Visit to World War II casualty's grave kindles emotions for surviving family

David Polasky of Bedford County and his father Chester stand at the grave of Chester's brother, Ed, who was killed in action three days before D-Day in 1944. (Submitted photo)

On this day, we honor the veterans who have served in the Armed Forces for our country. There will be speeches and parades, and the living veterans -- such as Chester Polasky and his son David, who lives here in Bedford County -- will be celebrated. Those soldiers and Marines and airmen and sailors who did not return from their missions will be remembered and memorialized -- such as Ed Polasky, Chester's brother and David's uncle.

"My uncle was 18 when he was killed at Normandy," said David, who has served in the Navy for close to three decades and is now in the Reserves. David is called upon often for color and honor guard duties at special ceremonies. "My dad was 16 -- he idolized his big brother."

Both of the Polasky brothers, growing up in Massachusetts, wanted to fly. Ed's eyesight kept him out of the pilot's seat and Chester's punctured ear drum did it for him, as well.

"Ed said if he couldn't fly the airplane, he could at least jump out of it," said David.

At 18, Ed enlisted in the Army and became part of the 82nd Airborne's 508th Parachute Infantry. Three days before D-Day, on June 3, 1944, he and his fellows parachuted into France behind enemy lines in one of the special operations prior to the Normandy invasion. Over the next week, thousands would die, and among the first was young Ed Polasky.

His mother and his 16-year-old brother received a box with a torn sweater, a broken camera and broken fountain pen, and a letter home that never got mailed -- but no answers. For the next 65 years, Chester would wonder what had happened to his beloved big brother.

Visiting the site

In October, David accompanied his father to the cemetery in France where Ed rests. For the first time, 83-year-old Chester saw the gravestone of his 18-year-old brother, and he wept.

"We did the flag ceremony for him at the cemetery," said David. He presented the flag and played taps for the uncle he never knew.

"I present (the flag) to a lot of people," he said. "This was the most heart-wrenching for me."

The military honors and flag ceremony that are traditional in the American Armed Forces are not as familiar to those in other countries. As the ceremony went on in the Normandy American Cemetery in Calvados, France, others began to gather around.

"Even the men who were cutting the grass stopped and came over," said David. "It was very touching."

A distinct honor was present in the man who helped him fold the American flag to present to his father. Col. M.P. Collet, a member of the French 11th Airborne, held one end as David folded the other.

"They just don't do that in the French military," he said.

Forgotten helmet

Collet played more than one role in the family history. He had grown up in the area of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, one of the first towns to be liberated in the D-Day invasion. Collet had collected memorabilia from the invasion throughout his life and opened a museum.

"Everything in it, he wants to know the story behind it," said David.

A G.I.'s helmet had been given to him after being found in an old stone barn in that region. Penciled in on the lining was "E. Polasky."

Back in the States, while Collet was collecting the WWII items, Chester was collecting information about his brother. Long after he was grown and had five children of his own -- including three boys who are career military -- he began to go to reunions, meeting men who had served with Ed. While working at Bell Aerospace in Buffalo, N.Y., Polasky's co-worker mentioned he knew a man who had jumped into Normandy. Chester contacted the man and discovered he had been in Ed's unit. With that connection established, Chester attended a unit reunion in 1980. Ed's surviving comrades shared details of his courageous jump from the plane onto the Normandy coast.

"The pilot wanted to get out of there. When the guys jumped, the force of the air and the speed of the plane ripped off their supplies, and they landed without their rations and weapons," Chester said he learned from the paratroopers.

He also learned the circumstances of his brother's death, and that Ed had been decorated with several medals for gallant and heroic actions.

"I never knew he'd been awarded Silver and Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart," he said. "All we knew was that he'd been killed."

Clues come together

As Chester searched for clues to his brother's final hours, Collet searched for clues about the helmet. The two men found each other. Chester sent handwriting samples and other authenticating information to Collet, and learned it was, in fact, his brother's helmet.

Originally, Collet planned to send the helmet to Polasky.

"Dad said no," said David. "He felt it would serve a better purpose in Col. Collet's museum. That's like when he and his mother were asked about bringing Ed home to bury him. They said then, no, let him rest with his friends and family."

"When he offered it to me, I said, 'No. What am I gonna do with it? Cut it in five pieces and give each of my kids a piece?'" Chester said. "I told him, 'Keep it in your museum, and when people come, you can tell 'em about Ed.'"

Chester and David Polasky spent 12 days on their trip to France, and they stayed with Collet part of the time.

"He drove us around and showed us the countryside," said David. "He showed us where the battlefield was, where they found Ed's helmet."

"I guess you could say I'm so excited about how the Lord opened everything up. It's amazing," Chester said before the trip. "I'll be closing the book on my brother's life."

But closing the book on Ed Polasky's life isn't the end -- it only opens up the history books for those who follow.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.