Max Blinkoff has a proud grip on the case bearing the seven medals he was awarded honoring his time in the Navy during World War II. Forum Newsgroup photo by Luis Gronda.
For Howard Beach resident Max Blinkoff, getting medals honoring his time in the service was the icing on the cake.
He had been hoping to get the recognition medals that he was entitled to for being in the Navy from 1944 until 1945, which was during World War II.
Blinkoff recalled his time in the Navy with much glee, saying that it was a big part of his life.
“Being in the service gave me a whole new life,” he said. “A life that brought me from the bottom to the top.”
Blinkoff, now 86 years old, grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He described his time of living in that borough as growing up with “second hand shoes, torn pants and homemade haircuts.”
Not wanting to live that life anymore, Blinkoff was eager to be drafted to the military and serve his country during wartime. He said he chose the Navy because he felt that he would do more while being on a ship.
When he enlisted in the Navy, Blinkoff was assigned to the USS Wantuck, a high-speed transport ship that was in commission from 1944 until 1957.
While he was enjoying his time in the Navy, there was one thing that was bothering him: his father, David, was sick with what he believed to be cancer. His father passed away before he returned home from the service.
This was a burden on his life during that time, but the veteran said that he was able to ease that worry by sending money to his mother, Ana, back home.
He sent most of the allotment of money he got from being in the military to his mom. Blinkoff said that he believed that his mother could use the $115 he received as she was still poor, adding that he only had $10 in his pocket.
“As long as I had the uniform, I didn’t need any money,” he said.
One highlight of his time in the Navy came towards the end. While his ship was en route to Tokyo, President Harry Truman announced that Germany and Japan had surrendered to the allied forces, thus bringing the war to an end.
The ship continued onward to Japan and Blinkoff said that he got to witness the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which happened aboard the USS Missouri at Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
He said that he had a few hours to walk around Tokyo after they surrendered before they had to go back to the ship and start traveling back to the states.
“Let me tell you something, there was nothing left,” Blinkoff said, describing how the Japanese capital was like during that time. “The place was bombed out.”
As for the medals, he received seven medals for his military service in the mid-1940’s earlier this year. Congressman Bob Turner (R-Queens) had organized for several veterans to get medals that they had been asking for and the Howard Beach resident was among them.
Some of the medals he received included, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Meal with Two Bronze Stars, World War II victory medal and American Campaign medal.
Turner presented the medals to Blinkoff at a ceremony in his Brooklyn office earlier this year.
“His service and dedication to his country is something we can all admire,” Turner said about Blinkoff.
According to a spokesman from Turner’s office, the congressman has given 30 medals to six veterans, which includes three bronze star medals and two purple hearts. Another veteran who received a medal is Anton Dietrich, another WWII veteran who lives in Richmond Hill and is a member of Community Board 9. He received a purple heart medal for his service.
Blinkoff said that he was glad to have gotten the medals that he deserved and that it will give his family and friends something to remember him by after he passes away.
“I feel so honored when people come up to me and say ‘thank you for your service,’” he said. “It’s such a nice gesture.”
By Luis Gronda
