Wyatt Pankowski, a 2016 Bridgeport High School graduate, is the third generation of his family to become a Marine. He’s entering his third year as a mechanic at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, and he recently was promoted to sergeant.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
BRIDGEPORT – When Wyatt Pankowski was little, he would often head downstairs at his family’s home in Bridgeport and open the closet where his dad, John Pankowski, kept the uniforms he wore while he was in the Marines in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Pankowski was enthralled by the uniforms, especially knowing that his dad had worn them in the military. The younger Pankowski would often slip one of them on and pretend he was a Marine.
“I always liked going down there and playing with those uniforms,” he said. “I thought it was pretty cool, just being around my dad’s uniforms. I really looked up to my dad. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a Marine myself.”
His grandpa, Joe Pankowski, who passed away recently, also was a Marine.
“I wanted to be the third generation in my family to become a Marine,” Wyatt said. “I really wanted to keep that tradition going.”
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