Eugene Kolko, 58, a retired master sergeant and one of the Chicago area`s most decorated marines, died Sunday in Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie.
Mr. Kolko, a Skokie resident, was awarded the President`s Meritorious Service Medal when he retired in 1985. He had served 39 years in the Marines, both on active duty and in the reserve unit at Glenview Naval Air Station.
”He`s one of those guys who really respected other marines,” said Col. Steve Lind, who commanded Mr. Kolko when he served as operations chief at Glenview.
”In our small community of `a few good men,` this marine stands out among the best,” Lind said in a letter written two years ago to Gen. Paul X. Kelly, the Marine Corps commandant.
Sgt. Maj. Phillip V. Malarski described Mr. Kolko as ”a real underlying current in the Marine Corps in the Chicago area.”
”He knew his business, and he was a really dedicated Marine. He was dedicated to the Marine Corps more than anybody I`ve ever seen,” said Malarski, who had known Mr. Kolko for nearly 30 years. ”Almost everything out of his mouth had to do with the Marine Corps.”
His family and the Marine Corps were ”his two loves,” Malarski said,
”and he really fostered both of them.”
A soft-spoken man, Mr. Kolko said after his retirement that he ”always wanted to be part of the Marines.”
He joined the service in 1946 on his 17th birthday. Several years later, he was wounded and decorated with two Purple Hearts and the Navy`s
commendation medal for valor during the Korean War.
After leaving active duty, he also was deputy U.S. marshal and a clerk for then Chief Judge Frank McGarr of U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Mr. Kolko also was secretary of the Combat Correspondents Association.
He is survived by his wife, Naomi; three sons, James, John and Richard; a daughter, Terri Reed; his father, Emanuel; and three grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Glenview Naval Air Station.
