Sprague — One of the few remaining World War II veterans in the area was honored Wednesday with the Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal.

Charles F. Sadosky, 95, of Baltic is the oldest living World War II veteran in Sprague and the Norwich area, according to state Sen. Cathy Osten, who presented Sadosky with the award.

Sitting on the porch of his son's Baltic home, where he lives, Sadosky on Wednesday described how, at the age of 19 and with his mother's consent, he enlisted in the Army on Nov. 9, 1939.

At the time, men between the ages of 21 and 45 had to register for the draft.

Sadosky was a member of the 43rd Infantry Division of the Army National Guard, which was "federalized" by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Jan. 24, 1941.

"We were going to put in a year of training ... but when Pearl Harbor hit, it was a different story," he said.

[naviga:iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://projects.theday.com/wavesurfer/c.sadosky01" width="100%"][/naviga:iframe]

Sadosky served in the South Pacific and took part in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the first major U.S. offensive campaign in the Pacific.

He recalled how on the way to "the canal," which is what servicemen at that time called Guadalcanal, "we went through the torpedo junction, they called it."

A Japanese plane spotted them at 9 p.m. and fired off 38 torpedo bombs.

"You know how many ships were knocked down? Thirty-seven of them. Horrific," he said.

Sadosky was a mess sergeant, which meant he was in charge of the battalion mess — where military personnel socialize, eat and, in certain cases, live.

He described how for two and a half years, "we never had fresh meat."

The only kind of meat available was "corned beef in the can and spam."

[naviga:iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://projects.theday.com/wavesurfer/c.sadosky02" width="100%"][/naviga:iframe]

Cooking was not his only job.

"You worked two days on. Two days off. The two days off, you manned the machine guns," he said.

Sadosky was stationed on one of the four troop transport ships known as the "Unholy Four," though he couldn't remember which.

He recalled how at 3 p.m. in the South Pacific, "you'd dig in" — soldiers would dig fox holes, where they'd lie two to four each.

"You'd go to sleep then you'd wake up and you'd tell your buddy on the side of you, take over, and you'd take a nap," he said.

All the while the Japanese soldiers were watching from the trees above, he said.

[naviga:iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://projects.theday.com/wavesurfer/c.sadosky03" width="100%"][/naviga:iframe]

He traveled to the Russell and Gilbert islands during his service. The latter were visited by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

"She stopped in to say hi and everything," he said. "The island, we had it secured already."

He lost many close friends, including "his best buddy, Albert," who "tripped a booby trap and that was it."

After his fifth bout of malaria, which landed him in the hospital, Sadosky was sent home and he was honorably discharged on Nov. 4, 1944.

He was born in Norwich and returned to the area.

He said after leaving the military he held a number of jobs, including in construction, as a cook at the Naval Submarine Base, in the shipyard at Electric Boat and as an incinerator operator for the state.

He retired "some 20 years ago."

j.bergman@theday.com