Click on a veteran's name below to read their full biography.
DOB: 1917 | DOD: July 13, 1945
John Bielot (1917 – July 13, 1945) lived on Warsaw Street and worked on the family farm and apple orchard. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was promoted to Seaman 2nd Class, serving on the destroyer USS Thatcher. He was reported missing in action in late May and later confirmed killed in action. As a member of the crew, he took part in many naval engagements against the Japanese in the Pacific. In May, in the vicinity of Iwo Jima, he made the supreme sacrifice for his country. He is probably buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester.
DOB: May 28, 1919 | DOD: April 1944
Theodore Dreher (May 28, 1919 – April 1944) lived with his grandparents on Village Street until 1940, when the family moved to Chester, Connecticut. He left Deep River High School in his junior year and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on January 20, 1942. He served with the First Marine Division, which was honored by the Australian government for its heroic actions in landing on and securing Guadalcanal, effectively stopping the Japanese advance toward Australian waters and territory. His obituary states that he was buried with full military honors in an American cemetery in the Pacific, but his sister reported that he was buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester.
DOB: November 15, 1915 | DOD: January 5, 1945
James A. Ferguson (November 15, 1915 – January 5, 1945) was born in Deep River and graduated from Deep River High School with the class of 1933. He went on to graduate from the University of Connecticut with honors and served as an officer in the ROTC program. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps with the rank of lieutenant and was later promoted to major, serving as the commander of the 483rd Bomb Squadron. He was killed in action on January 5, 1945, near Tinian Island in the Marianas at the age of 28. He leaves behind his wife, his four-month-old daughter, his parents in Haddam, and his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Peckham of Deep River. He is buried at Fountain Hill Cemetery.
DOB: 1925 | DOD: 1944
Edwin Gorecki (1925 – 1944) was born on Warsaw Street in 1925 and later moved to Moodus for about ten years before returning to Southworth Street in Deep River in June 1944. He enlisted in the Army on September 20, 1943, and received his training at Fort Bliss, Texas. He was on a 10-day furlough from Camp Phillips, Kansas, where he served as a member of Battery C, Army Anti-Aircraft 140th Battalion. Private First Class Gorecki was killed in a motorcycle crash in Old Lyme while navigating a curve at high speed and striking a tree. He suffered a fractured skull and multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London. He was buried with full military honors at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester, Connecticut.
DOB: 1925 | DOD: April 1945
Harry F. Julian (1925 – April 1945) attended Deep River High School, where he was considered an outstanding scholar and was elected class president all three years. He left school in his junior year at age 17 to enlist in the U.S. Navy and entered the submarine service, serving aboard the USS Snook as a Torpedoman’s Mate Third Class. According to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, the Snook departed from Guam Island, Marianas, on March 25, 1945, to conduct a war patrol in the South China Sea. The submarine’s last communication was received on April 8, 1945, providing her position in the patrol area. No further word was received, and no sign of the submarine was recorded. His parents were initially notified that he was missing in action, and in May 1946, Secretary Forrestal reported that the Snook had been sunk in enemy-controlled waters with the loss of her entire crew.
DOB: 1913 | DOD: November 23, 1943
Francis Lebowich (1913 – November 23, 1943) enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 31, 1942, at the age of 29. He had been the principal support for his mother since the death of his father. He graduated from Deep River High School and the Casey Jones Aeronautical School in Newark, New Jersey, where he specialized in airplane mechanics. He was employed by Chance-Vought in Hartford and, just prior to his induction, worked at Essex Machine Works. He received his basic training in Miami Beach, Florida, and went on to complete various training courses, graduating from Gunnery School with his wings in Sioux City, Iowa. In addition to his mother, he is survived by four sisters and three brothers. He is buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester.
DOB: November 11, 1920 | DOD: May 31, 1945
Donald Malchiodi (November 11, 1920 – May 31, 1945) was born in Deep River and attended local schools before his family moved to New York. Prior to entering military service, he was employed by the Credit Reserve System in New York. He was killed in action in Holland on May 31, 1945, during a training exercise. Lieutenant Malchiodi received numerous awards for his heroism in action, including recognition from the French government. He was buried with full military honors at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester.
