Edward F. Szymialis
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Bomb shrapnel victim becomes barber
Edward F. Szymialis was born and raised in Ohio, where he graduated from high school. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served aboard the USS Bunker Hill as a machinist mate first class.
He was awarded the:Purple Heart for wounds caused by shrapnel from a Japanese bomb.
Mr. Szymialist met his future wife when both were aboard a train traveling to duty stations in Washington state.
He was discharged in 1946.
He moved to Duluth, Minnesota in 1950 and worked at Brad's Barber Shop in West Duluth. He also had his own barber shop in Proctor, Minnesota for 12 years.
He died in 1995.
