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| SERVING THOSE WHO SERVED- Dave Norby shown above in 1970 at Battle Creek, MN, recalls WW II vet and veteran ski jumper Eddie Olszak. |
Blackhawk Ski Club
Madison, WI
My first year on
the "big hills" was 1960. In the Central
Division there was a large group of jumpers that competed every
weekend. Minneapolis had 165 jumpers in their annual tournament
once. After that Madison and Minneapolis/St. Paul always scheduled for
the same weekend so we wouldn't be over run! There were plenty of real
"characters" as you can well imagine. One that stands out in my
mind was Eddie Olszak from Milwaukee. He jumped in Veterans Class and the
Vets always jumped first. "Veterans to the top!"
Weather or hill conditions never seemed to bother Eddie, just put ‘em on and
go! At one particular tournament when the wind was blowing and the track
was icy I heard him say, "I've been through a lot worse than this!"
I had a chance to
talk to Eddie and ask him about what he meant by that statement. He
told me it was a reference to his war experience in the Pacific. At one
time he was selected to go on a large suicide mission. He said he was the
only one that made it back home. Today we would probably say that his
behavior and alcohol problem was the result of PTSD. I noticed that the
older jumpers always respected him and in a way looked out for him.
Every year at Iron
Mountain the jumpers each got $5 in cash for turning in their bibs at the end
of the tournament. One year someone suggested that all the jumpers put
their $5 in a fund to buy Eddie a new pair of jumping skis and bindings as his
were obviously discards. We all did. I wish I could have been there
to see the look on his face when he received that new equipment! He sure
was proud of it.
When taking a
moment to remember our veterans, lift the name of Eddie Olszak up also.
He was one to remember.
EDITOR'S NOTES-
Eddie is mentioned in this Milwaukee Sentinel article on the 1953 Central Championships that were held at Devil's Hollow in Oconomowoc, WI CLICK HERE
Eddie died in 1966 at age 46. To see the announcement in the August 6 Milwaukee Journal CLICK HERE
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