CHICAGO – Six and a half decades ago, a young Chicago man witnessed the horrors of the Vietnam War. He earned two Purple Hearts, and on Thursday his family, including Patrick Elwood of his son-in-law’s WGN, along with the White Sox, honored him for his service.
At just 18 years old, Chicago born and raised Frank Sawaski found himself in combat boots in a battle just outside Saigon.
Zawaski earned a Purple Heart that day before returning to the fields in Vietnam, where his platoon was in the middle of a VC base camp, where he would earn a second.
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Zawaski returned to Chicago where he married Joanell, his wife who is now 54 years old. Together they raised three daughters.
The close-knit family wanted Grandpa to get the honor they felt he deserved. So when they heard the White Sox honored veterans at home games, they put his name on it.
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