Camden County, NJ HMT Rohna Memorial
Freedom is not free. Sometimes, it comes at a very high cost.
Twelve soldiers from Camden County — six men from South Camden, one from Haddonfield, one from Blackwood, one from Lindenwold, and one from Pennsauken — seven of them members of the 31st Signal Construction Battalion, died together when the troop transport HMT Rohna was struck by a German guided glider bomb and sank off the coast of North Africa. In addition, several other men from South Jersey were also lost. A total of 1,015 men were lost that day, but the story was never told to the families or the general public for over 57 years due to wartime censorship. At the time, conflicting stories were issued about the fates of these men. Some families were told that their sons were killed, others were told that their family members were missing in action. What little information that was released was delayed for months after the incident.
While during wartime, an excuse for censorship existed, any excuse for not revealing the truth about what happened to these men ended at the close of WWII. Virtually all of the parents of the men who died when the Rohna sank went to their graves never knowing the fate of their sons, and that was simply wrong. Not only were the families wronged, but in the case of Camden, an entire community was violated. Simply put, by January of 1946, the truth should have been told… try to imagine if SIX young men from your community disappeared without explanation one day.
The purpose of this page is to pay tribute to these young men who died for their country, and to call attention to the event so that young people may be told, and their memory endure forever.
The Rohna Survivors Memorial Association
MSNBC Coverage — Tom Brokaw — See the video
July 27, 2002 — Camden, NJ Hosts Memorial Service for HMT Rohna Victims & Families
Royal Navy, British Merchant Navy & Indian Merchant Navy Rohna Casualties
Camden County Men Lost on the HMT Rohna
Lost In The Service Of Our Country — November 26, 1943
| name | rank | home | last known address | survivors | age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Ballerino | PVT | Camden | 2004 South 10th Street | Uncle, Charles Graziosa; Brother, Charles Ballerino | 24 |
| Michael Carr | TEC5 | Camden | 1059 Everett Street | His wife, Mrs. Anna Carr | |
| Elmer F. Day | SGT | Merchantville | 521 Lexington Ave. | ||
| Jacob K. Jenkins | PVT | Pennsauken | |||
| Carl E. Johanson | SGT | Pennsauken | 5019 Jefferson Ave. | ||
| Joseph H. Johnson | PFC | Camden | 1273 Merrimac Road | His wife, Mrs. Julia Johnson | |
| Stephen V. Koscianski | TEC5 | Camden | St. Joseph's Parish | His mother, Mrs. Antonia Koscianski | 34 |
| William R. McKeon | PVT | Blackwood | Pine Avenue | ||
| Merl H. Reagle | PVT | Lindenwold | Maple Avenue | Parents, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Reagle | 21 |
| Lewis A. Riondino | SGT | Camden | 1474 South 4th Street | Parents, Mr. & Mrs. Salvatore Riondino | 32 |
| Harry V. Taylor, Jr. | PFC | Haddonfield | 3 Kings Highway East | Parents, Mr. & Mrs. Harry V. Taylor Sr. | 19 |
| Michael Yachus | PVT | Camden | 698 Viola Street | Wasyl & Anna Yatzus |
8th Ward War Memorial
Situated on the grounds of American Legion Post 274 at Broadway & Jefferson Street in Camden NJ, this monument is inscribed with the names of 24 men from what was then the 8th Ward of Camden NJ, who gave their lives in the service of our nation during World War II. Three of these men, Frank Ballerino, Michael Carr, & Michael Yachus, met their fate when the HMT Rohna was sunk by a German guided missile.
Please note that Private Michael Yachus's family spells the name as on the monument "YATZUS." When he went into the Army, he went in as "YACHUS," that is how he is listed on all Department of War records.
Polish Heroes Memorial
Adjacent to the 8th Ward of Camden lies the then mostly Polish parish of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, centered around the church at 10th & Mechanic Streets. In 1995 the South Jersey Division of the Polish American Congress honored the lost heroes of St. Joseph's parish with a monument at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken NJ. One of the 39 men whose names are engraved on this monument, Stephen V. Koscianski was aboard the HMT Rohna when she sank on November 26, 1943.
