DOB/DOD: March 27, 1918 (Waterbury, CT) – March 11, 1945; 26 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Vosca Sottosanto (1914-1995) on July 5, 1941, in Barre, Vermont
LOCAL ADDRESS: 945 South Main Street, Waterbury
ENLISTMENT: March 15, 1943, in Springfield, Massachusetts
SERVICE NUMBER: 845624
UNIT: Company L, 3rd Battalion, 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0746, Automatic Rifleman
FAMILY: Born to Polish-born Walter (1883-1944) and Josephine Nowakowski (1883-1961). The last name of “Nowie” was used by Joseph. Fourth born of six children. Siblings are Bertha Nowakowski Sedlick (1901-1927), Stella Nowakowski Zdanowicz (1905-1997), Nicholas “Tony” [1913-1997; wounded in Europe in WWII], John (1915-1993), Walter (1921-1985), and Marion Nowakowski DeLeon (1924-1996). 1 Worked at Waterbury Manufacturing Co. in Waterbury prior to the service. 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, in the Spring of 1943. Assigned to the Marine Corps School at Quantico, Virginia, in the Summer of 1943. In October of 1943, assigned to Detachment C, Navy Yard, New York City. In January 1944, assigned to the Naval Operating Base, Iceland, through April 1944. Went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in July 1944 for infantry training. Assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, 21st Marines, 3rd Battalion in October of 1944. 3 Nature and manner of death are unknown.
The photo source is unknown.
From The Hartford Courant March 13, 1945
Six Men from State in Same Marine Unit
Six Connecticut men are all members of the same infantry company in the Third Marines, five of them having fought in the battle for Guam, according to a Marine Corps dispatch from somewhere in the Pacific. The men are: Corporal Joseph Kvadus Jr., 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kvadus Sr. of 118 Blue Hills Extension, North Bloomfield; Sergeant Phillip E. LeTarte, 23, of Waterbury; Corporal Albert F. Webster, 20, of Meriden; Corporal Kenneth J. Kitchen, 25, son of Mrs. Mae E. Whaples of 39 Governor Street, East Hartford; and Private First Class Joseph J. Nowie, 28, of Waterbury. WEBMASTER NOTE: PFC Nowie was the only one of the six that didn’t survive the war.
Initially buried in the 3rd Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima; Row 35, Grave 869. At his wife’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried on February 24, 1949, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 2177 Puowaina Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii; Section O, Site 31. 4 Photo from FindAGrave.com.
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238
3 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/
4 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request