DOB/DOD: March 21, 1924 (Bristol, CT) – April 20, 1944; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 25 Williams Street, Bristol
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-423678
FAMILY: Born to Boleslaw E. “William” (1884-1953) and Mary B. Smolenski Ardzienski (1891-1989). Both parents were born in Poland. Two sisters, Eugenia L. “Jennie” Ardzienski Sepko Weinstock (1913-2004) and Helen M. Ardzienski Camire (1920-2007). Two brothers, Henry (1914-1992) and Theodore E. (1916-1976).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Edwin served as a Radio Officer, SS Paul Hamilton, U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II. On her fifth voyage, the SS Paul Hamilton left Hampton Roads, Virginia, on April 2, 1944, as part of convoy U.G.S. 38, carrying supplies and the ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group and the 5th Reconnaissance Group of the United States Army Air Forces to Italy.
On the evening of April 20th, the Hamilton and other ships in the convoy were attacked 30 miles (48 km) in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cape Bengut near Algiers by 23 German Ju 88 bombers.
One aerial torpedo struck the Paul Hamilton and detonated the cargo of high explosives and bombs, and the ship and crew disappeared within 30 seconds. A total of approximately 580 men were lost.
DECORATIONS: Posthumously awarded the Mariner’s Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star
Bristol (CT) High School, Class of 1942 yearbook
From ww2today.com
One of the iconic images of the war was the picture of the SS Paul Hamilton being blown up after being struck by a German glider bomb. It was used extensively during the war to illustrate the hazards of supplying the front lines by convoy. However, the authorities did not want the whole truth to be told, and much of the story remained classified for the next fifty years. Many of the relatives of the men who died that night never lived long enough to learn the true circumstances of their fate.
None of the 8 officers, 39 crew, 29 armed guards from the Paul Hamilton, and 504 USAAF personnel aboard – including 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron and 317 officers and men of the 32nd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron – survived. Only one body was recovered.
