The Twenty - Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous
Number 17
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Senior picture from the 1928 Batavia High School Yearbook |
Edward J. (Cichowski) York
Doolittle Raider
Edward Cichowski was born on August 16, 1912, in Batavia, New York. He was the son of Ignacy and Tekla Cichowski. The Cichowskis lived at 101 Harvester Avenue and Mr. Cichowski worked down the street at Massey - Harris.
Eddie, as his friends at Batavia High School called him, was an extremely bright student who graduated with the class of 1928 at the age of 15. He finished near the top of his class in both math and foreign languages. Following graduation, Eddie worked with his father at Massey – Harris. At age 18, he enlisted in the Army and eventually ended up in San Francisco, California, where he attended the Army Prep School. Finishing number one on his entrance exam, he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point.
In 1938, Cadet Cichowski became Second Lieutenant York and was accepted in the United States Army Air Force. He reported for duty at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas. Before the outbreak of World War II, York was stationed in California, Washington and Oregon.
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Picture of the crew of plane number eight. York is second from the left. |
Doolittle’s Raid
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, much of the nation was in a state of shock. The country needed a morale boost.
The boost came from an attack led by Lieutenant Colonel James (Jimmie) Doolittle. The plan was to strike back at the heart of Japan and bomb Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 twin engine bombers took off from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet and bombed military sites in Japan.
Eddie York was the pilot of plane number eight. The plane had a crew of five men: the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier and gunner. After dropping its bombs, York's plane developed a fuel leak in the gas line.
York knew he didn’t have enough fuel to make it to friendly mainland China, so he headed to Siberia in the Soviet Union instead. He landed his plane near Vladivostok in the Soviet Russia and planned on refueling and heading to China. At the landing site, Russian troops took the crew into custody. A Japanese unit showed up shortly after, and demanded the American crew be turned over to them. The Soviet Union and Japan were not at war at that point, so the crew was held by the Russians. After 13 months of captivity the crew escaped through Persia and eventually returned to the United States.
For their actions, Doolittle’s Raiders received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The story of Doolittle’s Raiders was made into the movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. The part of Eddie York was played by Paul Langton.
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Photo courtesy of www.doolittleraider.com |
After his return to the United States, York went back to duty in the Mediterranean Theater. During the war, he flew 110 combat hours in 17 missions.
After the war, Eddie served at the Pentagon, and later served as Air Attaché at the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. He was promoted to this important position because of his ability to speak Polish and Russian.
On his return stateside, he became the head of the Air Corps Officers’ Training School in San Antonio, Texas. Later, York went to Intelligence School and was the Military Attaché at the US Embassy in Denmark.
His long career included stops building an ICBM base in Washington and as chief of staff of the U. S. Air Force Security Service in San Antonio. Colonel York retired from the Air Force in 1968.
York passed away from a heart attack on August 31, 1984. He was survived by his wife, Mary, a son, a daughter and four grandchildren. He is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.
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