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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. |
DAVE NORBY
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
