Stanley A. Malinowski
Biography: Stanley Anthony Malinowski, “Stan”, was born on September 28, 1919, in New Britain, Connecticut. He was the son of Joseph Malinowski and Mary Ciepla and attended Sacred Heart Elementary and Nathan Hale Junior High through the 9th grade. After leaving school, he worked as a bread route salesman.
Service Time: Stan entered the service on February 11, 1942, at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and qualified as a Sharpshooter with the Carbine and as a 2nd Class Gunner during artillery training. He was sent for radio repairman training, which he would have put to use when he was assigned to Company B of the 703rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The 703rd shipped out from the New York port on September 4, 1943, and arrived in England on the 15th. After receiving additional training, they boarded transports and landed in France on July 1, 1944. They saw their first action near Hautes Vents, on the 13th, and participated in the Cobra breakout at the end of month.
They were held in reserve during the Mortain battle in August and then crossed the River Seine on the 26th. The 703rd reached the Siegfried Line, in the vicinity of Eschweiler, Germany, by September 12th and were the first battalion converted to M36 tank destroyers, beginning on the 30th. They fought along the West Wall until mid-December, and then transferred to the Ardennes after the Germans launched their offensive. They fought to reduce the Bulge in January, 1945, and joined the drive to Cologne in February and early March. On March 23, they crossed the Rhine River, near Honnef, and participated in the envelopment of the Ruhr, before moving east and holding in place at Dessau, by April 14th.
At some point, Stan was transferred to the HQ Company, 2nd Battalion of the 423rd Infantry Regiment. This may have been after the war had ended and men were being shipped home or off in preparation for service in the Pacific. Stan received credit for each of the unit’s campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. He also received the American Defense Medal, the EAME Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He left the service at the Fort Devens, MA, separation center on October 25, 1945, at the rank of Techinician 4th Grade.
After returning home, Stan went back to work on the bread route but he later owned a store, worked as a bartender and in a receiving and shipping department. On June 4th, 1949, he married the former Irene J. Waskelewicz, who was also born in New Britain and was the daughter of Adolph K. Waskelewicz and Josephine Liro. The new couple had three sons, David, born in 1953, Donald, in 1954 and Kenneth in 1956. In his spare time, Stan enjoyed softball, bowling and cribbage and he also volunteered as a youth coach.
Stan was a member of a number of organizations, including the Kosciusko Post, World War Veterans, the VFW, the Elks, the Polish Falcons of America and was the Chairman of the Veteran’s Commission for the City of New Britain. On October 23, 2000, Stan passed away and was buried in the Sacred Heart Cemetery, in New Britain.
I want to thank Stan’s son, David, for providing the information and photos used in this tribute.