Lieutenant Colonel Rudolph Kostka, Jr.

Lieutenant Colonel Rudolph Kostka, Jr., 90, U.S. Air Force retired, of Chesapeake, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 6, 2012 at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia. He was born in New York City, New York, a first-generation American son of proud Slovak immigrants and was raised in Masaryktown, Florida, near Tampa. He graduated from Hernando High School in Hernando County, Florida. Lieutenant Colonel Kostka then enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942 as an aviation cadet. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant and completing pilot training and B-17 combat crew training, Lieutenant Colonel Kostka was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, 96th Bombardment Group Heavy, 337th Bombardment Squadron Heavy at RAF Snetterton Heath in Norfolk County, England, where he flew 33 combat missions over Germany as a B-17G aircraft commander from April to September 1944, including two close air support missions over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, June 6, 1944. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the European Theater of Operations service ribbon with four bronze stars, and the World War Two Victory Ribbon. After the war, he completed a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Florida in 1951 and returned to the United States Air Force for a full career and served a tour in Vietnam from 1965-1966, finally retiring from the military on August 31, 1967. After his military retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Kostka joined the City of Portsmouth Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court as a probation officer and then as intake supervisor until his second retirement in 1988. Lieutenant Colonel Kostka is survived by his wife of 68 years, Louise Chiba Kostka, his son Donn Kostka of Chesapeake, his daughter Janice Kostka Edwards of Chesapeake, his daughter Chana Kostka Ball of Greensboro, NC, and his grandchildren Katherine Marie Ball and John Russell Ball of Greensboro. Lieutenant Colonel Kostka was the son of the late Rudolph Kostka and Theresa Michlik Kostka, and the brother of the late Caroline Kostka Sudigala and Josephine Kostka Suplat, all of Hernando County, Florida. In addition, he is survived by his nephews Richard Skolnik and Milan Sudigala of Tampa, Florida. The family will gather at Loving Funeral Home, 3225 Academy Avenue, Portsmouth on Friday evening January 13 at 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for a visitation. A memorial Mass will be held at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 518 High Street, Portsmouth on Saturday, January 14 at 10:00 a.m. Interment with full military honors will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Feb. 3, 2011 in Masaryktown Cemetery, Masaryktown, Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, P.O. Box 1992, Savannah, GA 31402.