Delaware Gardens Fire Company Memorial
On the grounds of the Delaware Gardens Fire Company at 47th Street and Browning Road in Pennsauken NJ, this monument is dedicated to the nine men and one woman who gave their lives in the service of our nation during World War II. Of the nine men whose names are engraved on this monument, Jacob Kessler Jenkins was aboard the HMT Rohna when she sank on November 26, 1943.
Blackwood, NJ War Memorial
Erected in 1947, this monument is dedicated to the men and women from the Blackwood NJ area who served in World War II. Four men who lost their lives in World War II are noted on this monument. Of these four, William McKeon of Blackwood NJ lost his life when the Rohna was attacked on November 26, 1943.
Other South Jersey Men Lost on the HMT Rohna
November 26, 1943
| name | rank | unit | last known address | town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millard E. Buckingham | TEC4 | 31st Signal Construction Bn | 38 Grant Street | Deepwater |
| William T. Eastlack | TEC4 | 31st Signal Construction Bn | 142 I Street | Carney's Point |
| Carlton P. Hogan | CAPT | 322nd Fighter Control Sq | 207 East Union St. | Burlington |
| Gilmer B. Hutchins | PVT | 853rd Engineer Bn, Aviation | ||
| Clarence T. Jaggers | PVT | 853rd Engineer Bn, Aviation | Columbia Road & St. James Walk | National Park |
| Andrew W. Olsen | SGT | 853rd Engineer Bn, Aviation | Dorothy | |
| Emerson Spears | TEC4 | 31st Signal Construction Bn | Pennsgrove | |
| Aldo Stefannice | TEC5 | 31st Signal Construction Bn | 74 Norman Avenue | Pennsgrove |
| Thomas S. H. Walker Jr. | MSGT | US Infantry | 59 East 2nd Street | Moorestown |
See Also
Tag: hmt-rohna
Walter J. Koscianski
Private Walter J. Koscianski of 966 Bulson Street, Camden, served with the 63rd Signal Battalion. Born in Philadelphia in 1905, the oldest son of Polish immigrant parents, he drove a truck for the City of Camden's Highway and Parks Departments for five years before his induction in June 1942, and died on February 6, 1943 while driving a truck in Algiers. He is buried at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.
Stephen V. Koscianski
Technician 5th Class Stephen V. Koscianski of 966 Bulson Street, Camden, served with the 31st Signal Construction Company. Born in Philadelphia in 1907 to Polish immigrant parents, he ran an auto salvage and used car business beside the family home before his induction in October 1942, and was lost on November 27, 1943 when the troopship HMT Rohna was sunk in the Mediterranean.
Polish Heroes War Memorial
The Polish Heroes War Memorial at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J. (Park Drive and Route 130) unites three monuments — to Casimir Pulaski (1936, moved here 1984), Thaddeus Kosciusko (1984), and, since 1995, the members of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church of South Camden who died in World War II.
St. Joseph's Parish WWII War Memorial
A bronze plaque in the vestibule of St. Joseph Church at 10th and Liberty Streets in Camden, presented by the Catholic War Veterans, St. Joseph's Post 418, and dedicated April 3, 1949, honoring the parish's heroic war dead of World War II.
Remembering the HMT Rohna
Tom Brokaw's NBC Nightly News report on the sinking of the HMT Rohna on November 26, 1943, in which 1,015 American troops were lost — the greatest loss at sea of U.S. personnel in World War II.
15 Dead, 2 Missing from South Jersey
The War Department's June 13, 1944 casualty list named fifteen South Jersey men killed and two missing, among them Corporal Stephen V. Koscianski of 966 Bulson Street, Camden — one of twelve on the list who had been lost with the troopship HMT Rohna in the Mediterranean seven months earlier.