DOB/DOD: January 19, 1917 (Jessup, PA) – February 20, 1945; 28 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Gidia Jean Fiorelli (1916-1981) on August 27, 1941, in Jessup, Pennsylvania. Gidia remarried in 1948 to Clayton Swoyer of Jessup, Pennsylvania.
LOCAL ADDRESS: 269 Porter Street, Watertown
ENLISTMENT: August 5, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SERVICE NUMBER: 892063
UNIT: Company B, 5th Engineer Battalion, 5th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0533, Demolition Specialist
FAMILY: Born to Piotr “Peter” (1887-1936) and Rosa Renowitz Zwanch (1895-1947), both born in Austria. Third born of seven children. Siblings are Michael (1911-1980), Patrick (1913-1999), Stephen (1919-2005), Mary Zwanch Franchak (1921-2004), Anna Zwanch Dykun (1924-2012), and Andrew (1927-2016). 1 Worked at the Watertown Manufacturing Company prior to enlisting. 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Engineer training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Additional training with his final unit, the 5th Marine Division, 5th Engineer Battalion, Oceanside, California. 4 His casualty record said he died from shrapnel fragment wounds in the lower extremities. 3
Photo from Corporal Zwanch’s nephew, Mike Cherochak
This telegram was contributed by Mike Cherochak.
Honored on the War Memorial, 508 Church Street, Jessup, Pennsylvania. Photo from HMdb.org and William Fischer, Jr.
Mike Cherochak contributed the form below. This document is the only one of its kind that was contributed to the book. A unique document that gave the family comfort that their loved one was given a proper burial.
Initially buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Plot 2, Row 1, Grave 518. At his widow’s and sister’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried on January 13, 1949, in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, Virginia; Section 12, Grave 6992. 3It is unknown why his headstone shows “Virginia” as his home state. 3Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238
3 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
4 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/