Post by flowtowntigers on Nov 10, 2021 17:04:55 GMT -6
This is a great read about a family friend who turned a 100 years old and tells about his life in the small town of Falls City.
Falls City veteran Mike Swierc celebrates a century of life
www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/falls-city-veteran-mike-swierc-celebrates-a-century-of-life/
Falls City veteran Mike Swierc celebrates a century of life
November 09, 2021
By Devan Sutton
Wilson County News
dsutton@wcn-online.com
Falls City native and World War II veteran Mike Swierc is the epitome of living history. The fun-loving fellow turned 100 years old last Saturday, surrounded by family and friends.
Mike has seen more history in the past 100 years than most could even imagine — having been born just three years after the end of World War I.
He can give you a first-hand account of all the events kids learn about in school. Mike was a child during the Roaring Twenties, experienced the Great Depression, and fought in World War II.
Mike has lived through numerous historical events, but hard times never changed this optimistic man’s outlook on life. Despite tragedies and challenges, Mike chooses to see the joy and cherishes the simple things in life above all else.
He shared his life story in front of a crackling wood stove one cool November morning, surrounded by trophies of his many successful hunts through the years.
Early life
Mike was born Nov. 6, 1921, on his family’s farm in Falls City — where his parents, Conrad and Josie, raised 12 children.
The Swiercs worked hard on the farm, but there were some things that the family of 14 couldn’t afford.
Mike and his siblings ran barefoot most of the time — even at school. If they had shoes, they were shared by all and would be reserved for the coldest days of the year, he recalled.
Roaring ’20s and Great Depression
“Everyone had to struggle to make ends meet,” he said.
For the Swiercs, that meant making the best moonshine whiskey around — it was the era of Prohibition, when alcoholic beverages were illegal in this country. A little extra money here and there from friends and neighbors helped the large family for a while, said Mike.
The family’s tough economic times continued in the Great Depression.
Near the end of the depression, Mike quit school in the seventh grade to help his father work on the farm, because his older siblings got jobs at nearby Civilian Conservations Corps camps, part of Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Despite the hardships, Mike cherishes his parents’ memory.
“They were very good parents,” Mike said. Conrad lived to be 91 years old; Josie lived to be 89.
A family of soldiers
In 1941 — as the United States entered World War II — Mike and his brother, Phillip, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Six of the Swierc brothers fought in World War II. One brother, Adrian, was drafted into the Army; the others enlisted by choice and chose their own branches of service.
Adrian was the only one who did not make it home from the war; he is buried in the Philippines, where he was killed in battle, Mike said.
World War II
Mike did his basic training in New Orleans, then spent some time patrolling the waters between Florida and Cuba. On one occasion, his team spotted a German submarine off the coast of Miami; he believes that threat was eliminated.
As the German push into Europe strengthened, Mike was sent to England.
The men left New Jersey and headed to Britain on a ship carrying as many 83-foot-long wooden patrol boats as the ship could hold; the boats were made right here in Corpus Christi, he said.
The wooden boats proved crucial for search and rescue, as they were the only boats that did not attract the German magnetic sea mines.
From their base in Poole, on the English coast, they took a cutter to patrol the English Channel, looking for submarines.
“[The Germans] were sneaks,” Mike disclosed.
D-Day
The day after the first Normandy landing in June 1944, Mike and the other Coast Guard crews shifted gears, taking up search and rescue efforts along Normandy Beach.
“We could not establish a beachhead,” Mike said. “It took us seven days to establish a beachhead for us to land; the Germans laid railroad pillars on the beach so ships couldn’t get in. We bombed and bombed for days. They were well established and dug into the mountains. We had to drop bulldozer tanks from helicopters to seal Germans in the rock, closing them in those outlets.”
There were 88 Coast Guard cutters between the beach and battleships, he said. Each cutter had a team of three to four men pulling survivors out of the freezing cold water. On the first day after the D-Day landings began, Mike and his team pulled 126 survivors out of the water.
Many of the injured soldiers had shattered legs from underwater mines; the Coast Guard retrieved the men they thought they could save; those men were transported to a hospital ship close by.
Search and rescue continued for seven days straight without a break. “It was absolute chaos,” Mike remembered. “It was scary, but it was true — we were in it.”
