|
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
ALEXANDER SLOWEY was born in New Jersey on October 8, 1916 to Alexander
and Anna Slowey. Alexander Sr. worked in a leather works. The family was
living at 1811 South 7th
Street in Camden NJ at the time of the 1920
census. The 1929 City Directory shows the family at 2312 South 7th
Street, and by the fall of 1933 they had moved to 2454 South 7th
Street. The Sloweys later moved to a home at 519 Lester
Terrace, adjacent to
the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard. One of seven children,
Alexander Slowey Jr. had a scrape with the law as a juvenile involving a
stolen car. He was working as machinist's helper at the shipyard
when he was inducted into the United States Army on February 25, 1942 at
Fort Dix NJ. He had a grammar school education and was single at the
time he entered service.
After basic training
Private Slowey was assigned to the 592nd Engineer Boat and Shore
Regiment. After further training at Camp Carabelle FL and Fort Ord CA,
he went overseas with his unit, leaving San Francisco on Feb 12, 1943
and arriving in Australia on March 8 of that year. Private First Class
Slowey served with his unit in New Guinea beginning at Oro Bay on
October 25, 1943. He may also have participated in the assault at Los
Negros Island on February 28, 1944.
After stays in two
military hospitals Alexander Slowey was given a medical discharge on
June 6, 1944. Returning to Camden, he suffered from acute chronic
depression and was unable to work, spending most of his time at home. A
casualty of the war in every sense, Private Slowey committed suicide on
September 29, 1944.
When Alexander Slowey was
sent home, there were no resources to speak of for Veterans who had
returned home with psychological disorders. It would take a few years,
and many more tragedies as that which befell Alexander Slowey, before
the Veterans Administration would expand its hospitals to provide
adequate mental health care for returning veterans.
|
