JoAnne Rademacher, Northern Sentry Contributor
Daniel Baranick was born on August 17, 1930, to Samuel and Anna Baranick. He was raised with three brothers on a rural Wilton, ND farm until their dad died when Dan was in 7th grade at his rural school. His mother soon sold the farm and moved the family into Wilton. Dan graduated in 1949 from Wilton Public School. Dan’s two older brothers had both joined the Navy and the “pup” younger brother became an engineer.
In1950, early in the Korean War, Dan and sixteen other young Wilton men, together, enlisted in the United States Air Force. The Air Force sent cars from Bismarck up to Wilton to pick them up. The Wilton community lined the streets that day to cheer and say goodbye to the young men as they left for Bismarck. Of the 17, Dan and 3 or 4 others were sent to Korea, while the rest were stationed at bases all over the U.S.
Private Baranick’s service began with Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. After BMT, he was assigned to Administrator Flying Safety in California. His job was to type up whatever the captain said to type. When the captain was reassigned elsewhere, Dan was put in charge of the office. He also enjoyed eating pecan pie whenever he could!
During four years in the Air Force, Baranick’s rank went from Private to Staff Sergeant. The timing of these promotions has been lost from memory so for the duration of this military story, he is SSgt Baranick.
In the fall of 1952, SSgt Baranick boarded a ship in California, destined for Korea. Upon arrival, he was sent to an Air Force squadron about 50 miles south of Seoul where he was Chief Clerk keeping track of 155 mechanics and truck drivers. His job entailed keeping all the paperwork up to date and the squadron organized for a year. It also included taking his turn at guard duty.
This squadron was the support group for the Happy Hooligans Air National Guard’s 178th Fighter Squadron from Fargo, ND. The 178th was activated in April 1951 for the Korean War as a bomber escort role out of Georgia and then in air-to-ground and air-to-air roles out of California.
Arriving in Korea around Thanksgiving, the men were served a big turkey dinner for the holiday. Dan said, “It was past Christmas and we were still eating that turkey!”
SSgt Baranick’s job gave him access to a Jeep. He and a buddy heard some men were hunting pheasants up a hill from the base. Having hunted pheasants at home in North Dakota, the two were excited to find those birds so they took a Jeep and drove up the hill looking for them. Returning to base, they were confronted by a very angry commanding officer who informed them they had driven right through an area known to be populated by enemy snipers. After that adventure, SSgt Baranick was very aware of snipers and the knowledge they could be anywhere, anytime. A walk out to the planes could be fatal as the snipers were always there.
SSgt Baranick and another clerk slept in a back room to the office space they worked in. One night, they heard somebody trying to break in. They grabbed their guns and hit the floor; guns trained on the door. The two young soldiers silently waited for it to open at which point they knew it would be a life-or-death decision to pull the trigger. Finding the first door locked, the would-be intruder went around and tried to open the second door before giving up and going away. Next morning, the two clerks heard that a prostitute had been making the rounds looking for business the night before. They were thankful to have been spared the trauma of opening fire on a civilian woman. “She made it, and we made it.”
Soon after the Armistice was signed in July 1953 ending the war, SSgt Baranick was sent home on leave and then to a new assignment at Fort Snelling in Minnesota. The Air Force flew him to Hawaii, engines burning in flight. Fires out, the plane gassed up and completed the trip to San Francisco. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he grabbed his duffle and hit the highway to hitchhike home.
SSgt Baranick found his way home several times while stationed in California, usually thumbing rides. One trip found him on a small plane as far as Cheyenne, Wyoming, then hitchhiking to Minot via Rapid City, South Dakota. On a return trip from home to California, he drove a car someone wanted delivered to California. That trip took him through Salt Lake City. When I commented on how gutsy he was with all that hitchhiking, he replied, “My whole life was gutsy!”
Back home and stationed at Fort Snelling, SSgt Baranick was called to fight a different war. We were now immersed in the Cold War. The work he was involved in was Operational Tracking of Russian airplanes and making sure they did not access our northern border with Canada. No more looking over his shoulder for snipers, he remembers having meetings with pilots around a swimming pool. SSgt Baranick’s four years in the Air Force was completed at Fort Snelling.
Discharged in 1954, Dan was free to pursue his own life. He began studies at NDSU School of Pharmacy. In 1955 he married a pretty nurse, Norma Anderson. After graduating with honors in 1958, Dan was employed with Osco Drug Stores first as pharmacist, then assistant manager of the Minnesota and Illinois stores. When he was offered the pharmacist/manager position in the Minot store, Dan and Norma jumped at the chance to come home to North Dakota. Life was good in Minot for the Baranick family. They raised son Kelly and daughter Kristine who grew up, married, and presented them with grandchildren.
The Osco Drug organization awarded Dan the Presidential Award for Excellence in Management in 1991 acknowledging him as the top manager in the chain. After 35 years with Osco Drug, Dan retired in 1993.
Dan and Norma joined the Ukrainian Cultural Institute when it was organized in 1980. He is responsible for recruiting many other members through the years while he and Norma were active in the organization. They donated oak shelving to the UCI library now called the Dan and Norma Baranick Library and participated in other programming. In 2005, Dan was inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame for his many contributions to the continuing success of the organization.
When the Ward County Historical Society built their Pioneer Village Museum at Burlington, Dan suggested they include a pharmacy. He donated a large collection of vintage pharmaceutical objects making it an authentic representation of a pharmacy of yesteryear.
Dan Baranick is still living a full life with friends and family. His beloved Norma passed away 6 years ago, but Dan continues to keep life interesting. Life for Dan continues to include contributing to his community, loving his family and friends and finding smiles and humor in even the direst situations. When he speaks of his time in Korea, funny stories flow just as freely as the serious dangers and tragic nature of the war. Dan has found that delicate balance which allows a man to live his very best life.