After U.S. and Allied troops established a presence on the beach, Mike’s cutter returned to its base in England, where they resumed patrolling the English Channel for submarines.
“They should teach what people in World War II had to experience to get freedom,” Mike advocated. “The Germans were on our butt and wanted to take over … we had to go save this country because the Germans were going to take us over. We had to fight for our freedoms.”
During his time in the Coast Guard, Mike earned several promotions. The Coast Guard tried to get Mike to stay, but he was ready to go home.
“Hell, no!” he declared. “I’m going back to Falls City, Texas!”
Building a life
Mike ended his journey with the Coast Guard in the same place he began, in New Orleans. The same lady that signed him up four years prior also signed his discharge paperwork, he said.
She gave Mike just enough money for food, and he “thumbed it” back to Falls City from there.
When he got home, he celebrated for a few weeks before getting a job at the Red & White grocery store. That’s where he first saw Joy, the woman who would become his wife.
“She would come into the grocery store,” Mike smiled. “I made several passes at her.”
Mike said that Joy would tell her brothers, “That goofy guy at the grocery store keeps bothering me.”
“I bothered her enough to get a date!” he chuckled.
Mike and Joy married Sept. 16, 1948. Together they had eight children.
Mike went on to work for Kraft Foods for 33 years before retiring in the early 1960s. He worked as a night manager and a truck driver, while Joy cared for their children.
As time went on, the couple became grandparents to 22. They also have more than 30 great-grandchildren.
Mike and Joy were married for 59 years before Joy passed in 2007.
Turning 100!
As Mike celebrates a century of life, he has much to be grateful for.
The Swierc family certainly has the genes for longevity! Two of his siblings, Valeria and Gus, are chasing after the 100- year record, as well!
Mike still lives in the same house where he’s lived for the past 58 years — in the same town where he was born and raised.
While he can no longer fish like he used to because of his eyesight, he is hoping to accompany a son-in-law to the woods for a hunt this fall — one of his most treasured pastimes.
Mike looks back on his time in the military with honor. He encourages people to join the service — to continue to fight for our country’s freedom.
“I’ve had a great life,” he said. “I have no regrets whatsoever! Everything I have done I have also had a meaning to it.”
Falls City veteran Mike Swierc celebrates a century of life
www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/falls-city-veteran-mike-swierc-celebrates-a-century-of-life/
Falls City veteran Mike Swierc celebrates a century of life
November 09, 2021
By Devan Sutton
Wilson County News
dsutton@wcn-online.com
Falls City native and World War II veteran Mike Swierc is the epitome of living history. The fun-loving fellow turned 100 years old last Saturday, surrounded by family and friends.
Mike has seen more history in the past 100 years than most could even imagine — having been born just three years after the end of World War I.
He can give you a first-hand account of all the events kids learn about in school. Mike was a child during the Roaring Twenties, experienced the Great Depression, and fought in World War II.
Mike has lived through numerous historical events, but hard times never changed this optimistic man’s outlook on life. Despite tragedies and challenges, Mike chooses to see the joy and cherishes the simple things in life above all else.
He shared his life story in front of a crackling wood stove one cool November morning, surrounded by trophies of his many successful hunts through the years.
Early life
Mike was born Nov. 6, 1921, on his family’s farm in Falls City — where his parents, Conrad and Josie, raised 12 children.
The Swiercs worked hard on the farm, but there were some things that the family of 14 couldn’t afford.
Mike and his siblings ran barefoot most of the time — even at school. If they had shoes, they were shared by all and would be reserved for the coldest days of the year, he recalled.
Roaring ’20s and Great Depression
“Everyone had to struggle to make ends meet,” he said.
For the Swiercs, that meant making the best moonshine whiskey around — it was the era of Prohibition, when alcoholic beverages were illegal in this country. A little extra money here and there from friends and neighbors helped the large family for a while, said Mike.
The family’s tough economic times continued in the Great Depression.
Near the end of the depression, Mike quit school in the seventh grade to help his father work on the farm, because his older siblings got jobs at nearby Civilian Conservations Corps camps, part of Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Despite the hardships, Mike cherishes his parents’ memory.
“They were very good parents,” Mike said. Conrad lived to be 91 years old; Josie lived to be 89.
