HENRY R. SADOWSKI, MIDN, USN
Henry Sadowski '52
Lucky Bag
Midshipman 3/c Henry Sadowski in the 1950 Lucky Bag.
The 1952 Lucky Bag devotes one of its first pages to "Henry R. Sadowski, Born 17 October, 1926 Died 4 July, 1950". "In Memoriam" is at the bottom of the page, but there is no further information.
Loss
Henry was lost on July 4, 1950 when the aircraft he was aboard crashed into Lake Michigan. He was on a familiarization flight as a part of midshipman summer training.
Other Information
From the La Crosse Tribune on July 6, 1950:
Crash Victims Named By Glenview Officials
GLENVIEW , ILL. (AP) — The Glenview naval air station disclosed Wednesday the names of three men killed Tuesday in the crash of a torpedo bomber in Lake Michigan.
They were the pilot. Ens. J.L. Holt, Skokie, Ill; Francis P. Burke, a navy enlisted man of Chicago and Midshipman 2C Henry R. Sadowski, Kenosha, Wis.
The plane was on a return trip from the Glenview station to Chincoteague naval auxiliary air station in Virginia by way of the Grosse Ile, Mich., air station near Detroit.
It plunged into the lake 10 miles west of Michigan City, Ind. It took off from Glenview shortly before noon Tuesday.
Sadowski attended the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.
The date of the crash was July 4, 1950. He is also confirmed as lost in the July 6, 1950 edition of the Chicago Tribune. He is listed as lost in the "line of duty" in the book "As We Recall: Reminiscences of the Naval Academy Class of 1952."
Unable to find a burial location.
His name is given as Henry Robert Sadowski in the 1951 Naval Academy Register. It also, incorrectly, gives the date of his death as July 17, 1950.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Henry attended St. Casimir’s parochial school and Roosevelt Military Academy at Aledo, Illinois. In the latter's 1943 yearbook, he was in B Company, played football, and was one of 16 to be chosen for the Crack Squad of drillers. At the Davenport Relays, he was fourth in the broad jump.
He saw active duty in the Pacific during World War II; he had left the aircraft carrier Valley Forge to enter the Naval Academy.
His father Alex, a bakery salesman, and mother Genevie were both born in Poland. His sister was Sabini (Mrs. Fortney Larsen.)
Henry's Find A Grave page is here.
Memorial Hall Error
Henry should be listed with his classmates in Memorial Hall. This error was discovered while researching other losses from the Class of 1952.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
