Edward Dombrowski was born on 13 February 1917, in Peru, Illinois, to Vincent and Mary (Mikus) Dombrowski. About 10 years before his birth, Edward’s father, Vincent, emigrated to the U.S. from near Ostrołęka in Poland. Edward’s mother, Mary, was born in Illinois to Polish immigrant parents, John and Ann Mikus. The couple married on 01 October 1912, at St. Valentine’s Church in Peru and made their home in the small community, with Vincent working as a laborer at a local zinc company. Edward was the couple’s fourth child.
Tragedy struck the Dombrowski family early and often. When Edward was just five years old, his younger brother Joseph suffered fatal burns after falling into a pan of boiling water. This devastating accident occurred only a few years after the death of Edward’s brothers Walter, who had succumbed to cholera as a baby, and John who also died as a baby at only six months old. The heartbreak deepened when Edward’s mother, Mary, passed away in 1927 at the young age of 32 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Edward, just 10 years old at the time, found himself motherless, with his family struggling to cope with the loss. His mother was laid to rest in St. Valentine’s Cemetery alongside her young sons who had passed before her.
Following his mother’s death, Edward and his surviving siblings were raised by their father, Vincent, who now worked as a furnace man at the local zinc works. Edward’s maternal grandparents, who most likely had played a role in the children’s lives, both passed away in the years following their daughter Mary’s death. By 1930, the family was living in a home they owned at 524 14th Street in Peru, where Edward, his father, and his siblings did their best to move forward in the face of adversity.
As a young man, Edward worked hard to support himself and his family. By 1940, he was employed as a janitor at a restaurant, and later he found work as a chef at Old’s Restaurant in Wyanet, Illinois. However, like so many young men of his generation, the outbreak of World War II would alter the course of Edward’s life. His older brother Frank was drafted into the Army in February 1942, and Edward followed on 26 March 1942.
Edward was assigned to the 33rd Armored Regiment, part of the 3rd Armored Division’s Reconnaissance unit, which was undergoing intensive training at Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. The 3rd Armored Division, also known as the “Spearhead Division,” would later become one of the most effective and celebrated armored units in the European Theater. But Edward would not live to see his comrades go into combat. In July 1943, while home on furlough, tragedy struck again. On the morning of 3 July 1943, Edward and his friend Stanley Pelczynski were driving near the Hennepin Canal when their car veered off the road and rolled down an embankment. Edward sustained a chest injury that punctured his lung, and although he was rushed to the hospital in nearby Princeton, he did not survive.
Private Edward Dombrowski was just 26 years old when he passed away. He was laid to rest in St. Valentine’s Cemetery in Hall Township, Bureau County, Illinois, where he was buried near his mother and siblings. Edward’s father, Vincent, passed away a few months later in January 1944 leaving his remaining four sons and a daughter to mourn him.
Though Edward’s time in the military was brief, his service reflects the sacrifice of a generation of men who gave their lives, directly or indirectly, in the fight for freedom during World War II. His brothers Vincent and Frank also served during the war, adding to the Dombrowski family’s legacy of service and sacrifice. Edward’s life and service, cut short before he could fulfill his potential as a soldier, remain a testament to the trials and heroism of a young man from a small Illinois town.
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? If so, visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org and fill out the contact form.
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- SBTSProject/Illinois/LaSalle
- SBTS Historian: Pam Broviak
- Story was written with AI-assistance
You can also access this story at the following sites:
Fold3 Memorial: https://www.fold3.com/memorial/664274180/edward-dombrowski/stories
- Sources:
- 1920 U.S. Census, Vincent Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- 1930 U.S. Census, Vincent Dabrowski, Ancestry.
- 1940 U.S. Census, Vincent Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- Marriage License, Wincenty Dombrowski and Maryanna Mikus, 1912, No. 5210.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, Vincent Dombrowski, No. 2340, 1944.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Birth, Wladyslaw Dabrowski, 1915, Recorded Book V Page 148.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, Joseph Dombrowski, No. 15819, 1923.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, Walter Dombrowski, No. 20583, 1916.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, John Dombrowski, No. 28110, 1918.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, Mary Dombrowski, No. 36260, 1927.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, Anna Mikus, No. 43795, 1929.
- State of Illinois, Certificate of Death, John Mikus, No. 17892, 1930.
- U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Josephine Mary Dombroski, Ancestry.
- U.S., World War II Draft Cards Registration Cards, 1942, Vincent Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Vince R. Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Frank John Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, Frank J. Dombrowski, Ancestry.
- IDPF, Edward Dombrowski, Service No 36397242, National Archives.
- “Killed in Crash While on Furlough,” The Bureau County Tribune, 9 July 1943, p. 1, NewspaperArchive.com.
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/127854685/edward-dombrowski
