Expand<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThat was me,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was me a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hodorowski earned a combat infantry badge, good conduct medal, American Theater ribbon and Victory ribbon. In addition to his stellar military record, he is also a wonderful stepdad and community member, his\u00a0stepson Jamie Bylotas told those in attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cPop\u201d married Bylotas\u2019 mother Florence in 2001. They were both 75.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stands out most about Pop isn\u2019t just his military service \u2014 it\u2019s the man he\u2019s been ever since,\u201d Bylotas said. \u201cHe\u2019s shown what real honor looks like in the way he treats people, the kindness in his heart and the quiet way he leads by example.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florence Hodorowski previously said \u201cI do\u201d to another military man. Her first husband, Army Air Corps Sgt. Edward Bylotas, survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, where he served as\u00a0a gunner in a ball turret of a B17.<\/p>\n
He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Florence was his rock for 47 years, until his death in 1990, Bylotas said. They had five children as they traveled across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne in nearly every posting,\u201d Bylotas said of his parents. \u201cThey used to call us their souvenirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
War stories<\/p>\n
After Francis Hodorowski married Florence, he shared stories about his military service with her family \u2014 some serious and heart-wrenching, others funny.<\/p>\n
Hodorowski left to fight in Europe with little training, no gun and without the required buzz cut. The Army desperately\u00a0needed soldiers, and so he answered the call.<\/p>\n
Hodorowski lost his best friend during the war. He believes God saved him for a reason.<\/p>\n
He enjoyed telling the bread story. At the end\u00a0of World War II, in Austria, people cheered and offered fresh bread to soldiers as they marched through town. Some men refused to eat the bread because they thought it was poisoned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were stupid,\u201d Hodorowski said. He not only ate his bread \u2014 he ate the other men\u2019s bread too.<\/p>\n
Service above self<\/p>\n
At the ceremony, Olyphant Mayor Jonathan Sedlak he felt privileged to stand with veterans, their families and the community and honor those whose courage and sacrifice have protected freedom for generations. Veterans Day is more than a date on the calendar, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a reminder of the price they pay for the rights and opportunities that we enjoy every day,\u201d he said. \u201cVeterans answer a call that few do, putting service above self, duty and comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sedlak also emphasized the price military families pay for their loved ones\u2019 service, often not knowing where they are or if they are safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look around the room at our community, we are surrounded with individuals whose stories, experiences and contributions have shaped the very foundation of our nation. We owe each of you a debt that could never be fully repaid,\u201d Sedlak said.<\/p>\n
Jack Munley, pastor of Rescue & Restore Church, closed the event in prayer. He said it\u2019s rare to have a World War II veteran in attendance sharing his experiences with others.<\/p>\n
The young people who attended the event have the opportunity to share respect for the military with the next generation, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Francis B. Hodorowski appeared deep in thought Tuesday as he stared at an image of a young man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,2120,28,178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-31433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-olyphant","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-scranton","14":"tag-scranton-headlines","15":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Larry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STT-L-VETERANSOLYPHANT-1112-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STT-L-VETERANSOLYPHANT-1112-04.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Olyphant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/STT-L-VETERANSOLYPHANT-1112-02-1.jpg\")
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