Chester Joseph Stanley Piolunek was born in Hyde Park, MA, the 5th of 6 children to Walter and Mary Piolunek. He spent his early years going to school, delivering newspapers, checking out ten books at a time from the library, cutting clotheslines at Halloween, and serving as an altar boy at St. Adalbert’s Catholic Church in Hyde Park. After graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1942, Chet heard the call to duty and coerced his parents into signing papers early so he could enlist into the Army Air Corps, which he did in January 1943. He wanted to be a pilot and go down in glory, but the Army found he was more qualified to be a radio operator. He completed Basic Training in Nashville, TN; gunnery school in Kingman, AZ; and radio-operator school in Sioux Falls, SD.
Chet was in the Tenth Air Force,
7th Bomb Group (Heavy), 436th Squadron (the Outlaws) during WW
II. The theatre of operations was China Burma India (CBI). On
Dec 1, 1944, Chet was in a B-24 that made a crash landing. The
crew had taken off for a bombing mission, but the pilot was
unable to get the aircraft to climb. Chet received a cut on his
lower right leg and various lacerations on his body and face. He
spent eight weeks in the hospital but returned to fly in
more missions.
After being discharged from the Army Air Corps, he returned to Hyde Park and worked at Gillette Co. in Boston, taking extra courses to qualify for the entrance exams to West Point. After many anxious months, he received an appointment from Congressman Wigglesworth of MA and entered the U.S. Military Academy in July 1949 at the age of 24. In January 1951 Chet was turned out for math and spent the following six months at Doc. Silverman’s in NYC studying. He was allowed to re-enter USMA in July 1951 with the Class of ’54 and spent the next three years making many wonderful friends. Chet had the distinction of being the oldest grad in 1954. He chose the Infantry and spent the next six months at Ft. Benning, GA, for the Basic Infantry Officers Course and the Ranger Course. His first assignment was at Ft. Devens, MA, where he and Monica E. Blair were married at St. Adalbert’s Church in Hyde Park in February 1955. Next, there was a wonderful tour in Hawaii where son Chester Jr. was born in 1957 and daughter Dorothy Anne was born in 1959. Returning stateside in January 1960, Chet was assigned to Ft. Benning. He then attended Columbia University to earn a Master of Arts degree in English and returned to West Point for three great years to teach English. During this time, his daughter Carol Jeanne was born in 1962. Chet heard the call to duty again and requested a tour in Vietnam. Monica and the three children spent the year in Medway, MA, near family. On returning safely, Chet was assigned a tour at Ft. Monroe, VA, and then on to Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, KS, for a year. While there Chet took flying lessons and flew solo in a Cessna 150. He almost received his private-pilot license, but his instructor left Post before the final check flight. After a three-year assignment at the Pentagon, Chet again heard the call to duty and requested another tour in Vietnam. Fortunately, he came back safely again and was stationed at Ft. Meade, MD, where he commuted for two years until retirement in 1975 as a lieutenant colonel.
Chet continued working after retirement from the Army. He was a copy editor for The Washington Times, a project editor for Control Data Corp, and a project manager with Marine Consultants at the State Department. In 1978, Chet earned a master’s in engineering administration from George Washington University, and his final job was working for Aerostructures Corp for 13 years as a project manager. Chet also served as the Class of 1954 scribe for Assembly magazine for 22 years. He received the following medals and commendations for his years of service: Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal, Purple Heart, Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Unit Emblem, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, five Overseas Service Bars, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Chet spent his retirement years in Falls Church reading his extensive collection of books, weeding the garden, walking, and especially enjoying visits with the grandchildren whom he loved dearly: Monica, Sarah, Charlie, and Eddie. Chet’s last three months were spent ingloriously suffering from dementia. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially his. He died peacefully at home surrounded by family. We always thought of him as a hero. He would have liked to end this as one of his columns for the Assembly so… A boy who won the part of Cleopatra in a school play was asked by his mother, "Why did they give such a part to the huskiest lad in the class?" Explained the boy cheerfully, "They had to: it was my snake!"
We all love Dad and miss him. Well Done. Rest in peace.
—Wife & children