ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH
SOUTH CAMDEN
WWII WAR MEMORIAL

      The Polish-American community added much to the flavor and fabric of life in Camden NJ. When virtually all of the other white ethnic groups abandoned the city for opportunities in the suburbs and a perceived threat from minorities, the Polish community, which had been and still is anchored by St. Joseph's Catholic Church at 10th and Liberty Streets still maintains a presence in the city, and Mass is celebrated in Polish every Sunday.       

The Bronze Memorial Plaque, presented by the Catholic War Veterans, St. Josephs Post 418 in grateful remembrance of ther heroic comrades in World War II.
The plaque appears in the vestibule of the St. Joseph Church, Camden, New Jersey

       If you have information or pictures which you would like to see included on this website, please contact me by e-mail.
                                        Phil Cohen  
                                        phil552@reagan.com

382nd Infantry Regiment
96th Infantry Division

333rd Bomber Squadron
94th Bomber Group, Heavy

Edward Wierciszewski

46th Infantry Battalion
5th Armored Division

413rd Bomber Squadron
96th Bomber Group, Heavy

CLICK ON THE BLUE LINKS FOR MORE ABOUT EACH INDIVIDUAL

HST Rohna

        On November 26th, 1943 twelve young men from Camden County died together when the troop transport HMTS Rohna was struck by a German guided glider bomb and sank of the coast of North Africa. From Camden Frank Ballerino, Michael Carr, Michael Yachus,  Lewis Riondino, Joseph H. Johnson and Stephen V. Koscianski (memorialized on this monument); Harry V. Taylor Jr. of Haddonfield, William McKeon of Blackwood, Merl Reagle of Lindenwold, Joseph Jenkins of Pennsauken, Carl Johanson, and Elmer F. Day were lost that day. Eight other South Jersey men were also killed. In total, 1,015 men were lost, but the story was never told to the families or the general public for over 57 years due to wartime censorship. Return to Table

THE ROHNA DISASTER
CAMDEN COUNTY INTERNET WAR MEMORIAL

The Rohna Survivors Memorial Association

MSNBC Coverage - Tom Brokaw
Read the article or see the video

CAMDEN COUNTY NJ
  MONUMENTS & WAR MEMORIALS

       Click links to visit web-pages on these memorials, and to visit "virtual memorials" to Camden County's fallen heroes.

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Dedication

America, "the land of the free and home of the brave", was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the ideal that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. But, while such rights are the priceless heritage from our heavenly Father, the founders of this Nation were called to pledge to each other, their lives, their rights for themselves and their posterity.

One hundred seventy-two years have passed since the birth of the nation. Within this comparatively short lifetime our American way of life has been threatened by the War of 1812, endangered by the Civil War, and thrown out of balance by the Spanish American War. The First World War and especially World War II, definitely aimed at the life of this nation. But ever faithful, the Nation rallied for the defense of our liberties. The same pledge resounded throughout the land as of old: "For the defense of our freedom we pledge to one another, our life, our fortunes, and our sacred honor".

From among those who were called to battle for the defense of our liberties in World War II, thirty-seven young men of St. Joseph's Parish of Camden, new jersey made the supreme sacrifice- worthy followers of Kosciusko and Pulaski- heroes one and all until judgment day.

In grateful remembrance, St. Joseph Post 418 of the Catholic War Veterans has inscribed their names in bronze on this 3rd day of April in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-nine and bequeathed the same to posterity. Return

Catholic War Veterans
St. Joseph Post 418
Camden, New Jersey

Officers:

Chaplain, RIGHT REVEREND MONSIGNOR ARTHUR B. STRENSKI
Commander, WALTER MALINOWSKI
1st Vice Commander, KAZ. T. KLAUSE
2nd Vice Commander, JOSEPH RAPP
3rd Vice Commander, JOSEPH SKORKO
Treasurer, CHARLES KAPLONIAK
Adjutant, ROBERT GORSKI
Judge Advocate, JOSEPH KRAZINSKI
Welfare Officer, WALTER H. GORE
Historian, RICHARD KON
Officer of the Day, MATTHEW BONZELLA
Medical Officer, DR. I. EDWARD ORNAF
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Trustees
MICHAEL PELECHOWICZ, WALTER CIECHANOWSKI, JOHN GORSKI
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