Courtesy photo Ernest “Ernie” Zubalik as a teenager.

ALPENA – World War II veteran and local resident, Ernest “Ernie” Zubalik, turns 100 years old on Monday.

Ernest Zubalik grew up in Pontiac before moving to the Harrisville area in 1978, eventually buying a home in Black River in 1984. Ernest Zubalik said that growing up in Pontiac in the 1920s and 1930s was a different experience.

“I grew up in Pontiac, with an older brother and a younger brother as well as an older sister,” Ernest Zubalik said. “Every summer during The Depression my father would ship us off to my grandpa’s farm by Lansing because he couldn’t afford to keep us going.”

In the 1930s, The Great Depression brought high rates of unemployment and poverty.

“It was tough during The Depression,” Ernest Zubalik said. “We did whatever we could to get by. My brothers and I worked on the farm. Things were different back then; we didn’t have combines.”

World War II officially began on Sept. 1, 1939 and in 1943, at the age of 17, Ernest Zubalik was drafted.

“I got drafted into the service in 1943,” Ernest Zubalik said. “I requested to transfer to the Navy, and they gave it to me.”

Ernest Zubalik said that he was stationed in the Pacific when the Battle of Okinawa began.

“I was in the Pacific for two years. I was a Coxswain, we transferred soldiers from the ships to the shore, including the battle of Okinawa,” Ernest Zubalik said. “April Fool’s Day 1945, that was the day I thought I was going to die. With all those Japanese planes flying over me, I thought my life was over.”

Ernest Zubalik said one particular interaction with a kamikaze pilot is engraved in his memory.

“One of them just missed us. These pilots would suicide dive right into the ships. It was unreal,” Ernest Zubalik said.

At the conclusion of World War II, the United States military implemented a rating-score system to determine when a soldier could be discharged.

“When the war ended, you had to have so many points to get discharged. They went by a point system,” Ernest Zubalik explained. “Luckily, I had enough points to discharge.”

Ernest Zubalik said he remembers the first place he went when he returned to Michigan after being discharged from the military.

“I do not recall exactly what day it was, but we were in Detroit, and they took us to the Tiger stadium for a ball game,” Ernest Zubalik recalled. “Stubby Overmire was on the mound. He pitched the entire game.”

In 1956, Ernest Zubalik married his one and only wife, Beverly. They were together for 47 years until she passed away in 2003. Together they had nine children, seven daughters, and two sons.

Ernest Zubalik said he worked for the General Motors (GM) plant in Pontiac for 39 years. He originally started working there when he was 17 years old. Ernest Zubalik left GM when he was drafted into the military, and returned to the plant in 1946, working there until his retirement in 1989.

Ernest Zubalik said that he almost got to play for the Baltimore Orioles, as well.

“I played a lot of baseball for General Motors,” he added. “We won a state championship in Pontiac in 1947. Then we went to Youngstown to play for the national title.”

Ernest Zubalik said that enjoys Polka music, specifically Frankie Yakovic. Among his favorite songs is “Beer Barrel Polka.”

Every year Ernest Zubalik visits the Posen Potato Festival. His daughter, Amy Zubalik, said her father refuses to use a wheelchair and will not be carried around.

“He is very stubborn. He wants to walk no matter where he goes,” Amy Zubalik said.

Ernest Zubalik stated that he has some advice for anyone else hoping to make it to 100 years old.

“Get your daily exercise, eat lots of bacon, and don’t forget the coffee and eggs,” he said.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com