HomeMy WebLinkAboutJ erome G. "Jack" Zubik, Brazos Valley HeroesA
N
Jerome G.
"Jack"
Zubik
By Bill Youngkin
Special to The Eagle
For those Aggies who attended A&M from 1929 until 1982
and were in the Corps of Cadets, there were two names that you
came to recognize for senior dress - Holick's for your senior boots
and Zubik's for your uniforms, especially yours boot pants and
midnight shirts.
Jerome G. "Jack" Zubik and his father before him were
skilled tailors to decades of Aggies. But Jack Zubik didn't just
make uniforms, he wore them in World War II.
According to Zubik, "I was born April 20, 1917, in Brazos
County and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High in Bryan in
1934. My father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia and
had apprenticed and learned to be a tailor. In 1929 he started
Zubik's Tailor Shop on College Main at Northgate. I learned the
trade from him and worked for and with my dad until I left for
the service in 1943.
"We all had draft numbers, but I got tired of waiting. So I
signed up for voluntary induction, which meant I left with the
next call-up. I was sent to Ft. Sam Houston at Dodd Field and
then to Camp Hood for 18 weeks. Sixteen of those weeks were
basic training as an infantryman and the last two at North Camp
Hood in what the army termed'killer college' It was designed to
teach you how to kill and how not to be killed. I was particularly
interested in the how not to get killed part."
Zubik would be shipped to LeHavre France aboard the
Queen Elizabeth along with 18,000 other men. As he recalled,
"When we landed on French soil, a fellow Texan had painted a
sign on the beach which read"Texas 5,343 miles - with an arrow
pointing west. I knew I was a long way from home but didn't
know how far until then.
"I was in a replacement depot in France when a jeep came
and picked up four of us and delivered us to the 45th Infantry
Division, about two miles into Germany along the Siegfried Line.
I remember thinking, 'We've about got this war won - we're
already in Germany'When I reported, I was placed in the first
squad in my platoon. With me being added to the squad, it now
totaled five men. There were a total of 10 men in my platoon,
which usually would have 40-60 men.
"One of the first soldiers I met was Jim Wilkensen from
Azle, Texas. He had started attending A&M and knew my name.
We had a brand new platoon leader and he started appointing
people jobs. He said, 'You will be the squad leader of the first
squad. I told him that I had no combat experience and was afraid
I might run. I guess he considered that and my honesty and
decided I should be the assistant squad leader. The first time into
the line, the first dead body I saw was an American and it sort of
shook me up. But the next four bodies were Germans. I decided
it was better odds on our side than on their side.
"We had several skirmishes with the Germans and on one
night patrol our squad leader was shot in the knee, making me
the squad leader. By this time I had a lot more experience than
most of the replacements we had received. When the Battle of
the Bulge started, we marched back 22 miles into France as fast
as we could go. It was so damn cold. You couldn't dig foxholes
because you couldn't break through the crust. I ended up with
frostbite on my fingers and toes and had to spend 10 days in a
hospital they had setup in a monastery.
"I went back to my unit to join in crossing the Rhine River,
which was very much like the Brazos - wide and deep. One of
the major skirmishes I remember after crossing the Rhine was
Nuremberg. Nuremberg was a walled city with a wall up 8 to 10
feet high around it. Myjob was to take a squad to the wall under
as much cover as we could find, follow the wall until we came to
an opening andthen enter the city. While we were moving along
the wall, a German machine gun opened up on us, showering us
with brick splatters. By the time we silenced that gun, five of us
were wounded. But we were able to be attended by our medic
and stayed with the outfit.
"We took Munich and then proceeded tojust outside Berlin.
We could have taken Berlin, but the politicians had agreed to
let the Russians take it. So we sat and watched Berlin fall to the
Russians. That is where the war ended for me.
"When the war ended, my Dad wanted me to visit his two
sisters who lived in Czechoslovakia, where he was born. I tried to
get a pass to go but I was told by my commanding officer that
the area was under the control of the Russians and there was no
guarantee they would let me in or let me out. I decided I wanted
to see my wife and children more than the ancestral home and
my aunts.
"When I was discharged in San Antonio there were about
500 of us waiting to be called to process out of the army. This
major walked to the front of the group and said, 'I'm going to
make one soldier very happy. Sgt. Jerome Zubik, you're going
to be first' With my name of Zubik, I had been at the end of
every line I had stood in in the army. That major made me very
happy."
When Zubik returned home he operated Zubik'sTailors until
his retirement. When asked about his war experience Zubik said,
"I am proud to have served. It made me physically and mentally
strong. You learned to take care of yourself, but you also took
care of your buddy next to you.,
For his service, Zubik would be awarded the Bronze Star for
his actions along the Siegfeld Line and a Purple Heart.
Jerome G. "lack"Zubik's name is found on the Brazos Valley
Veterans Memorial. If you want to have a name added to the
Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make a contribution,
or if you know a World War I/ veteran whose story needs to be told,
contact the BVVM at www.bvvm.org or Bill Youngkin at (979)
260-7030.