Aleck Dutka, retired Edison police officer and World War II veteran, almost never talked about the war, said his son Alexander.
Edison Township dedicated a street to Aleck Dutka, a retired Edison police officer and World War II veteran, on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. Yes, there were the memorials and keepsakes, such as his three Purple Hearts. There were the newspaper articles written about him. There were the letters he sent home from the field. But, Alex said, words for his father, a tank commander in the Pacific theater, were rare.
“He would never talk about what he did, but when you look back … he was involved in so much. But he never took any credit,” said Alex, who is also a retired Edison police officer.
With this in mind, Alex and his brother, Richard Dutka, joined their father on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the intersection of Fayette and Crosby avenues in Edison to unveil the new name of the street that is now dedicated to him and his military service.
“I am very proud that my country remembers me like I remember [my country]. I was in the 193rd Tank Battalion. I was a gunner,” said Aleck.
Dutka returned from the Pacific in November 1945, right after the treaty had been signed. While he maintained a hesitance to talk about his experiences, he said that, really, you never forget.
“You never forget. It took me a while [to adjust]. … I lost some of my friends and buddies, and it hurts, and you got to come home and leave that there,” Aleck said.
Returning from the war, Aleck went on to raise his two sons, Alexander and Richard, named after Aleck’s lieutenant who had died in his arms. All three of them went on to serve in the Edison Police Department. Richard said the family values their father raised them with has enriched their lives to this day.
“Our dad is quite responsible for the way we grew up, because he taught us the values of what to actually believe in: patriotism, the American way. He was always a good father, and this is where my brother and I grew up. … Our family values is what made everything go so good, and I’m so proud of my father I can’t tell you,” said Richard.
During the dedication ceremony, Gary Thomas, a member of American Legion Post 324, read a letter written by Aleck Dutka about his experiences in the war. It was the Allied invasion of Okinawa, Japan, one of the largest amphibious assaults in the Pacific theater. Aleck and his comrades were going across a field in their tank when it rolled over a landmine, stopping it dead.
“That’s when all hell broke loose,” read Thomas to the somber crowd.
The crew exited the tank and immediately came under fire. They fired back with their machine gun, and eventually mortars began flying their way.
“Shells were breaking all around us,” read Thomas.
The last thing Aleck Dutka remembered before waking up in a field hospital was his body being hit. Thomas praised Aleck Dutka not only for his service but for the life he built afterward.
“He was in a battle. Took fire. Came back home. Found his love. Married. Had a family. … It’s a large family … Very nice man and family,” said Thomas.
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