John A. Mlynarczyk Jr.

"ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS" is told to Santa Claus by these youngsters Saturday attending a party sponsored by South Jersey Unit 26, Military Order of the Purple Heart auxiliary. Onm the knee of Santa, played by Fred Vogel, post welfare officer, is Billy Dougherty, 6, of 301 Lincoln Avenue, Bellmawt. Others, left to right, are John Mlynarczyk, 9, of 1333 Princess Avenue; Albert Monroe, 11, of 330 Penn Street, and Albert Thompson, 9, of 38 Belleview Terrace, Collingswood. 

On October 12, 2003 Mrs. Jennie Mlynarczyk was presented with the Bronze Star medal that her husband had earned, in a ceremony at the Polish Heroes Monument at Cooper River Park.

 Camden Courier-Post - October 13, 2003

SOLDIER'S WIDOW RECEIVES MEDAL
Serviceman killed in World War II honored

By STEVE LEVINE, Courier-Post Staff

Cpl. John A. Mlynarczyk was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery and heroism Sunday, nearly six decades after he died in battle earning it.

His widow, Jenny, received the medal Sunday during a brief, somber service at Polish Heroes Park on the Cooper River.

Mlynarczyk, then a 24-year-old Camden resident, was assigned to the Army's anti-tank division. He had been in the military for 22 months when fighting escalated toward the end of World War II.

He was among thousands of Americans who died in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

Mlynarczyk - killed in action on Oct. 28, 1944 - was one of 39 Americans from the Whitman Park section of Camden to die in combat during World War II.

"He was the leader of his platoon," Jenny Mlynarczyk said. "They were out of ammo and he went for more. A sniper shot him but he just kept going and they shot him again."

She said the couple's only son, John, was just 2 years old at the time. But her in-laws and other relatives helped them get through.

Jenny Mlynarczyk, now of Oaklyn, said she tried for decades to have her husband properly recognized but was told time and again that many service records, including his, had been lost in a fire.

It wasn't until her grandson, Alexander, got involved with an Internet search that they were able to locate documentation that led to the medal, which recognizes heroic or meritorious achievement or service.

"I feel wonderful, because it took 59 years," she said at Sunday's service.

Fred Litwak of Haddon Township also served in the Battle of Leyte.

Litwak did not know Mlynarczyk, but he said the opposing Japanese forces they faced were tenacious.

"They were dug in everywhere," said Litwak, 79, a radar operator aboard a Navy amphibious unit. "Our biggest problem was their suicide planes. They knocked off 38 of our ships."

Litwak said he never felt scared because, frankly, he didn't have time to.

"Never even thought about it," he said.