Antonín Fajkus

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Antonín Fajkus, known in the United States as Anthony “Tony” Faikus Jr., was born on 4 December 1923 in Lipov, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. He emigrated to the United States with his family as a child and grew up in Chicago’s Czech community. The family maintained its language and traditions through local Czech organisations, particularly Sokol, where he developed a lifelong interest in gymnastics and physical fitness.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, just three days after his eighteenth birthday, encouraged him to volunteer for military service. Both Antonín and his brother Miroslav sought to become military aviators, but only Antonín was accepted for pilot training; Miroslav subsequently served in the US Navy. After completing his training, Antonín joined the 40th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Red Devils,” in December 1943. The squadron belonged to the 35th Fighter Group, serving with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific.

During approximately two years in the Pacific, Fajkus participated in operations over New Guinea and the Philippines. He initially flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra, later flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. His assignments included combat patrols, escorting bombers and attacking Japanese ground targets as Allied forces advanced through the region.

In 1945, he was promoted to captain and became a flight leader. In April that year, he shot down a Japanese Zero fighter over Taiwan, then commonly known as Formosa. His wartime record included one confirmed and one probable aerial victory. Altogether, he completed 190 operational missions and more than 500 combat flying hours, receiving the Air Medal six times.

After the war, he returned to civilian life in Illinois, working for more than thirty years as a machine operator and foreman. He and his wife, Lorraine, raised two children and remained married for 76 years. He continued his involvement in Sokol and volunteered with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, helping patrol the Illinois River.

Fajkus died on 5 February 2025, aged 101, and was buried with full military honours at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.