A family of soldiers
In 1941 — as the United States entered World War II — Mike and his brother, Phillip, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Six of the Swierc brothers fought in World War II. One brother, Adrian, was drafted into the Army; the others enlisted by choice and chose their own branches of service.
Adrian was the only one who did not make it home from the war; he is buried in the Philippines, where he was killed in battle, Mike said.
World War II
Mike did his basic training in New Orleans, then spent some time patrolling the waters between Florida and Cuba. On one occasion, his team spotted a German submarine off the coast of Miami; he believes that threat was eliminated.
As the German push into Europe strengthened, Mike was sent to England.
The men left New Jersey and headed to Britain on a ship carrying as many 83-foot-long wooden patrol boats as the ship could hold; the boats were made right here in Corpus Christi, he said.
The wooden boats proved crucial for search and rescue, as they were the only boats that did not attract the German magnetic sea mines.
From their base in Poole, on the English coast, they took a cutter to patrol the English Channel, looking for submarines.
“[The Germans] were sneaks,” Mike disclosed.
D-Day
The day after the first Normandy landing in June 1944, Mike and the other Coast Guard crews shifted gears, taking up search and rescue efforts along Normandy Beach.
“We could not establish a beachhead,” Mike said. “It took us seven days to establish a beachhead for us to land; the Germans laid railroad pillars on the beach so ships couldn’t get in. We bombed and bombed for days. They were well established and dug into the mountains. We had to drop bulldozer tanks from helicopters to seal Germans in the rock, closing them in those outlets.”
There were 88 Coast Guard cutters between the beach and battleships, he said. Each cutter had a team of three to four men pulling survivors out of the freezing cold water. On the first day after the D-Day landings began, Mike and his team pulled 126 survivors out of the water.
Many of the injured soldiers had shattered legs from underwater mines; the Coast Guard retrieved the men they thought they could save; those men were transported to a hospital ship close by.
Search and rescue continued for seven days straight without a break. “It was absolute chaos,” Mike remembered. “It was scary, but it was true — we were in it.”
After U.S. and Allied troops established a presence on the beach, Mike’s cutter returned to its base in England, where they resumed patrolling the English Channel for submarines.
“They should teach what people in World War II had to experience to get freedom,” Mike advocated. “The Germans were on our butt and wanted to take over … we had to go save this country because the Germans were going to take us over. We had to fight for our freedoms.”
During his time in the Coast Guard, Mike earned several promotions. The Coast Guard tried to get Mike to stay, but he was ready to go home.
“Hell, no!” he declared. “I’m going back to Falls City, Texas!”
Building a life
Mike ended his journey with the Coast Guard in the same place he began, in New Orleans. The same lady that signed him up four years prior also signed his discharge paperwork, he said.
She gave Mike just enough money for food, and he “thumbed it” back to Falls City from there.
When he got home, he celebrated for a few weeks before getting a job at the Red & White grocery store. That’s where he first saw Joy, the woman who would become his wife.
“She would come into the grocery store,” Mike smiled. “I made several passes at her.”
Mike said that Joy would tell her brothers, “That goofy guy at the grocery store keeps bothering me.”
“I bothered her enough to get a date!” he chuckled.
Mike and Joy married Sept. 16, 1948. Together they had eight children.
Mike went on to work for Kraft Foods for 33 years before retiring in the early 1960s. He worked as a night manager and a truck driver, while Joy cared for their children.
As time went on, the couple became grandparents to 22. They also have more than 30 great-grandchildren.
Mike and Joy were married for 59 years before Joy passed in 2007.
Turning 100!
As Mike celebrates a century of life, he has much to be grateful for.
The Swierc family certainly has the genes for longevity! Two of his siblings, Valeria and Gus, are chasing after the 100- year record, as well!
Mike still lives in the same house where he’s lived for the past 58 years — in the same town where he was born and raised.
While he can no longer fish like he used to because of his eyesight, he is hoping to accompany a son-in-law to the woods for a hunt this fall — one of his most treasured pastimes.
Mike looks back on his time in the military with honor. He encourages people to join the service — to continue to fight for our country’s freedom.
“I’ve had a great life,” he said. “I have no regrets whatsoever! Everything I have done I have also had a meaning to it.”