Sitting on the couch of his Boca Raton condo, Art Polacheck is scrolling through his Facebook account to show me photos from his latest trip to Washington, D.C.
He and veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars made the trek to the nation’s capital through the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, where they were able to visit the memorials built in their honor. Chaperoned by a guardian—a local friend who offered to help him on the trip—Polacheck was wheeled around and took photos in front of the World War II and the Iwo Jima memorials, and he witnessed the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. He also received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
At 96 years old, Polacheck is one of about just 1% of the remaining surviving veterans of World War II. He enlisted in the military at 17 years old in Chicago—it appears the military was willing to overlook his age because of his experience with radios. After six weeks of boot camp at Fort Dix in New Jersey, he was shipped off to Okinawa in 1945 and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
“My job was to code and decode messages using Morse code, and I got [to be] quite an expert at that,” he says. “I could receive about 18 words a minute … it’s all with Morse code and also a special code that they developed that the Japanese wouldn’t be able to receive.”
The war ended eight months after he deployed, but he remained on the island for another two years, where he climbed Mount Fuji. When he returned stateside, he moved to the warmth of Florida to attend the University of Miami through the G.I. Bill to study economics. From there, Polacheck opened a television and radio store and then went into mail-order medical supplies.
Now retired and living in Boca Raton, Polacheck is still serving his community as he nears 100. He’s an active member of the Rotary Club of Boca Raton, which meets once a week, and he volunteered his time for many years as a tutor and mentor for students. For the past 15 years, he has made his way to Boca Helping Hands twice a week, where he packages food, makes sandwiches, and fills pantry bags.
A classic car enthusiast, he has also hosted car shows with the Rotary Club to benefit Boca Helping Hands—in 2024, the show raised $10,000. Polacheck can no longer drive, and when asked how he gets around, he replies nonchalantly, “Uber.”
WHY BOCA HELPING HANDS?
I had some culinary arts [experience], meaning I did cooking in the Army as well, and I cooked even before the Army. In other words, one of my highlights of my younger life was preparing food and help[ing] others in need.
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO VOLUNTEER?
It fills the purpose that I feel is important in the community. You’d be surprised how many people come to our front door, about 300 a day.
WORDS OF WISDOM?
Keep moving. Those are the two words that I can leave with you. You have to constantly be moving. If you’re sedentary, if you’re just sitting, you’re going to atrophy and go downward. Try to stay positive. Help the community where you can, and don’t sit.
This article is from the January 2025 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
