[The Edward Drenka Collection].

The Edward Drenka Collection is made up of items pertaining to the military service of Edward P. Drenka, who served in the Coast Guard during World War II. The collection includes official government documents, photographs, correspondence, and newspaper clippings, as well as his Coast Guard uniform and various medals.

  • OCLC #: 794457232
  • Physical Location: Special Collections — Papers — PAPERS 103
  • Publisher: 1925-2012.
  • Physical Description: 3 linear feet
  • Biographical/Historical:
    • Edward Paul Drenka was born on August 5, 1925. In 1942, at the age of seventeen, he entered active duty in the Coast Guard, serving on a number of destroyer escorts around Europe, most notably the U.S.S. Calcaterra. In 1946, he was honorably discharged and returned home to Chicago, Illinois. He married Irene Lambert in 1947 and they had four children: Patricia, Janet, Robert, and Thomas. He served as a Chicago firefighter for many years before retiring. In 2010, he participated in Honor Flight Chicago, which flew him and other World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to tour the various memorials. He was a grandfather of eight and great-grandfather of two. He was preceded in death by his wife, Irene, and son Thomas. He died on January 18, 2012, at the age of eighty-six.
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