Mick Welding submitted this article; the photo was taken by Stephanie Vavra.
On November 9 the Morrison Community Hospital Foundation will be hosting their 11th Annual Gala at the Vista Grande in Clinton, beginning at 5:00. This year we will be offering a buffet dinner plus musical entertainment by the Josh Duffee Orchestra from Davenport, IA. The band will play a musical tribute to veterans. It will highlight a night where we will recognize those who served our Country. For the next two months we will feature a veteran from Morrison.
Stan Mitick is not a Morrison, IL, native, but he has lived in Morrison for 70 years, having moved from his home state of Colorado in 1949. He was born and raised in Denver and attended the Denver Public Schools. On December 7, 1941, he was an 18 year-old Senior in High School.
It was obvious what his immediate future would be, and that was to be part of the United States military efforts to win the war. After he graduated High School, Stan was urged by his older brother to take the examination for selection in the Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program, for Pilot Training. He took the examination and was accepted for the Program.
He enlisted and was sworn into the Army in December 1942. After basic training and a few months at a college in Missouri, taking some academic courses, he was sent to the San Antonio, TX, Aviation Cadet Center.
Stan began the long program for training military pilots. Graduating in April 1944 he was awarded Pilot Wings and a Commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Forces. Graduation led to further flight training in operational aircraft, and in this case, it was multi-engine bombers. After completing the operational training, he was sent to the European Theater of Operations in Northern Europe, serving in the 9th Air Force. He flew B-26 Twin-Engine Bombers, on tactical bombing missions over Germany from American Air Bases, first from France, and later Belgium. Stan’s bombing team was assigned to disrupt enemy supply routes by blowing up bridges, train rails, and roads.
When asked if he encountered enemy fire he said, “We did. My plane was a medium-range bomber, so we flew at 10,000 feet, which put us in range of anti-aircraft guns from the German army, called Flak. But we never suffered any serious damage.”
After the war in Europe ended in May 1945, Stan volunteered for an additional year of active aerial duty, assigned to the Occupation of Germany; he was stationed in Germany. After completing his commitment to the Occupation, he was sent back to the U. S. and was separated from Active Duty.
Mitick accepted a Commission in the Army Air Force Reserve, and later the U. S. Air Force Reserve when it became a separate branch of the Military. He continued his Reserve Service and retired from the Air Force in 1983 with the rank of Lt. Colonel.
After being separated from military active duty, he entered the University of Colorado Engineering program in Boulder. He was graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in the fall of 1949. While attending college he met his future bride, Ruth Bealer, who was a native of Morrison.
General Electric Co. had just opened a factory in Morrison in July 1949. Its business was manufacturing Controls for the Major Appliance Industry. Stan applied for a job and started to work in November. He had positions in Manufacturing, Laboratory, and Design Engineering, and several Engineering Management Positions. He retired in 1993 after 43 years. However, the local GE business requested that he continue part-time, in technical support functions involving training engineering personnel, special marketing support, and the transfer of technical support to offshore facilities, as the Morrison plant wound down its presence in Illinois. He did this for 18 more years, completely retiring in 2012.
Stan was an committed volunteer in community activities. He was on the Board of the Morrison Community Hospital for 21 years. Twelve years were as Chairman of the Board, during the Modernization and Expansion Program of the Hospital during the 1970s. He also has been an active member Friends of the Parks for 20-plus years. Mitick has served as an Advisory Board Member of Morrison Education Foundation since its inception.
Ruth Mitick was a teacher in area schools for 40 years. Stan and Ruth celebrated their 71st Wedding Anniversary on August 27, 2019.