It was almost five years from the day Sergeant John Joseph Sadowski was killed by enemy fire in France until his body was brought back to his Perth Amboy home for a re-burial in Saint Stephen’s Cemetery in Keasby cemetery with full military honors.
Sadowski, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Sadowski, was born Dec. 8, 1917 and raised in Perth Amboy, achieving honors as an athlete during his high school years. He enlisted in the army in May 1943. By January 1944, he was a 26 year old sergeant and tank commander serving with Company A , 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division. He was killed while putting his life in danger in attempts to save a fellow soldier who could not escape a burning tank under fire.
A copper plant worker in Perth Amboy before enlisting in the Army, Sadowski was one of six sons and two daughters of John and Stella Sadowski. The entire family was at Ft. George G. Meade base in Maryland on April 21, 1945, when his Medal of Honor was presented to his father. This was the first time such a ceremony had been held at that base, and the family was invited to review the 7th regiment complement of soldiers, tanks, jeeps and half-tracks following the presentation. The hero’s Medal of Honor citation was signed by the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in presenting the Medal to Sgt. Sadowski’s father Major General Francis Melon said it was one of the last official acts of the President before he died April 12.
The Rev. Zenon Lesnowski, pastor of St. Stephen’s Church and the family’s pastor, offered the funeral mass and gave the eulogy, Mayor John Delaney was present, and Governor Driscoll ordered flags throughout the state flown at half staff and declared it Sgt. John Joseph Sadowski Day in New Jersey. His body was taken by military caisson from the church to the cemetery, in a solemn procession that included veterans and others honoring the fallen soldier.
Three years after her son’s burial in the United States, Sgt. Sadowski’s mother, Stella, now a Gold Star Mother, officially became a citizen of the United States, along with other new citizens, taking her pledge of allegiance to the country for whom her son had given his life.
Sgt. Sadowski’s Citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Valhey, France. On the afternoon of 14 September 1944, Sgt. Sadowski as a tank commander was advancing with the lead elements of Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, through an intensely severe barrage of enemy fire from the streets and buildings of the town of Valhey. As Sgt. Sadowski’s tank advanced through the hail of fire, it was struck by a shell from an 88-mm gun fired at a range of 20 yards. The tank was disabled and burst into flames. The suddenness of the enemy attack caused confusion and hesitation among the crews of the remaining tanks of our forces. Sgt. Sadowski immediately ordered his crew to dismount and take cover in the adjoining buildings. After his crew had dismounted, Sgt. Sadowski discovered that one member of the crew, the bow gunner, had been unable to leave the tank. Although the tank was being subjected to a withering hail of enemy small-arms, bazooka, grenade, and mortar fire from the streets and from the windows of adjacent buildings, Sgt. Sadowski unhesitatingly returned to his tank and endeavored to pry up the bow gunner’s hatch. While engaged in this attempt to rescue his comrade from the burning tank, he was cut down by a stream of machine-gun fire which resulted in his death. The gallant and noble sacrifice of his life in the aid of his comrade, undertaken in the face of almost certain death, so inspired the remainder of the tank crews that they pressed forward with greater ferocity and completely destroyed the enemy forces in this town without further loss to themselves. The heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Sgt. Sadowski, which resulted in his death, inspired the remainder of his forces to press forward to victory and reflect the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.
The Sadowski Field House at Fort Knox, Kentucky is named in his honor as well as Sadowski Field at Fort Hood, Texas. A monument bearing his name was erected on the Garden State Parkway in Perth Amboy by the Society of Polish Combatants (Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantow), Post 40.
In 1999, the citizens of Valhey, France, also erected a monument honoring Sgt. Sadowski. In September, 2009, ceremonies were held at the monument recognizing 65 years since Sgt. Sadowski’s death. Colonel James Leach, who knew Sadowski personally and was the commander of Company B, of the same 37th Tank Battalion at the time of Sgt. Sadowski’s death, was a speaker at the ceremony.
Other New Jersey Recipients of the Medal of Honor
