Edward Richard Radzwich, the designer of our Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge Certificate, died unexpectantly, under his magnolia tree on 9 July 2011. Ed conceived the design of the beautiful VBOB certificate on the back of a long Japanese calendar. Ed, faced with the dilemma of over 2,000 units that received the Ardennes Campaign credit and how to represent them, decided that each soldier in his unit would have had to have been attached to one of the major units (12th Army Group, or First, Third or First Allied Airborne Armies, or six Corps, or 33 Divisions or the units of the Eighth or Ninth Air Forces that supported the Bulge).
Thus, Ed took to cutting and pasting small copies of these major unit patches that fought in the Bulge and the flags of the United States, Belgium and Luxembourg. Photos from the National Archives Signal Corps Photo Collection to illustrate the harshness of the weather and the trudging through the forests satisfied with the concept and the wording it was turned over to a graphics artist and design company to finalize the design and prepare the artwork for printing. To date 8,000 of these Certificates have purchased by Bulge Veterans or their families in the Bulge Veterans name. The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge are indeed indebted to Ed Radzwich for this Certificate of recognition for those who served in the Battle of the Bulge.
Ed Radzwich was born into a coal miner’s family in West Hazleton PA. He was an active Boy Scout, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. A gifted high school graduate in the depression era and unable to afford further education, he saw the United States Army as his opportunity. He enlisted as a Private in May 1934 in the Chemical Corps. He completed service but was recalled from the Reserves in Feb 1941. Ed was selected to be one of the first groups of enlisted men to attend the new Officer Candidate School under BG Omar Bradley, at Fort Benning GA. Ed was being fitted at the tailors in Columbus GA, for his “Pinks & Greens,” Officer’s Dress uniform, when the news came over the radio that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, He graduated Infantry Officer Candidate School (OCS) class 41-3, one week after Pearl Harbor, Class 41-3 with a 2nd Lieutenant’s Commission.
He was assigned to the 26th Infantry (Yankee) Division, at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, that December 1941, at the time when most of the unit was given leave for the Holiday’s. As a newly minted 2nd Lt, Ed was assigned as officer-in-charge of most everything on the post since virtually all of the National Guard officers had taken leave. Ed, undaunted, using his intellect and initiative, rose to the occasion, and performed in a superior way with little of no guidance. This was to become a hallmark of his service. He was to be as one of the first Ranger trainees to attend the First Ranger School, Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee, in early 1943, where he graduated as a Ranger in the First Ranger Class. Ed was to remain with the “Yankee” Division throughout WWII advancing to Captain and Company Commander, I Company, 101st Infantry Regiment, prior to the unit leaving the states for combat.
Ed was one of the few company commanders to go into combat as a Company Commander and to come out of the war with the same company, which he led through the Campaigns of Northern France, Rhineland, the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) and central Europe. He was given R&R leave from Fulda Germany just before May 1945 and celebrated VE Day in New York City with his wife, Mary.
Ed was an outstanding Company Commander as attested to by his men, always leading from the front. For his heroic actions in combat he received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters. He also received two awards of the Army Commendation Medal. He was most proud of his Combat Infantryman Badge. Ed was a true hero.
After the war he was offered a Regular Army commission on 5 Jul 1946. He was assigned to US Military Government in Korea Jul 1946 – June 1949 and because of his six month’s experience, as a youth, working in a coal mine in Pennsylvania, he was put in charge of all the coal mines in Korea. He also served as Army Instructor, NJ National Guard Sept 1949-May 1951; Battalion Commander 33 RCT, Panama Canal Zone, Jul 52 – Jan 1955; Chief of Civil Affairs, Assistant Chief of Staff G-5, Eighth Army, Korea, Feb 1957 – Jun 1958; and G-3, Second US Army, Reserve Components, Fort George G. Meade, Jul 58 – Feb 1961. He retired as a Lieutenant- Colonel in Mar 1961 with 25 years of service.
On August 8, 2003 Edward Radzwich lost his beloved wife, Mary. They had been married 64 years. He is survived by three children, Gloria, Virginia and Edward Jr., two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Honors & Citations:
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star w/2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star w/2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart w/2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal w/ Oak Leaf Cluster, Combat Infantryman Badge, Presidential Unit Citation. Installed in Infantry OCS Hall of Fame, Ft Benning, GA, March 1959. For his outstanding contributions and decorations as a soldier, LTC Edward R. Radzwich was elected to membership in the prestigious Legion of Valor. He served our country with great distinction. He was an outstanding patriot.
Sources: Michael Samberg, who served as an enlisted man under Captain Radzwich during WWII and John D. Bowen, VBOB Recording Secretary.