Frank J. Owsianka
Private First Class Frank J. Owsianka, Quartermaster Corps, U.S. Army
Private First Class Frank J. Owsianka was born on September 27, 1920, in Chester, PA. He was the son of John and Agnes Owsianka, who had come to America in 1914. By 1930 the family, which included brothers Joseph, Alfred, and Edward, had moved to 1563 Norris Street in Camden, where John Owsianka worked as a butcher in a slaughterhouse. Frank Owsianka attended St. Joseph Parochial School and Hatch Junior High School. He was employed by a cigar company in Camden.
After being drafted into the Army on September 14, 1942, he received his basic training and was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps. He went overseas in the late summer of 1943, serving in the South Pacific.
Frank J. Owsianka drowned in an accident while serving near Townsville, Queensland, Australia, on March 1, 1944. He was declared dead at the US Army Hospital at Townsville the following day. He was survived by his parents, and brothers Joseph and Alfred. Joseph Owsianka was then serving in the United States Navy. His death was reported in the March 15, 1944 evening edition of the Camden Courier-Post.
After the war, his body was returned home, and he was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery, 240 South Chews Landing Road, Gloucester Township, NJ, on March 13, 1948.
His brother Joseph Owsianka served in the Navy during World War II, and owned Martin & Owens Cafe at 1400 Sheridan Street in Camden, NJ, from the late 1940s until the 1960s.
1563 Norris Street, Camden NJ
Private First Class Frank J. Owsianka lived in this house at 1563 Norris Street, Camden, NJ, with his parents, John and Agnes Owsianka, and his brothers, Joseph and Alfred.
Pfc. F. J. Owsianka To Have Military Rites
Camden Courier-Post —
Military rites for Pfc. Frank J. Owsianka, 23, will be conducted Saturday. Relatives and friends will meet at 9 a.m. in a funeral home at 1331 South Tenth street. High Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. in St. Joseph's Church, Tenth and Mechanic streets. Burial will be in St. Joseph's cemetery, Chews Landing.
Friends may call at the funeral home Friday night. A guard of honor will be posted by Laskowski-Wojtkowiak post 74, American Legion. A squad from Ft. Dix will fire over the grave at the burial.
Private Owsianka, a native of Chester, was drowned at Townsville, Queensland, Australia, March 1, 1944. He entered the army Sept. 14, 1942, and had been overseas a year when he lost his life.
Surviving are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jan Owsianka, of 1563 Norris street, and two brothers, Alfred and Joseph.
St. Joseph Cemetery, Gloucester Township NJ
Grave marker of Private First Class Frank J. Owsianka, St. Joseph Cemetery, 240 South Chews Landing Road, Gloucester Township, NJ