Queens resident and WWII veteran Michael Tasik, seen here during this year’s Stamford, Conn. Memorial Day Parade where he was an Honorary Grand Marshall.
Longtime Queens resident and World War II veteran Michael Tasik remembered well what the first thing on his mind was when he was hospitalized in combat during the Battle of Saint Lo in 1944—getting back to his battalion.
“I still had my arm in a sling when one of the guys in my company told me they were shipping out,” he said in an interview from his East Elmhurst home. “So, I grabbed my helmet, left the hospital AWOL and joined them.”
For his efforts during the war, both Tasik and fellow World War II veteran and Queens resident Paul Plack have been selected by the United Veterans & Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth to be honored with the Maspeth Veteran Award for their past military bravery at a special Memorial Day service.
Tasik, who served as a soldier in the 72nd Battalion as part of the Publicity and Psychological Warfare troop, certainly saw a lot during his two-year service overseas in World War II.
One of five children, Tasik—who graduated from Grover Cleveland High School—participated in the third day of the famous D-Day Invasion of Normandy in 1944. After recovering from his wounds, sustained from an exploding shell during the Battle of Saint Lo, Tasik helped rescue prisoners from the Bukenval Concentration Camp and assisted in the capture of the Bridge at Remagen, Germany. Of all these experiences, he most fondly remembered riding down the streets of Paris during its
Queens WWII veteran Michael Tasik, seen here when he was a soldier in the 72nd Battalion as part of the Publicity and Psychological Warfare troop in the 1940s.
liberation from Nazi rule.
“I get chills every time I think about it,” he said with a chuckle. “I almost saw the Germans leaving town. But it was the reception that the French people gave us that I remember well.”
After being honorably discharged in December 1954, Tasik married his longtime sweetheart, the now-deceased Martina Farrell, in January 1946; the couple raised two children, Dennis and Maureen, together.
After working more than 50 years in the construction business—both he and son Dennis ran their own business, Den-Mar Construction in Elmhurst—Tasik enjoys his retirement by spending it with family and friends, while occasionally watching baseball games on the high school field of Msr. McClancy Memorial High School, just across the street from his home.
“I’d say after all this time, I’m pretty self-satisfied,” Tasik said. “I’ve lived a full life…but back then, it was all about our country. It was a different time back then.”
Tasik and Plack were recognized on Sunday, May 27 at a ceremony after the Maspeth Memorial Day Parade.
Plack, who grew up in Maspeth, joined the Navy at age 17. As a petty officer on the Air Craft Carrier U.S.S. Tarawa, he was a plane captain where his responsibility was to maintain the aircraft. He remained aboard the carrier until his enlistment ended in March 1949.
His service medals include the W.W. II Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Medal, Navy Occupation Service Ribbon, China Service Ribbon, and Good Conduct Ribbon.
Plack, married with four daughters, Ruth, Jean, Margaret, and Ann, still resides in Maspeth.
By Jean-Paul Salamanca
