Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1948 Lucky Bag:

EDWARD PAUL SUPANCIC

Strapping . . . work horse build and disposition . . . this fellow is one of those big hidden timbers that has held up our class by just being a solid member of the unit. Ed’s potentialities are hidden by his carefree attitude and slightly reserved nature . . . don’t let this fool you . . . he’s a worker and has plenty of figuring ability to make it count. Appreciative of good humor . . . slightly above lowly skylarking . . . a character just as solid as his frame . . . couldn’t put on an air if he had one. Square. . . right down to earth in everything he does . . . always cool and practical . . . loyal to his well-founded ideals and to anything he earnestly undertakes. Ed has made his own way wherever he has gone. . . he can be pretty stubborn but is usually dead right. Still his simple naturalness fits him for circulation in any circle. It’s a job for his rustic well-scrubbed face to look anything but pleasant . . . the sturdiness of an oak . . . patience plus . . . common sense by the bushel . . . perseverance unsurpassed . . . acumen . . . adaptability . . . with a main battery like that there’s just no holding him.

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Ed was on the 2nd Regimental Staff in the fall. He graduated from the 17th Company with the class of 1948-B in June 1948. (The top half of the class academically, designated 1948-A, graduated in June 1947 as the last wartime-accelerated class.)

Loss

A Navy flight instructor at Kingsville, Texas, Edward was lost on August 4, 1955 when his two-engine S2F carrier-type plane crashed and burned 35 miles southwest of Kingsville Naval Air Station. Lt. Comdr. Carlo Palermo was also killed. The men were assigned to Advanced Training Unit (ATU) 402. There was no distress call. The wreckage was found by two oilmen.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Edward enlisted in the service on April 27, 1943. He received recruit training at the Naval Training Station, Sampson, New York. In 1944, he completed a course at the Naval Academy Preparatory School, Bainbridge, Maryland. He then served on the USS Reina Mercedes until he entered the Naval Academy.

His brother, Lt. Rudolph, was commissioned at Fort Benning, Georgia, and in June 1944, he was stationed in England.

At the Naval Academy, he participated in varsity basketball and wrestling. He received his navy wings on December 8, 1949, at Pensacola.

Edward’s father was Louis, a coal miner, and his mother was Anna. They were born in Yugoslavia, and she died in 1938. His sisters were Pauline and Margaret, and his brother Rudolph was also a coal miner.

His wife was the former Claire Veronica Thiobeault. They had twin sons born 9/15/1953 in Kleberg, Texas: Edward Paul, Jr., and John Allen. A third son Carl Michael was born 12/1/1954.

Ed is buried in Pennsylvania.

Photographs

1948-B 17th Company

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Charles Strahley ‘48 and Robert Smith ‘48 were also on the same page of the 1948-B Lucky Bag, which was organized by state.

Robert Smith ‘48 was also in 17th Company.