Joseph Yaschur

Joseph Yaschur of Elmwood Park since 1951, on Nov 17th, he was 93. Joseph was born on July 6th, 1922 to John and Sophie Yaschur, and was raised in Wallington. Joseph honorable served in WWII in the US Navy on the USS Hobson. *(Hobson arrived at Okinawa on 19 March 1945, well in advance of the assault troops, to sweep the offshore areas for mines. While searching for mines, Hobson was often attacked by Japanese aircraft, especially the dreaded kamikazes. As the actual assault on the island began in April, the ship took up patrol duties and provided night illumination during the first critical days of the campaign. Although Japanese aircraft were sustaining heavy losses in their attacks on the American warships, a good number of them still got through the anti-aircraft fire and hit their targets. On 13 April, Hobson was placed on the radar picket line away from the island to warn the rest of the fleet of incoming Japanese aerial attacks. Needless to say, this also exposed the ship to a number of attacks since it was isolated from the rest of the fleet. On 16 April, a kamikaze aircraft was shot down by Hobson’s gunners and the plane crashed beside the ship’s starboard side. But the bomb the plane was carrying managed to land right on Hobson’s main deck and blew up, igniting a large fire. The tough destroyer kept on shooting at more incoming Japanese aircraft while simultaneously fighting the fire on board the ship. Throughout all of this, Hobson also managed to rescue 100 men from another American destroyer that was sunk by a kamikaze. But Hobson was badly damaged and had to withdraw from the radar picket line.) It was at this battle that Joseph earned a Bronze Star for his valiant efforts in restoring power to the ship, that had been lost during the explosion. He was able to run new cables, bypassing the damaged areas, and thereby saving the ship from further devastation. After returning from the War, Joseph married Helen Elasick in New York City at the Little Church Around the Corner. In 1951 they moved into their home in Elmwood Park. Prior to his retirement in 1986, Joseph had worked for the Telephone Company, as the Power Plant Supervisor for Northern New Jersey, after 35 years. Joseph is survived by his loving children, JoAnn Schopperth, John Yaschur III and Ellen Goodman. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Helen and his two brothers and three sisters. Joseph is also survived by his two beloved granddaughters and two beloved grandsons. Visiting, Thursday, November 19th, 4-8 PM, Warner-Wozniak Funeral Service, 80 Midland Ave, Wallington, NJ. A funeral liturgy will be celebrated 10 am, Friday, St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, 170 Lexington Ave, Passaic, NJ. Interment will follow at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.

*Credit: NAVAL WARFARE - June 5, 2012