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Home Town Sanford, Seminole, Florida
Last Address Salem, Virginia
Date of Passing Mar 19, 2015
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Lieutenant Harry Joseph Minarik, USNR WWII Naval Aviator, Awarded the Navy Cross
Torpedo Squadron VT-16, USS Randolph CV-15
Salem, Virginia: Navy Cross veteran Harry Minarik dies at 94.
WWII veteran and Salem doctor Harry Minarik remembered for his generosity.
-- By Tiffany Holland
Harry was a giver.
That is the best way George Snead can describe his friend Dr. Harry Minarik, who died last week in Salem, 19 March 2015.
He gave to his wife, his children, his patients, his church and his city. But most importantly, he gave to his country. Although he was a quiet and stoic man who rarely spoke of his time as a combat pilot in World War II, much of Minarik’s legacy comes from his heroism during the war, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross, one of the military’s highest honors.
Minarik was 94 when he died, leaving behind three children and his wife of almost 70 years. His funeral was held Tuesday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem, where he rarely missed a Sunday.
Many people in Salem remember Minarik's 35 years as a general practitioner. Snead recalls that Minarik was one of the few doctors in town and how he would even make house calls in the middle of the night. He estimated that Minarik delivered about 700 babies during his years as a doctor.
People in other parts of the world knew Minarik for his time as a pilot in WWII.
Minarik, who was from Sanford, Florida, joined the Navy in 1941 after the Pearl Harbor attack. In a letter describing his time in the Navy that is now at the Salem Museum and Historical Society, Minarik said he possessed a “desire to fly” and already had his pilot’s license, so he became a pilot.
On July 24, 1945, Minarik was piloting a torpedo bomber plane assigned to take down a Japanese battleship.
"Pressing home an aggressive attack against a hostile battleship-carrier in the Kure Naval Base, Lt. Minarik succeeded in scoring a direct hit and near misses despite intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, thereby contributing materially to the destruction of the hostile vessel," according to a letter from the secretary of the Navy. Minarik was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts that day and won numerous other honors for his time in battle.
He was honorably discharged in 1945. Three days later he married his wife, Jackie, whom he called the love of his life in his letters. After the war, they moved to Salem on a whim, and he set up his practice.
Snead, who was also a WWII veteran, said Minarik was a “God-fearing Christian,” and much of his life centered around the church. The two men met at church and became close friends of more than 60 years. Snead was more of a talker and loved to brag on his friend, who hated attention. Minarik never felt like he did anything heroic, Snead said. Whenever he referred to his time during WWII, Minarik would just say, "We did what we had to do."
Salem Museum Director John Long keeps documents about Minarik at the museum and had asked him to speak at the opening of the museum’s Veteran’s Plaza.
"I don’t know of a WWII vet more highly decorated in Salem," he said.
Other Comments:
Harry grew up in Sanford, Florida. After three years at Stetson University in Deland he planned to attend medical school, but the looming threat of war made that unlikely. He entered the Civilian Pilot Training program and earned a Private Pilot’s license in September 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the Navy sent him to Atlanta for primary flight training, where he flew the Stearman. He was commissioned an Ensign on 31 August 1942, and received his wings as a Naval Aviator on 21 September 1942. After the war Harry completed medical school at Emory University. He then moved to Salem, Virginia where he opened a practice as a family physician.
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Pacific Air Offensive (1942-45)
From Month/Year
April / 1942
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Description Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan during World War II, causing extensive destruction to the country's cities and killing between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pacific War these attacks were limited to the Doolittle Raid in April 1942 and small-scale raids on military positions in the Kuril Islands from mid-1943. Strategic bombing raids began in June 1944 and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. Allied naval and land-based tactical air units also attacked Japan during 1945.
The United States military air campaign waged against Japan began in earnest in mid-1944 and intensified during the war's last months. While plans for attacks on Japan had been prepared prior to the Pacific War, these could not begin until the long-range B-29 Superfortress bomber was ready for combat. From June 1944 until January 1945, B-29s stationed in India staged through bases in China to make a series of raids on Japan, but this effort proved unsuccessful. The strategic bombing campaign was greatly expanded from November 1944 when bases in the Mariana Islands became available as a result of the Mariana Islands Campaign. These attacks initially attempted to target industrial facilities, but from March 1945 were generally directed against urban areas as much of the manufacturing process was carried out in small workshops and private homes. Aircraft flying from Allied aircraft carriers and the Ryukyu Islands also frequently struck targets in Japan during 1945 in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan scheduled for October 1945. During early August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck and mostly destroyed by atomic bombs.
Japan's military and civil defenses were unable to stop the Allied attacks. The number of fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft guns assigned to defensive duties in the home islands was inadequate, and most of these aircraft and guns had difficulty reaching the high altitudes at which B-29s often operated. Fuel shortages, inadequate pilot training, and a lack of coordination between units also constrained the effectiveness of the fighter force. Despite the vulnerability of Japanese cities to firebombing attacks, the firefighting services lacked training and equipment, and few air raid shelters were constructed for civilians. As a result, the B-29s were able to inflict severe damage on urban areas while suffering few losses.
The Allied bombing campaign was one of the main factors which influenced the Japanese government's decision to surrender in mid-August 1945. However, there has been a long-running debate over the morality of the attacks on Japanese cities, and the use of atomic weapons is particularly controversial. The most commonly cited estimate of Japanese casualties from the raids is 333,000 killed and 473,000 wounded. There are a number of other estimates of total fatalities, however, which range from 241,000 to 900,000. In addition to the loss of mostly civilian life, the raids contributed to a large decline in industrial production.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1945
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Harry received the Navy Cross. The citation reads: “For extraordinary heroism as Pilot of a Torpedo Bomber Plane in Torpedo Squadron SIXTEEN, attached to the U.S.S. RANDOLPH, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Inland Sea on July 24, 1945. Pressing home an aggressive attack against a hostile battleship-carrier in the Kure Naval Base, Lieutenant Minarik succeeded in scoring a direct hit and near misses despite intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, thereby contributing materially to the destruction of the hostile vessel. His skillful airmanship and courageous devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
