About

Jim Ogonowski is a farmer and small businessman from Dracut who recently retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving 28 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard. Jim first came to national attention on September 11, 2001 when the plane his brother was piloting was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center. In the words of ABC News, Jim “stepped forward when others could only cry.”

After his brother’s death on 9/11, Jim came to the rescue of his brother’s family by working the farm and saving it from being sold.

Jim Ogonowski was born and raised in the Merrimack Valley where his family roots lie for over 100 years.

It all began in 1904 when Jim’s great-grandmother, a widow, and her 4 children left Poland to begin their pursuit of the American dream. For nearly 2 weeks they sailed across the Atlantic and like so many before them, they greeted Ellis Island with great hope and optimism.

After settling in the Merrimack Valley, her oldest son - just a few years out of his teens - started Holy Trinity church on High Street in Lowell, which is still the family parish. The rest of the family settled on a farm in Dracut, a farm still in the Ogonowski family today.

Jim Ogonowski was born in Lowell, the 4th of 5 children. Jim grew up on a family farm that his dad purchased in 1948 when he returned to Dracut after serving in the army air corps which he worked as a second job so that he could send his 5 children to college.

Jim Ogonowski attended UMass Lowell and followed in his older brothers John’s footstep by joining the AF, ROTC. Upon graduating, Jim Ogonowski was commissioned into the United States Air Force.

For the past 28 years, Jim Ogonowski served in the Air Force and Air National Guard. When the Air Force transferred its Tanker Task Force Mission, a global air refueling mission, to the Air National Guard in 1995, Jim readily accepted the leadership role as the Commander, responsible for planning, coordinating and executing the transatlantic movement of Air Combat Command fighter aircraft into and out of all of Southwest Asia and Europe. This role became increasingly mission-critical during operations following September 11, 2001.

Through Jim’s leadership, the office became the role model of the air command’s rapid response team. His outstanding performance led to his promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2000, as he deployed to virtually every corner of the globe during peacetime and war. In 2005, Jim was one of the organizers of the largest airlift in New Hampshire National Guard history, deploying 1,000 soldiers and airmen to provide relief during Hurricane Katrina. Upon his retirement, Jim was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding service to his country, marking the third time he received this prestigious award.

Service to country has been an Ogonowski family tradition. Jim’s two grandfathers were in the military. All his uncles, his father, brother and sister all served in the service. Jim’s son Charlie, a junior at UMASS – Lowell, is in ROTC and he too will one day be a military officer.

Jim Ogonowski believes that Washington has become too big, too corrupt and too partisan. Washington is broken and the time has come to end the partisanship that is hurting our nation. Jim wants to return the government to the people. It is time we send someone to Washington who will stand up to the Washington insiders and special interests. Jim Ogonowski wants to go to Washington to work with BOTH Republicans and Democrats to fix the mess, bring new ideas to the table, and make helping Massachusetts his top priority.

Jim has two children, Charlie and Catherine, and lives in Dracut, Massachusetts with his wife Kathy.