Norman Sakowitz
PFC in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co B, 4th Platoon
ASN#31248349
Born 1918 in CT, Died 1991
Artist
County of residence at enlistment: Fairfield County, CT
Other residence(s): Bridgeport, CT; Easton, CT
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: decorators and window dressers
Norman Sakowitz (who was known in high school and in the Army as "Sak") was born on August 6, 1918 in Bridgeport, CT, the oldest of three children. His mother and all four of his grandparents had been born in Russia. His father was the proprietor of a grocery and fruit store in 1930; by 1940 he worked as a shipping clerk at a dairy product manufacturing business.
He attended Central High School in Bridgeport where was a home room leader, served on the art staff and business board of the newspaper, ran track, and participated in the stage crew. His yearbook writeup says that "as artist, cartoonist, he ranks at the top."
He graduated from Central in 1935 and in 1940 he was working as a shipping clerk with a phonograph record manufacturer. By the time he enlisted, on November 6, 1942, he was working as a decorator/window dresser. He was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and served in Europe with the unit during the war. He was discharged on October 22, 1945 and returned to Bridgeport.
At some point he went to work as a writer at Sikorsky Aircraft, and continued to work there as a writer, technical writer, and editor throughout his career.
On February 12, 1950 he married Ethel Fleischer, who had been an Army nurse during World War II, and who continued to work as a nurse. He and Ethel became the parents of two sons: Mark and Paul.
Norman was a frequent blood donor, and wrote a number of letters to the editor at the Bridgeport Post, mostly on international topics such as Red China and Israel.
During the 1960s, he wrote a three-act play for television entitled One Part of the Ocean, using the nom de plume "Norman Sak."
He died on May 6, 1991 in Bridgeport (though he was living in Easton at the time) and is buried at Ahavath Achim Cemetery in Fairfield, CT.
Photo:
From 1935 yearbook (see link below)
Sources:
1930 census
1935 yearbook
1940 census
1942 enlistment record
1950 marriage record
1955 shipboard manifest, NY to Plymouth, England; traveling with his wife; he is teacher
1960 Bridgeport city directory
1964 catalog of copyright entries
1966 article in the Bridgeport Post (CT) indicating he is a frequent blood donor
https://www.newspapers.com/image/60221514/?terms=norman%20sakowitz&match=1
1971 letter to the editor in the Bridgeport Post (CT)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/59510599/?terms=norman%20sakowitz&match=1
1972 Bridgeport city directory
1981 Bridgeport city directory
1991 Connecticut death index
1991 Social Security applications and claims index
1991 VA death record
1991 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205152292/norman-sakowitz
2006 wife's obituary
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ctpost/name/ethel-sakowitz-obituary?id=26072739