Wladyslaw “Walter” Fanok, age 89, went home on Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 7:15 p.m., at Transcendent Healthcare of Boonville.
Walter was born April 15, 1929, in Zahoczewic, Poland, to the late Anthony and Katharzyne “Katherine” (Juhas) Fanok.
Walter left Poland in May of 1943 to go work for the Germans. After the war, the United States Army made Walter a security to guard the German prisoners. In December of 1947, he found his Aunt Sophie in Erie, PA. She brought him over to the United States as a displaced person. He worked at GE in Erie, PA until January 1951. He was then drafted into the United States Army. Even though he was not a citizen, he was prompted to serve the country he would learn to love. He was stationed at Camp Breckinridge, KY and visited Evansville on the weekends. Walter became a United States citizen on September 23, 1953. He was the first citizen in the Evansville area to become a naturalized citizen under the new Veterans Law during the Korean War.
On one special weekend in Evansville, in the spring of 1951, he met the love of his life, Mary Anna. They were married on December 27, 1951. Walter left for Korea on February 15, 1952 and returned in 1953 to his wife and baby daughter. Walter worked for 6 years as a Bell Hop at the McCurdy Hotel in Evansville, IN. He worked at Hahn, Inc. for a period of time, and then retired from GE Service Shop in 1989.