, a New York State Medal for Merit, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and two Bronze Service Stars
The New York State Medal for Merit meant Joseph was a member of the New York State National Guard and was assigned to serve in the United States Army from 1952 to 1953. The National Defense Medal, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Medal for Korea were all given to soldiers who served in Korea during the war. The Bronze Service Stars were designated for various combat tours that the different branches of the military participated in.
There were only two military campaigns recognized by the Army during Joseph's tour of duty, which were the summer and fall defensive and the third winter defense.
Joseph's discharge papers also showed he served in Korean for 15 months, which meant he probably was fighting on the front lines during that period of time.
When it was time for Joseph to leave the fighting behind, he met and married Hilda and focused all of his energy into his civilian life.
"He was a good, hard-working husband and father," Hilda said of Joseph, who spent 35 years working at Crucible Materials in Syracuse.
Joseph never had a chance to stop working and enjoy life after retirement, Hilda said. Joseph died at 11 p.m. Nov. 11, 1992, of heart complications.
"He died on Veterans Day," Hilda said. "He was going to retire when he turned 62. He was three months away from making it. I never knew and he never mentioned it before he died, but I wonder if he even knew he had medals coming."
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or [email protected]
Cause of death: Natural Causes
_______________________________________________
The Citizen (Auburn, NY) - Monday, May 26, 2008
The medals, gleaming in a little plastic case, were all that was left to solve the mystery of an Auburn man's service in the Korean War.
Joseph Babiarz, a corporal in the Army during the war, did not boast of his heroic deeds or eagerly discuss his adventures of trudging through the mud and snow under a hail of North Korean or Chinese bullets. Instead, he took all of his secrets with him when he passed away in 1992.
James Babiarz, Joseph's son, said the only thing he knew about his father's service was that Joseph was on the front lines and that he was proud to have served his country from March 5, 1952, to June 30, 1953.
James didn't even know his father had medals, much less how he got them.
Hilda Babiarz, who met and married Joseph after the war, said the family never thought about Joseph's service in the war until Auburn's Korean War Veterans Association began work on the memorial adjacent to County Office Building on Genesee Street.
In order to get Joseph's name onto the memorial, the family had to supply Joseph's discharge papers to prove he served in the war.
After two months of waiting, Hilda earlier this year received a package in the mail from the Army. When she opened it, she found a Korean Service Medal, a National Defense Medal, a New York State Medal for Merit, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and two Bronze Service Stars
The New York State Medal for Merit meant Joseph was a member of the New York State National Guard and was assigned to serve in the United States Army from 1952 to 1953. The National Defense Medal, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Medal for Korea were all given to soldiers who served in Korea during the war. The Bronze Service Stars were designated for various combat tours that the different branches of the military participated in.
There were only two military campaigns recognized by the Army during Joseph's tour of duty, which were the summer and fall defensive and the third winter defense.
Joseph's discharge papers also showed he served in Korean for 15 months, which meant he probably was fighting on the front lines during that period of time.
When it was time for Joseph to leave the fighting behind, he met and married Hilda and focused all of his energy into his civilian life.
"He was a good, hard-working husband and father," Hilda said of Joseph, who spent 35 years working at Crucible Materials in Syracuse.
Joseph never had a chance to stop working and enjoy life after retirement, Hilda said. Joseph died at 11 p.m. Nov. 11, 1992, of heart complications.
"He died on Veterans Day," Hilda said. "He was going to retire when he turned 62. He was three months away from making it. I never knew and he never mentioned it before he died, but I wonder if he even knew he had medals coming."
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or [email protected]
_______________________________________________
The Citizen (Auburn, NY) - Monday, May 26, 2008
The medals, gleaming in a little plastic case, were all that was left to solve the mystery of an Auburn man's service in the Korean War.
Joseph Babiarz, a corporal in the Army during the war, did not boast of his heroic deeds or eagerly discuss his adventures of trudging through the mud and snow under a hail of North Korean or Chinese bullets. Instead, he took all of his secrets with him when he passed away in 1992.
James Babiarz, Joseph's son, said the only thing he knew about his father's service was that Joseph was on the front lines and that he was proud to have served his country from March 5, 1952, to June 30, 1953.
James didn't even know his father had medals, much less how he got them.
Hilda Babiarz, who met and married Joseph after the war, said the family never thought about Joseph's service in the war until Auburn's Korean War Veterans Association began work on the memorial adjacent to County Office Building on Genesee Street.
In order to get Joseph's name onto the memorial, the family had to supply Joseph's discharge papers to prove he served in the war.
After two months of waiting, Hilda earlier this year received a package in the mail from the Army. When she opened it, she found a Korean Service Medal, a National Defense Medal, a New York State Medal for Merit, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and two Bronze Service Stars
The New York State Medal for Merit meant Joseph was a member of the New York State National Guard and was assigned to serve in the United States Army from 1952 to 1953. The National Defense Medal, the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Medal for Korea were all given to soldiers who served in Korea during the war. The Bronze Service Stars were designated for various combat tours that the different branches of the military participated in.
There were only two military campaigns recognized by the Army during Joseph's tour of duty, which were the summer and fall defensive and the third winter defense.
Joseph's discharge papers also showed he served in Korean for 15 months, which meant he probably was fighting on the front lines during that period of time.
When it was time for Joseph to leave the fighting behind, he met and married Hilda and focused all of his energy into his civilian life.
"He was a good, hard-working husband and father," Hilda said of Joseph, who spent 35 years working at Crucible Materials in Syracuse.
Joseph never had a chance to stop working and enjoy life after retirement, Hilda said. Joseph died at 11 p.m. Nov. 11, 1992, of heart complications.
"He died on Veterans Day," Hilda said. "He was going to retire when he turned 62. He was three months away from making it. I never knew and he never mentioned it before he died, but I wonder if he even knew he had medals coming."
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or [email protected]
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