Vetrovec, Robert S. Age 87, loving husband of the late Armella A., (nee Wlodarczyk); cherished father of Donald R. and James R. Vetrovec; fond and loving grandfather of Angela M. and Nicholas J. Vetrovec; dear brother of Thomas J. and the late Richard J. Vetrovec.

WW II US Army veteran served in Europe as a Sergeant in the 372nd Combat Engineers and received a Purple Heart. Chicago Park District Police Officer 1946 1959 and Chicago Police Officer 1959 1988 when he retired as a Sergeant. Avid aviator, airplane owner and member of USAF/Coast Guard Auxilliary.

Visitation Monday, 10:30 a.m. until time of Funeral Mass at 11:30 AM at St. Mary of the Woods, 7000 N. Moselle, Chicago. Entombment Holy Cross Mausoleum, Calumet City. In lieu of flowers, Masses or memorials to the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, www.MOPHSF.org would be appreciated. Funeral inquiries Malec & Sons Funeral Home, 773-774-4100.

Stories

D-Day WWII
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
After boot camp my dad left New York bound for England on the Queen Mary. Even though the Atlantic was full of German U-boats they were no match for the fast moving luxury ship.
Once dad landed in England he was assigned with the engineers to build floating blocks of cement which would be towed over to Normandy, three days after D-Day. They would be sunk there in place to form piers so they can offload soldiers, ammo, and equipment.
Dad was assigned to the famous General George Patton, Third Army, Tank Corps. They then bounced around from town to town in France building pontoon bridges and fighting Germans.
One day dad stepped on a land mine and ended up slightly wounded and blown up into a tree. He healed up from his injuries and with his Purple Heart in hand he returned back to his unit.
While in some small town in France they saw someone pop up from a street sewer cover. When they investigated it they were shocked by what they found under the street. As far as you can see were rows and rows of wine and cognac bottles that the town hid down in the sewer system. Well, being good US army soldiers, they Liberated a couple of truck loads. There were a lot of happy soldiers that night.
Back to the war.
Now it was bitter cold December and the start of the Battle of the Bulge. On the way to Bastogne my dad fell due to severely frozen feet. He was sent to the back of the line where he came very close to having his feet amputated. With the great care my dad got from his nurses, doctors and Penicillin, dad recovered and then the war ended.
I want to thank my dad for his service and sacrifices, also all the other soldiers who gave their all.
~~~~ James Vetrovec

Media

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-07-30-9003030876-st...

SERGEANT`S STAR A SPECIAL BOND FOR FATHER, SON CHICAGO TRIBUNE A police officer will tell you that only those who have worn a star truly understand what that casting of metal means. Listen to Robert Vetrovec, who carried a policeman`s star in Chicago for 42 years, and who now has one with the word ''retired'' engraved on its face: ''That star means honor, it means honesty, proudness. It`s your heart and soul. It represents the city and also the individual wearing it. ''We honor it.'' On Sunday, as had been done for so many years before Vetrovec retired in 1988, sergeant`s star No. 1392 was carried into the Shakespeare District station for roll call on the second watch, the watch under Capt. Gary Bazarek. But the star was being carried by Donald Vetrovec, Robert`s son, who was awarded his father`s old star at a promotion ceremony last week. By the luck of the draw, Donald was also given the very assignment his father retired from. ''It`s like history repeating itself,'' said Donald Vetrovec, 42. ''The same star, the same district, the same watch, and even the same people.'' And to go along with this figurative passing of the mantle, there has also been a literal one: Donald Vetrovec will wear his father`s sergeant`s jacket, as well as his father`s hat and its shield. Many of the patrolmen sitting at roll call Sunday had been there when the elder Vetrovec was their sergeant. ''I don`t think of myself as a sergeant yet,'' said Donald Vetrovec. ''I look down and see a white shirt; it doesn`t seem right after wearing a blue one for 10 years. ''A lot of the guys are the same ones that worked for my dad, and now they`ll be working for me. But to me, he`s the sergeant, not me.'' Said the elder Vetrovec: ''I felt that I kept that star clean, and my son would follow through with the integrity to keep it that way. I am more proud of him than I ever was of myself, and I was proud to be a sergeant.'' And when Donald Vetrovec walked into the Northwest Side home he shares with his parents, carrying sergeant`s star No. 1392 for the first time, his mother, Armella, looked at her husband and said, ''Bob, look! The star`s come home.''

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-10-03-8503070319-st... Six Chicago area people, two of them Chicago policemen, were among eight people killed Tuesday in the fiery crash of a twin-engine plane in the Canadian province of Quebec during a hunting trip, officials said. The police officers were Sgt. Edward P. Kearns, 54, a 30-year police veteran who worked in the Brighton Park property crimes section, and Patrolman John J. Finnegan, 39, assigned to the personnel division at Police Headquarters, 1121 S. State St. The other Chicago area victims were identified as Joseph A. Sukzda, 42, of 936 W. 35th Pl.; Joseph T. Wyer, 37, of 2S650 Hampton Dr., Warrenville; Gary Langkamp, 37, of 1600 S. Meyers Rd., Lombard; and Richard Samson, 29, of 909 Dodge Ct., Carol Stream. Ginette Couture, a Quebec Provincial Police spokeswoman, said the crash also killed the pilot, Jacques Gagnon, 30, of Amos, Quebec, and a passenger, Monique Mandeville, 30, of Loretteville, Quebec. Sgt. Robert Vetrovec of the Shakespeare District said Kearns was an avid pilot and hunter and had served in the Air Force. This is the first time he flew up there for caribou. They had been saving for it for a long time, said Vetrovec, who co-owned a single-engine plane with Kearns.