Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Stampf on December 21, 2020, 09:02:56 AM
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...has passed from this world. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I return to this bbs to post this regarding the passing of a dear friend. Walter J. Gruzas - AKA - "Vilkas". If you knew him you loved him and if you knew his story you were in awe of him. What the man brought to this game and to those who knew him was priceless. From singing the mighty JG11 into battle in German to telling us lucky few the tales of his harrowing experiences as a young man growing up in German occupied Lithuania.
As the CO of the 11th for many years I could not have asked for a more valued and loved member of the unit. He was like a Father to all of us and an anchor that kept the unit dedicated to our cause back in the day.
I could go on forever about the man and his story but for me the grief is too near still. I believe, I may know more about his wartime experiences than any other as we spent many hours just sitting in our pits talking about the past when he finally opened up to me after several years. Perhaps at some point I will commit this tale to ink and paper but for now please join me in just celebrating the man and his life and giving thanks for the time we did have with him.
Blue skies and fair winds my friend. All my love.
Walter J. Gruzas
1930 - 2020.
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The world has lost a great man. Tailwinds, Vilkas. :salute
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condolences to you, JG11, his family and friends. he was fun to talk to all the times i interacted with him.
he will be missed from the game!
<S>
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:salute Vilkas
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:salute
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I friended him on facebook years ago and he would routinely comment on my photos and posts and share photos of Salt Spring Island. He would send me messages for Christmas and birthday greetings.
This is sad news right before the holidays.
į sveikatą Walter! <S>
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He was a wonderful human being.
Blue skies, and tailwinds Vilkas.
:salute
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:salute
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A great loss.
:salute
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:salute
We all miss Vilkas.
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Vilkas :salute
I am shocked at his passing.
Thank you Stampf for letting us know.
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Sad news indeed, he will be missed.
:salute Vilkas
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Vilkas my friend , Rest Well ... its with heavy heart to find out this news.. Thanks Dave for posting :salute.. so many stories that we could share about Vilkas .. for me was having him with me in my Dora and hearing him . The laughs , stories and the signing on the runway befor FSO .......He will be missed... :salute
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:salute Vilkas :salute
What a great man
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:salute
Definitely a great loss to all who knew him.
Wiley.
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:salute Vilkas
I remember him from my early days in AH, asking him about his nickname. Vilkas means "lively" in Finnish and is also the translated name of Dopey the Dwarf of Snow White so the name raised my curiosity. A couple of lines on the text buffer soon revealed that he wasn't a fellow Finn, instead his nick meant "Wolf".
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:salute
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:salute
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He was one of the finest people I ever met in this game. I remember a mission where Vilkas and I were tasked with flying noe a sector and a half to knock out a radar prior to a squad strike. Vilkas`s whoops of joy and laughter the whole way as we weaved around trees and through valleys will be remembered forever. Salute Vilkas my friend.
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Damn!
My long time wingman is gone but not forgotten! :pray
:salute
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:salute
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:salute
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:salute Vilkas
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We can all tell stories about this Great Man and the many of nights him gunning for me in whatever Buff I flew. I took up in the B29 when it came and was amazed at the guns and firepower with them.
Fair Skies Vilkas your memories and stories will live on Forever
:salute
Molsman
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Do not like seeing these posts, you know what I mean, but thanks for news.
I forget who it was but I asked somebody to pass along a ‘Hello’ to him a few months ago as I was thinking about him, hope it got through.
A joy to interact with and I will miss my friend -(S)-
:salute
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:salute
Goat
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:salute
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:salute Vilkas
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I little piece of my heart died. Vilkas and I shared sort of a celebrity status in JG11. He for being a witness to the events of 1938-45 and me for being the grand nephew of an original JG11 pilot. I often joked with him that those were the only reason JG kept us around because we were the worst pilots in the squad. That said, his gunnery both in manned AA and in buffs was unmatched. JG11 always fought for the honor to have him cover our 6 in the back seat. I enjoyed his humor, stories, and singing. He was living proof that age is only a state of mind despite the failures of the body. Fly far, fly free my friend.
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Rest Easy Vilkas - Always fun to fly around in FSO and the MA. :salute :salute :salute
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:salute
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He was always a happy kind soul when I fought with and against him, Saluto
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<S> Rest in Peace.
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:salute Vilkas
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Hail and Farewell, Vilkas, my friend! :salute
My family vacation a few years back took us to Vancouver, and then on to Salt Spring Island. We stayed at the Stonehouse Inn, and Vilkas came over to visit with us. He brought a photo album, and held us all spellbound with his stories. It was such a treat to actually meet him. Here is a snapshot of Vilkas and me from that trip:
http://kenshelby.us//images/vilkas-bino.jpg (http://kenshelby.us//images/vilkas-bino.jpg)
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:salute
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:salute
Vilkas (https://bearcats18.enjin.com/rip)
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Oh man very sad news. Loved his sense of humor. Thanks for letting us know Stampf. :salute
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This saddens my heart. Unfortunately we don't replace men like him fast enough. Hearing him sing in FSO was a treat.
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:salute
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So sorry to hear this, <S> Vilkas
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Damn that breaks my heart. Some of the best times in this game were when he was involved. A lot of late nights with him and Zud and having a blast.
