30 / 2009
Andrej Vovko

Fallen Members of the Slovenian National Benefit Society in the US Armed Forces during the Second World War as reported by the Prosveta Newspaper



The paper presents brief stories, mainly taken from data published in articles in Prosveta (Enlightenment), the daily newspaper of the Slovene National Benefit Society (SNPJ), of the lives and especially the military careers of 64 members of this organisation in the US armed forces, who fell as members of the Army, Army Air Force, Navy and Marines in European and Pacific battles during the Second World War. They were mostly boys and young men, usually single, born in the USA, the majority of whom had Americanised first and last names, with at least secondary school education, from numerous families which had several sons in the US armed forces at the same time, and the great majority of whom, at least 30, were from the state of Pennsylvania.
KEY WORDS: Slovene National Benefit Society, Prosveta newspaper, military history, World War II, emigrant society, Slovenian emigrants in the USA