Vernon Mourning The Loss Of 101-Year-Old World War II Veteran

VERNON, CT — A World War II veteran from Vernon who served as this year's grand marshal at the Memorial Day Parade has died at 101.

Ed Sumski passed away on Aug. 30, according to his obituary posted by Carmon Community Funeral Homes.

In February, he granted Patch an interview at his 101st birthday party at the Vernon Senior Center.

Sumski was 3 years old when Babe Ruth was shipped to The Bronx from Boston. He experienced the Great Depression, and then went off to war.

Sumski was a mechanic for the U.S. Army Air Force in the Pacific Theater in World War II. He spend a lot of time in the Philippines. He made it until the end of the war and said simply, "We worked on all planes and wherever the army went, we were right behind."

Sumski said he was twice aboard ship on his way to invade Japan and twice he was called back because of the atomic bomb, moves that "saved me," he said.

After the war, Sumski put his military skills to work at Pratt & Whitney for more than three decades. He was also an avid builder of models and his ships and planes were often "of museum quality," according to the obituary.

See his full obituary here.