Honor your hero with thoughts, memories, images and stories.
John Wahab Jr. was born on January 10, 1925 to Rosa and John Wahab. He had 4 other siblings: Edgar Stanley, Willie Wahab, Rosa Wahab, Lonnie Wahab, and Obie Wahab. John was the third of 5 children born to his parents.
John enlisted in the Coast Guard during the Second World War. He died at age 18, while serving on the USS Muskeget WAG -48. This American Cutter ship was torpedoed by U-755: a German war ship’s crew commanded by Kapitanleutnant Walter Going. Muskeget was lost at sea on or about 9 September 1942.
John Wahab Jr. was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously along with many other awards. There is a monument to John and other WW2 heroes in Battery Park, New York City.
My mother often told the story of my great uncle to my siblings and I as we were growing up. All of us are very proud of my uncle. He did not get to marry or have children of his own; therefore, it was an honor to have been given his flag, certificates and medals to display and pass on to my son one day.