From the family of Stephen Joseph Antosy III
If you never met my dad, I’m sorry you missed a chance to get to know him. It is with a heavy heart I share the news that we lost a true American hero and friend to all. This incredible person is my dad, Stephen Joseph Antosy III. My dad passed away peacefully on June 3, 2024. I was blessed to be with him in his final moments as he took his last breath. To look at my dad’s face is to see the love and compassion he had for life and that was evident in the passion, love and joy he shared with us all, making it to his 99th birthday. My dad had a real zest for life and truly enjoyed every aspect of it, all the way to the end.
My dad was born on March 17, 1925, in Reading, Pennsylvania, to his loving parents Anna (Urkuski) and Stephen Antosy Jr. He was the youngest of three siblings. Dad grew up an adventurous kid who loved to explore and learn about the world. My dad had a great childhood friend named Louie Morrello. Louie gave my dad life-skills training at a young age by teaching him about the radio repair business – and even how to fly a plane! These skills would stay with my dad for the rest of his life.
On June 19, 1943, my dad was polishing his Model A Ford when his dad approached him with a letter from the government, a draft letter. Instead of my dad being angry, scared or upset he turned to his dad and said, “Great, I am going to see the world!” He was proud to serve the country he loved so much.
My dad’s military journey began when he was sent to Fort Belvoir (Home of the Engineers). From there he trained in Wales to learn radar and Morse Code mastery. From Wales he moved to Land Ends, England, where he was shown the map of the beaches of Normandy and the plans the United States and the Allies had to participate in the invasion on Omaha Beach. Learning this information was good and bad, because now he was sequestered from others and had no privacy, as the military needed to protect the top-secret war plans.
From there my dad’s home was sailing on a LST ship across the English Channel for many weeks, with his makeshift bed a military truck. He arrived at Omaha Beach June 6, 1944, around 11:00 am. Reality set in fast that this was no drill as he navigated off the landing craft. He watched other men traverse into the surf. My dad never learned to swim when he was young. The sheer weight of his gear would have drowned him if he had not observed how the other soldiers exited the landing craft. Once on shore he needed to strategically move towards the cliffs of Omaha Beach without being shot or killed by German gunfire.
My dad was an amphibious engineer and a part of the 348th Army Core Engineers. His responsibility was to set up the communications between the ships and the command posts on land. Every day my dad risked his life to bring supplies back and forth from the ships parked out in the harbor. Living in a German bunker and later in foxholes for months, he was exposed to so much death and destruction. My dad even visited an active concentration camp that made him feel so incredibly helpless. He grew up fast, believing his cause was vital to making the world a safer place.
On December 25, 1944, my dad celebrated Christmas at the Battle of the Bulge with a bowl of cold porridge, happy to be alive. These were the coldest nights he had ever faced in his lifetime. He slept on a cold cement slab in a French chateau with a thin military blanket to keep him warm. All together my dad fought in six war campaigns while participating in the European Theater. My dad was a man of faith, and truly believed that God was with him throughout the entire war.
When the war was over my dad’s commander asked him if he wanted to stay in Germany to work for AFN (American Forces Network) as a broadcaster. This job led to my dad participating in the Nuremberg Trials, where he spent time communicating the daily happenings of the trials. My dad became a devoted ham operator and enjoyed speaking with people all over the world. Germany was also a great place for my dad because that’s where he met my mother Dorothy (Von Groidl). Together they lived in Bayreuth, Germany for six years and later added my sister Gabriella (Manchester) to their family.
After leaving Europe my parents and sister all moved to the United States and lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where my dad began working with RCA (Radio Corporation of America). My dad became a member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) – the largest technical professional society. Over the years, working for RCA provided my parents and sister opportunities to live and work in both the United States and overseas.
While in Japan 1955-1961 as the overseas manager, my dad met a Japanese admiral who commanded during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He told the story, “Never in my wildest imagination would I ever think a decade after the war I would form a friendship with the enemy and be drinking a sake together.” Working with RCA in Japan gave my dad many opportunities to meet interesting and notably unique people such as General Sarnoff, the Dali Lama, and Panchen Lama.
During 1961-1962 RCA sent my family to Iran where my dad’s responsibility was overseeing the communications project with Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. Iran was where my twin brother Stephen IV and I, Leslie (Flores) were born, in a US Army Hospital in Tehran, Iran.
After our travels to the middle east, we settled in Pasadena, California. Always ready for adventure, my dad took an RCA job in Greenland for two years. While living in Tule, Greenland, his role with RCA was to monitor the space junk orbiting around the earth and monitor airspace to ensure no missiles were entering the United States from Russia, part of the United States Cold War tactical programs. My dad loved to tell everyone how amazing it was to live six months in complete darkness and six months in complete light. Aluminum foil really helped on those sun-filled days he would say. Continuing his passion for electronic engineering, he worked in various management jobs until his retirement in 1990.
In 1967, my family moved from Pasadena to San Marino, California where he resided for 57 years until his death.
My dad was an avid reader and had an extensive book collection, mainly of military and aviation books. Many of his books were autographed by the famous people who authored or were connected to the book’s story. Over the years he would reach out with a letter and autograph request, some of which included Mother Teresa, Charles Lindbergh, the Apollo Astronauts, the various US Presidents, Political and Foreign leaders and famous celebrities. My dad’s office was like a museum, filled with all his books, autographs and collectible items from our travels. He always claimed he could never be bored when there was so much to read about or discover through radio programs.
Traveling was very important to our family. We went all over the world, including all of South and Central America, Europe, the Orient, South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Canada, Mexico and the United States. My dad always told me and my brother that traveling was the best investment one could ever make.
When my dad said goodbye to friends and family he would always say, “Don’t forget to keep breathing!” My dad was never afraid of death, and saying excitingly, “It will be a high adventure!”
My dad’s next excellent adventure arrived June 3, 2024! If you have never met my dad Stephen Antosy III, I hope this story about his life made you feel a sense of connection to him. If you were lucky enough to know my dad and call him a friend, you couldn’t help but feel blessed to know such a great man and fantastic hero from the Greatest Generation! God Bless you dad!
Stephen Joseph Antosy III was preceded in death by his loving wife Dorothy of 68 years. He leaves behind daughter Gabriella (Michael Manchester); twins Leslie (Abraham Flores), Stephen IV (Laurie Welsh) Grandchildren, Alexandria, Kaitlyn and Stephen V (Joey).
