Chief Boatswain's Mate Plocki was a veteran of World War II, serving aboard the cruiser USS Quincy during the Normandy invasion. During the Korean war, he was a member of an underwater salvage team in the United States. On 6 May 1951, his team was trying to recover a Phantom jet fighter from the bottom of Lake Michigan, about a half mile off shore from Evanston, Illinois. The salvage ship overturned killing him and two other team members.

Plocki was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the European Theater Service Medal, the Asian-Pacific Theater Service Medal and other awards for his service during World War II.