Jake, as he was called by his friends, was born on June 5, 1924 in New London, CT to Polish immigrants.  He started serving his country just as his two older brothers before him in 1943 at the age of 18.  After the war, he went back home to Connecticut for a few years.  In 1949 Jake moved to Greenwood, MS and got a job as a crop duster for Delta Airlines Crop Dusting division.  He continued his love of flying as a crop duster until his death in a crop dusting accident in 1986.  At the time of his death, he had well over 30,000 hours of flying time.