DOB: January 27, 1921 | DOD: June 8, 1945
Leonard M. Petterson (January 27, 1921 – June 8, 1945) was born in Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated from Deep River High School with the class of 1938 and from the University of Maine in June 1942. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on June 24, 1944, and served as a First Lieutenant. He was killed on June 8, 1945, in Okinawa. His father, Frans Petterson, had served with an artillery unit during World War I. Leonard Petterson is buried at Fountain Hill Cemetery.
DOB: November 12, 1923 | DOD: November 8, 1945
Eugene Wallace Post (November 12, 1923 – November 8, 1945) enlisted in the U.S. Navy on November 19, 1939, just eight days after his 17th birthday. He served as a torpedoman in the submarine service in the Pacific, seeing action in Japanese shipping lanes off the China coast and elsewhere. His submarine is credited with sinking a significant number of Japanese ships and tonnage over the course of three years. He was declared killed in action by the U.S. Navy when his submarine failed to return to port. He is survived by his parents, three sisters, and a brother, who received a Navy discharge and was employed at a local war plant. A military marker has been placed at Fountain Hill Cemetery.
DOB: January 21, 1920 | DOD: February 22, 1943
Corporal Joseph J. Smith (January 21, 1920 – February 22, 1943) was the first service member from Deep River to be killed in World War II. A standout baseball player at Deep River High School and in the Middlesex County semi-pro league, Joe enlisted immediately after hearing the news of Pearl Harbor. He trained at Fort Bragg and Indiantown Gap before deploying to England and then North Africa with the first divisions to land there, where his artillery battery earned a citation for exceptional performance. Joe wrote home often, especially to his young sister Delores, who learned geography through his letters. He was killed in action at age 23 in Tunisia and was laid to rest in the American Military Cemetery there, where his parents chose to have him remain with the men he served beside.
DOB: 1912 | DOD: December 2, 1944
Chester Tatko (1912 – December 2, 1944) was born in Poland in 1912. As a child, he narrowly escaped death when a bomb landed in a field near where he was playing during World War I. He grew up on Warsaw Street in Deep River. He graduated from Deep River High School and enlisted in the Army on January 17, 1942, alongside his good friend Joe Smith. He trained in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was assigned to a Quartermaster Training Camp before serving with the 11th Air Cargo Resupply Squadron. He was killed in action on December 2, 1944, on the island of Leyte in the Philippines at the age of 30. He is probably buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Chester.
DOB: 1912 | DOD: November 4, 1944
Richard Turner (1912 – November 4, 1944) was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brockton High School and the Williams School of Business and was employed as an accountant at Pratt, Read & Co. He enlisted in the Army in February 1944 and received his military training at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania. He had only been overseas for a month or two at the time of his death. He was attached to the 95th Division and is believed to have lost his life during the fighting preceding the capture of the city of Metz. He was killed in action on November 4, 1944, “somewhere in Germany,” at the age of 32, leaving behind a wife and a two-year-old daughter.
DOB: August 3, 1921 | DOD: December 23, 1943
Butler Whitting Jr. (August 3, 1921 – December 23, 1943) was born on August 3, 1921, to parents residing on River Street in Deep River. After graduating from high school, he attended Williams College for two years before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. In August 1943, he earned his Navy “Wings of Gold” and was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve following completion of a flight training course at the Naval Air Training Center in Pensacola, Florida. He died in a plane crash during a routine training mission on December 23, 1943, at the age of 22. Funeral services were held at the First Congregational Church of Deep River with Rev. Walter Euston, and he was buried at Fountain Hill Cemetery.
DOB: August 31, 1925 | DOD: September 28, 1945
Wilfley Scobey Jr. (August 31, 1925 – September 28, 1945), known as “Bucky” to his classmates, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His family moved to New York, where he attended school, but they returned to Deep River around 1940, living on West Bridge Street. He graduated from Deep River High School in June 1943 and was accepted to Yale University. He enlisted in the Army in December of his freshman year and trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, serving with Company B, 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. He was killed in action on September 28, 1945, at the age of 19, “somewhere in Germany,” and is buried at Fountain Hill Cemetery.