Vilkas my friend. :salute
Thanks for letting us know Stampf and please put pen to paper if you are up to it. :salute
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:salute
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:salute
Walter J. Gruzas
1930 - 2020.
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For many who did not know his story....
He was a 15 year old Lithuanian kid at the beginning of WWII. The Germans invaded and saw this kid and gave him crap because he wasn't in the military. He joined a Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft gunner. He received honors for getting kills of Soviets' aircraft. After the war he left Europe and came to our game. His "eye" as a gunner was impeccable in-game.
Tail winds, my brother Vilkas! (Vilkas means "Wolf" in Lithuanian.)
<<<<<S>>>>>
ROX
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For many who did not know his story....
He was a 15 year old Lithuanian kid at the beginning of WWII. The Germans invaded and saw this kid and gave him crap because he wasn't in the military. He joined a Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft gunner. He received honors for getting kills of Soviets' aircraft. After the war he left Europe and came to our game. His "eye" as a gunner was impeccable in-game.
Tail winds, my brother Vilkas! (Vilkas means "Wolf" in Lithuanian.)
<<<<<S>>>>>
ROX
Very Well Said Rox. As a squad mate of the late Vilkas I was always happy not to be on the end of his sites either when he was on the ground guns or a gunner in the buffs. The best part was Vilkas was always a great wingman no matter what role he played. It was a great honor to fly with him and he also enjoyed talking to my wife on Facebook about the sweets she always posted and many times we tried to send something to him but that customs crap always gave it a dead end.
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This saddens my heart. Unfortunately we don't replace men like him, ever!. Hearing him sing in FSO was a treat.
Hope you don't mind the editing I did to your post, Wayne....
For those of us that had the pleasure of enjoying Vilkas in other areas of the game besides the MA, AvA, FSO,...such as in scenarios or koth but more importantly the Training Arena!
I can easily say that Vilkas spent and shared any & all the help he could, even if it was just flying as a target drone like to help new players and old ones alike to help them practice their gunnery
He continuously offered his time day after day and years on years welcoming new players and helping them while helping the AHTC, never wanting or expecting anything in return...not even accepting an invite to join the AHTC (Aces High Training Corps)....
>SALUTE< & GODSPEED, Vilkas! Our wonderful memories of you will always be with us all!
TC
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:salute Vilkas
To survive the war fighting for the Luftwaffe no small feat.
Fair skies and tailwinds. We shall all follow your flight path eventually. :airplane:
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:cry
Sad news indeed. He was such fun on FSO nights.
As Zam said, he could shoot bad guys down even in JU-88s from that back seat.
I remember one FSO, it was over Italy and JG11 was in 190's with the task of attacking bombers.
Vilkas had come in late and took off. I was trying to talk him to us when over VOX he says "I see bombers" The Allies had come in from a different direction then we thought they would. I asked Our bombers? He said not unless we are flying B-17s!
He guided us right to a perfect head on pass.
He will be missed
:salute
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Sounds like the world lost another good one
Thanks for sharing
<S>
Eagler
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Sounds like the world lost another good one
Thanks for sharing
<S>
Eagler
Yes,yes we did!
I spent many hours with Vilkas,I could tell so many stories but frankly I'm not quite ready to do that. Walter was a man of many talents,his best was being a good friend.
:salute
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I remember Vilkas. My sincerest condolences to family and friends.
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My condolences to JG11 and friends. :salute
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:salute
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:salute Vilkas
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:salute
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VILKAS!!
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<S> to Vilkas. :salute
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:salute Vilkas,
Gone but not Forgotten.
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:salute
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:salute
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:pray :salute
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DAMN IT! This sucks to hear! Eh...I got hooked on this Game without him....but DAMN, wish I could have known him!!!! JG11...so sorry for your loss! Would it be possible to compile Memories/How he was/ Videos of him singing pre FSO? Surely one of you guys have this content?
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:airplane:
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Yes,yes we did!
I spent many hours with Vilkas,I could tell so many stories but frankly I'm not quite ready to do that. Walter was a man of many talents,his best was being a good friend.
:salute
Morf
I know ya have many more stories to tell cause every time I jumped into the training arena it was always you and Walter there so when your ready buddy I would like to hear some of them. I have to dig up the photo Walter a sent me when he was in the Boy Scouts and the World Jamboree was held In France. Reading these tributes I get cold chills cause for a man I never met we spent hours talking on FB about his adventures and my Grandfather’s adventures during WW2
Molsman
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DAMN IT! This sucks to hear! Eh...I got hooked on this Game without him....but DAMN, wish I could have known him!!!! JG11...so sorry for your loss! Would it be possible to compile Memories/How he was/ Videos of him singing pre FSO? Surely one of you guys have this content?
I am sure someone who is funny the JG11 forum now can post the History of Vilkas and another good History to read is about Zambelli. Since a great ancestor of that pilot is playing the game currently and his call Sign is Zambelli.
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I am sure someone who is funny the JG11 forum now can post the History of Vilkas and another good History to read is about Zambelli. Since a great ancestor of that pilot is playing the game currently and his call Sign is Zambelli.
:rock That is awesome! Dang, there IS STILL alot I dont know about this "GAME"/Way of life :rock How are you doing,Mols? Good to see you posting,Brother :salute
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:salute RIP Vilkas
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RIP Vilkas
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:salute