Antonín Fajkus, a war veteran and fighter pilot from World War II, has
died at the age of 101. A native of South Moravia, Fajkus spent most of
his life in the U.S., and served in the legendary U.S. Air Force's 40th
Fighter Squadron, known as the “Red Devils”. His extraordinary story
remained unknown to the public until last year.
Antonín Fajkus was born in South Moravia, in the village of Lipov. In
the 1930s, due to the economic crisis, his family moved to Chicago, a
city with a traditionally large Czech community. After the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Fajkus enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, specifically in a
squadron called the Red Devils, where he fought against the Japanese in
the Pacific.
[1]Historian Jiří Klůc and World War II veteran Antonín Fajkus | Photo:
Jiří Klůc/Donio
Historian Jiří Klůc and World War II veteran Antonín Fajkus|Photo: Jiří
Klůc/Donio
Historian Jiří Klůc, who documented the pilot’s extraordinary story,
provides more details:
“When World War II broke out, Mr. Fajkus was still a Czechoslovak
citizen. However, by serving as a volunteer in the American army, he
automatically acquired American citizenship. So he didn’t actually get
it until 1940-1941. He then became a soldier in the U.S. Army Air
Corps, where he volunteered and was accepted, went through pilot
training, and ultimately became a fighter pilot.”
[2]'Čech od Rudých ďáblů', book about Antonín Fajkus written by Jiří
Klůc | Photo repro: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
'Čech od Rudých ďáblů', book about Antonín Fajkus written by Jiří
Klůc|Photo repro: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
Mr. Fajkus flew a total of 190 operational flights and logged over 500
combat hours. He had at least one confirmed and one probable kill of an
enemy aircraft, says Mr. Klůc:
“He participated in combat under unimaginably difficult conditions in
the tropics of New Guinea and the Philippines. And not only did he fly
those operational missions, but he also had some successes. He shot
down enemy aircraft and was awarded the United States Air Medal six
times.”
Despite his achievements, Antonín Fajkus remained completely unknown in
the Czech Republic until recently. Historian Jiří Klůc discovered his
story by coincidence while looking for accommodation in Chicago:
[3]Book about czech pilot Antonín Fajkus written by Jiří Klůc | Photo
repro: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
Book about czech pilot Antonín Fajkus written by Jiří Klůc|Photo repro:
Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
“I reached out to a few people on social media, and I got a call from a
gentleman who mentioned that his friend, a woman, had a grandfather who
was 100 years old, spoke Czech, had no one to talk to in Czech, and, in
passing, mentioned that he was a fighter pilot and would love to have a
visitor. And so the story began to unfold, a story nobody knew about,
revealing the last living Czech-born fighter pilot from World War II.”
For Mr. Fajkus' 101st birthday last year, the historian invited people
to send the former pilot an equal number of birthday cards. The veteran
ended up receiving over 900, including greetings from President Petr
Pavel and his wife, Eva. He has also written a book documenting the
pilot’s extraordinary life story, which has just been released in Czech
and will hopefully soon be available in English as well.
References
1.
https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/styles/rcz_lightbox_v2/public/images/9ceabf903ae4d0cf4e1e9b50345d7716.jpg?itok=LRVJ7HPm×tamp=1737627531
2.
https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/styles/rcz_lightbox_v2/public/images/dc2b76e09213ac1d8e14d4a093566034.jpg?itok=Mi4ga9WF×tamp=1738938107
3.
https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/styles/rcz_lightbox_v2/public/images/b340b55f2b03438ccccaa667a226f93e.jpg?itok=k3SX9V8_×tamp=1738932420
