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| Alfred Blozis left the New York Giants to serve as a lieutenant with the 28th Infantry Division near Colmar, France. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18922321/alfred-charles-blozis http://www.bloodybucket.be/history.htm |
Alfred Blozis never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 5, 1919 in New Jersey. His parents Anthony and Martha were both born in Lithuania. They came to America in 1910 and 1912, respectively. His father worked as an electric company laborer and later worked as a carpenter for Gumbels Store. Alfred had one older sister and one younger brother. While still in high school Alfred grew to be six foot six and weighed 250 pounds. Alfred developed great skills as a discus thrower and shot putter while in high school and set many state and national records. He was also an All-State footballer. He attended Georgetown University where he played football, led his team to the best record Georgetown has ever seen, before or since, and was recognized as an All American. For three years in a row from 1940 to 1942 he was the AAU and NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the shot-put.
In 1941 Alfred was selected as one of the top three greatest athletes of the year. The other two were boxer Joe Louis and golfer Ben Hogan.
Alfred was drafted to play offensive and defensive tackle for the New York Football Giants in the 1942. He played two years before he was able to join the army. He was selected as an All Star in 1942 and All Pro in 1943.
He was initially denied entry into the army because of his large size. He was finally inducted into the army on December 9, 1943. He first served as a physical instructor and then was sent to officer candidate school. While there he set the army record for tossing a grenade 94 yards, 2 feet, 6.5 inches. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant and after playing one last game for the NY Giants where he played for the NFL Championship, he was sent to Europe. Prior to leaving, he told his brother, "Take care of the family. I don't think I'll be coming back."
He was assigned to lead a platoon in the 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. The 28th ID first saw action in Normandy, before Lt. Blozis joined as a replacement in December 1944. By that time it was fighting in the French Alsace region.
He died in the Battle of Black Mountain near Colmar, France on January 31, 1945. On that day he sent out a patrol of nine men into the Vosges Mountains. A heavy snow developed and only seven men returned. Lt. Blozis decided to go find the missing men. His men remember hearing the burst of a German machine-gun and Lt. Blozis did not return. He was originally listed as missing in action, but his death was confirmed in April.
His grave is at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France.
Albert's pro football jersey number 32 was retired by the New York Giants, one of only 11 numbers ever retired by the ball club. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986. Albert was inducted into the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2015.
Last year on this date I profiled medic Emilio Ricci, 43rd Infantry Division. You can read about Emilio here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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