Born: February 22, 1917, Mulheim-Styrum, Germany
Died: January 26, 2008, Eatontown, New Jersey, USA
Buried: Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA – Our Lady of Częstochowa Cemetery
Family: wife – Leokadia (nee Musiał), three children
Medals: Polish – three times Cross of Valor, Honorary Wound Badge, “Pro Memoria” Medal; British – 1939-1945 Star, France-Germany Star
Fates during the war:
Józef Szczurek participated as a soldier of the Polish Army in the September Campaign of 1939 in Poland. Then he got to France, where he fought in the ranks of the Polish Armed Forces in the French campaign. Interned in the Miranda de Ebro camp in Spain. He got to Great Britain, where he joined the 1st Armored Division of General Maczek. From July 1944 until the end of World War II, he fought with the Division in campaigns in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. In April 1947, he returned with units of the 1st Division to Great Britain, where he served in the Polish Resettlement Corps.
Post-war fate:
After the war, he remained in exile. Eventually he settled in the United States – in New Jersey, and then in Eatontown. For many years he was the commandant of Post No. 51 (New Jersey) of the Polish Association of Veterans in America (PAVA-SWAP). In 2007, he was promoted by the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, to the rank of lieutenant. He died in 2008 in Eatontown. His funeral took place in Doylestown, the “American Częstochowa”, on January 30, 2008.
author: Aneta Hoffmann
source: „Kombatant” no. 2/2008