Wednesday, November 7, 2001
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Wednesday, November 7, 2001 |
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Tail gunner, then artist, veteran retires in Fayette John Shlapak, a tail gunner on B-24 and B-29 bombers during World War II, was an artist afterward, according to a profile on his life in Cottontales, newsletter of the 450th Bomb Group Association. Now retired and living in Fayetteville, he took a sketch book with him on his flights, and has donated many of the pieces to the museum being developed in Manduria, Italy. After the war, he studied art further, and during the Korean war was recalled to the Air Force to work as art editor of the Air Force's Flying Safety Magazine. Some of his work also appeared in Air Force Times, and he also completed several murals depicting historical events from World Wars I and II and Korea. He later became art director for the Westinghouse Company's Motion Picture Division, and did sideline work as staff artist for the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph and the Homestead Messenger newspapers. Shlapak also received portrait commissions, at one time producing portraits of Pittsburgh area dignitaries at the rate of one a month, and was commissioned to do seven portraits of President John F. Kennedy and two of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Last October, Shlapak donated his painting "Siege of Ploesti" to the Air Force Art Collection and Museum, and his paintings "Straggler" and "Profile of a Legend" also were donated. He was honored by the secretary of the Air Force for his generosity. He and his wife of over 50 years, Irene, have three daughters. A life member of the 450th Bomber Group Association and several other veterans' organizations, he is a member of the Georgia State Defense Force holding the rank of lieutenant colonel.
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