Mr. Jerome Michael LedzinskiCullum: 25785 Class: 1965 Cadet Company: A2 Date of Birth: July 1, 1943 Date of Death: May 9, 2016 Died in: Weirton, WV Interred: Cremated, ashes scattered - View or Post a Eulogy |
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Jerome Michael “Jerry” Ledzinski was born in Benwood, WV on July 1, 1943, the only child of Alfred and Jennie Jo Ledzinski, first generation Polish Americans. After attending elementary and junior high school in Benwood, he entered Linsly Military Institute (LMI) in Wheeling, WV. Jerry excelled there while receiving an excellent all-around preparation for West Point. During four years at LMI, he emerged as one of the most outstanding leaders in the Class of ’61 and was selected for the rank of cadet captain and command of one of the four cadet companies during his senior year. He was an outstanding student, especially in math and science, and a fine athlete, earning varsity letters in wrestling and track. Jerry was also an active participant in numerous extracurricular activities, including the glee club, the drum and bugle corps, the military ball committee, the cadet newspaper, and the science club. His exceptional leadership abilities were also evident in the Boy Scouts, where he became an Eagle Scout.
After entering USMA in July 1961 and surviving the challenges of Beast Barracks, Jerry joined Company L-2. Among his classmates in L-2 and later A-2, he will forever be remembered for his strong Christian faith, ready smile and quick wit, generosity and sincere interest in helping others, tenacity and physical toughness (especially on the wrestling mat and in the boxing ring), natural leadership abilities, gung ho attitude, and an exceptionally high energy level that enabled him to excel in academics and intramural sports while making valuable contributions to the Class of ’65 and the Corps of Cadets in numerous extracurricular activities. These included the 1965 Class Committee, Hop and Activities Committee, Automobile Committee, Public Relations Council, Catholic Chapel Choir, Skin Diving Club, Outdoor Sportsmen’s Club, and Rocket Club. As one classmate wrote, “With you in the 2nd Regiment and me in the 1st, our paths hardly crossed except for summertime duties. Despite that, you were well known by me and so many of our classmates. And when you became chair of the Automobile Committee, everyone in ’65 became aware of you!”
By the summer of 1964, Jerry ranked high in military leadership and had long been recognized by the Tactical Department and classmates as one of the finest leaders in the Class of ’65. Few were surprised that fall when he was selected to be a cadet captain and command the 1st Battalion, Second Regiment. During that same memorable summer, while he was on leave back home in Benwood, a wonderful thing happened that would prove far more important to Jerry’s future life than becoming a cadet battalion commander. He met his future bride, the beautiful, vivacious Martina Mankowski of nearby Weirton, WV. They dated during his final year at West Point, and Martina came up for his graduation in June. Their love for one another blossomed over the next few years, and they were married in Weirton in July 1967, shortly before Jerry departed for Vietnam.
After graduation and commissioning as an Infantry officer, Jerry completed Airborne and Ranger schools before joining the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in early 1966. Soon afterwards, he deployed to the Dominican Republic with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Returning to Fort Bragg that summer, Jerry remained in the 82nd until he received orders for Vietnam. He then served two years there (1967-69) with the 5th Special Forces Group and MACV SOG’s Command and Control Detachment South (CCS), a covert, black operations unit. He frequently led soldiers on highly classified special operations in Cambodia and the II and III Corps areas of Vietnam. For his actions in March 1968, while commanding a reaction company made up primarily of Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) soldiers in War Zone C near Cambodia, Captain Ledzinski received the Silver Star for valor. According to Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez, who served with him in Vietnam and later received the Medal of Honor, Jerry “was the best trained combat Special Forces officer I had ever worked with.”
Returning home from Vietnam in 1969, Jerry was assigned to the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, CA, where Martina, who had been living in Weirton with her parents while he was in Vietnam, joined him. He left the Army in February 1970 and graduated in the first class of Certified Financial Planners. Over the next 20 years, he built his own firm, J.M. Ledzinski & Company, into a nationally recognized, financial planning company headquartered in Carmel, CA. In 1990, Jerry was recruited personally by Sir John Templeton, the world-renowned investor and fund manager, to build an independent subsidiary, serving as president and CEO of Templeton Portfolio Advisory, focusing on the investment needs of high-net-worth individuals and smaller institutions, growing it to $2.2 billion in assets in 10 years. Leaving Templeton in 1999, Jerry then applied his unique experience and energy in building Centurion Alliance, Inc., an independent private global investment management firm.
When Jerry and Martina moved back to West Virginia in 2008, they could look back on 40 wonderful years of their lives on the Monterey Peninsula. Their sons were born and raised there, and both had graduated from service academies only one year apart. Jerome M. (Jerry) Ledzinski II, a 1995 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, lives in Carmel with his wife, Dolly, and is managing director of Praetorian Guard, a financial services company. Justin A. Ledzinski, a 1996 graduate of West Point, is an FBI agent living in Fayetteville, AR with his wife, Elli, and their boys, Adam and Taylor.
— Family and classmates
