'Once a Marine, always a Marine': Retired Maj. Fred Ballek, 100, served in the Marine Corps during three wars

ALAMOGORDO — Inside his daughter’s house, Fred Ballek held a small warhorse statue given to him by his high school classmates.

A card that came with it read, “His taste toward arms and horses means he’ll be Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines,” a reference to a Marine Corps cavalry unit that served in China during the early 20th century.

“I used to speak about the Marine Corps so much that they knew I wanted to be a Marine,” he said.

Ballek, who turned 100 in August, retired as a major in 1970 after serving during three wars: World War II, Korea and Vietnam. His duties ranged from driving trucks in Okinawa, Japan, to informing families that their loved ones were either wounded or killed in Vietnam.

“When I made a casualty call, the parents, grandparents, they blamed me,” he said.

Ballek is among those who will be honored on Veterans Day, a time to remember the men and women who served in the military, including the Marine Corps, which celebrates its 250th birthday today.

Being a Marine, he said, means “being with the best.”

‘He was proud’

Ballek was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on Aug. 21, 1925.

In 1943, at age 17, he said he wanted to join the Marines after watching newsreels of Japanese soldiers killing civilians in Asia.

“I wanted to do nothing but kill the Japanese,” Ballek said.

He asked his parents if he could join an officer training program.

“I called my mother and asked if she would sign,” Ballek said. “And she said, ‘Well, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until dad comes home.’ I got home that night, we started talking, and my father — who was too young to fight in World War I and too old for World War II — said he was proud that his son wanted to get into the fight against the Japanese.”

After graduating from high school, Ballek went to boot camp before being shipped to Okinawa.

“I can remember seeing pictures of Marines dead, floating in the water in the lagoon (during the Battle of) Tarawa and that made me want to get out there and shoot 10 (Japanese) even more,” Ballek said. “They never sent me where I could do that. They sent me (to be) a driver in the night fighter squadron.”

Ballek said in a 2013 interview for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project he remembered hearing “the whistle of the bomb(s) coming down” during air raids.

“They started off in the distance ... and every second or so there would be another and they kept coming closer,” he said. “The next to the last one was probably about a football field away from us.”

One bomb landed so close, Ballek said, that had it exploded “you wouldn’t have needed toilet paper that night.”

Despite the air raids, Ballek made it unscathed to August 15, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered.

“We were getting ready to go to a movie when from atop of a hill there was a Seabees company that shouted that the war was over,” he said . “... I laid down on my bed and cried.”

Over the next seven years, the U.S. led the Allies in the occupation and rehabilitation of Japan. Ballek said he was in the country for part of the occupation.

“I remember young Japanese boys wanting to learn English and the American way so badly,” he said. “The Japanese people did not dislike the Americans. It was the military.”

‘He’s a Marine all the way’

In June 1950, Ballek, a Marines reservist and University of Connecticut student at the time, was unpacking in a new place with his wife, Gloria Ballek, when they learned North Korea had invaded South Korea, he said in the 2013 interview.

“I told her, ‘Stop unpacking,’” he said. “She moved to her mother’s house and I was activated.”

Ballek did not go overseas during the war. He served as a truck driver for the 2nd Motor Transport Battalion at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Over the next several years, Ballek moved from base to base with his family.

During the interview with the Journal, Ballek looked at his daughter, Gloria Marie, and said, “And I don’t know what you remember about these moves, but they probably were catastrophic.”

Marie, who said she went to four different schools in second grade, wiped a few tears as she read part of a poem she wrote.

“I knew that daddy loved us all/but then when duty came to call/I had to face the truth in store/that he loved his job much more/He’s a Marine all the way.”

In the mid-1960s, Ballek was shipped to Chu Lai, a military base in Vietnam, where he served as a logistics supply officer.

Ballek said he returned to the states and became a casualty assistance calls officer, who was responsible for notifying families of fallen service members, providing support and ensuring they received the benefits and honors owed to their loved ones.

He said he remembered telling 58 families their loved ones were wounded or killed in Vietnam.

“They would sound off and blame me for being the reason they were killed and the reason they blamed me was because I was the authority figure and I accepted it,” he said.

‘Once a Marine, always a Marine’

Ballek retired from the Marines in 1970.

During his retirement ceremony, he thanked his parents for allowing him to join.

“They were so proud,” Ballek said.

In August, he turned 100 and received a plaque and letter of appreciation from the New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services.

“His devotion to veterans and the community endures through his lifetime memberships in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Marine Corps League and numerous other organizations dedicated to supporting those who have served,” a New Mexico Department of Veterans Services newsletter states.

As the sun set at his daughter’s house, Ballek looked at his warhorse and smiled.

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he said.