John George Onda

PFC in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : HQ & Service Co

Military occupational specialty: 800

ASN#33704935

Born 1925 in PA, Died 2011

County of residence at enlistment: Westmoreland County, PA

Other residence(s): Monessen, PA; Cleveland, OH

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: student

College education after the war: Pittsburgh Technical College (formerly Pittsburgh Technical Institute); Bryant University; Westmoreland County Community College

Source: Unit Shipment 10143-B, 23d HQ, from le Havre 23 June 1945; photo courtesy Ancestry® and "WWII Young American Patriots, 1941-1945"

John Onda was born on October 24, 1925 in Monessen, PA. He was the third of eight children; his parents had both been born in what was then Czechoslovakia.

John registered for the draft on October 25, 1943, the day after his 18th birthday, while he was still attending Monessen High School. He enlisted a few weeks later, on November 29, and was eventually assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion. During his time in the service, before going overseas, he attended the US Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) in Madison, WI. He did not sail to Europe with the rest of his unit (in early May) but left to join them on June 16, 1944—he may have been ill at the time of departure, or perhaps he was an early replacement.

Like some other Ghost Army soldiers, John was apparently ordered on missions that took him to Czechoslovakia before war's end, but declassified information on the 23rd does not address any details of what these missions might have involved. Given that his parents were Czechoslovakian, and the possibility that he knew the language, this would have made sense.

He was discharged from the Army on January 25, 1946 with the rank of PFC, and began his college studies (likely having completed his GED at the USAFI). He first enrolled at Pittsburgh Technical College (formerly Pittsburgh Technical Institute) where he completed a 12-month accelerated course in industrial engineering. He also studied at Bryant College (now Bryant University) in Rhode Island and at Westmoreland County Community College.

Some time after the war, John married Mary Cicchitto and they became the parents of a son, John Kevin.

In 1950, he went to work in the industrial engineering department at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Co., where he would spend the next 32 years. He also spent three years as an auditor at B.F. Goodrich's main office in Cleveland, OH, and was a personal income tax practitioner for over 39 years, retiring from that job in 2003.

John was an active member at Holy Name Church in Monessen, where he served for many years as usher, teller, and church council member. He also chaired or vice-chaired picnics, ticket projects, and Catholic Services Appeals. He was a member of Thomas McKee Post 28 of the American Legion and the VFW in Charleroi, and a long-time member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, serving as treasurer for the Monessen Aerie in the early 1950s.

John's wife died in 2008, and John died on October 15, 2011. He is buried at Holy Name Cemetery in Monessen.