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Contact Info
Home Town Cambridge
Last Address Cremated. Burial At Sea. Specifically: Although Jewish, Eddy Duchin was cremated and his ashes scattered by a Navy plane over the Atlantic Ocean.
WWII Navy Veteran of both the European and Asiatic Theater of War
Eddy Duchin entered the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving as a combat officer in a destroyer squadron in the Pacific.
Duchin enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and requested combat duty. Because he had perfect pitch, he was trained in the use of submarine-detecting devices at the Naval Training School at Northwestern University in Illinois and at a Submarine Chaser School. After a few months' service on patrol boats, he attended Sound School and was then assigned to Destroyer Escort work as a Sound Officer and took part in the D-Day operations off Normandy in 1944. His ship also participated in Third Fleet Pacific operations, including the Iwo Jima and Okinawa invasions. After a course at the Commanding Officers' School at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Duchin was named Operations Officer for a destroyer squadron and, at the end of 1945, was discharged as a Lieutenant Commander. His awards included: Navy Commendation ribbon with Combat "V", Combat Action ribbon, American Area Campaign medal, the European-Africa-Middle Eastern Area Campaign medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign medal, and the World War II Victory medal.
After Duchin's return to civilian life, the Navy still held a special place in his memory. A Lieutenant Commander upon his separation in 1945, Duchin made his services available over and over again for the Navy Department and its recruiting efforts.
Eddy Duchin continued to help the Navy after World War II
Eddy Duchin Show was one of several Navy Department and Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) contributions that Duchin made on behalf of armed forces recruiting. The Eddy Duchin Show was particularly attractive in several respects: his orchestra headlined the series, it featured the finest vocalists of the era, and it offered a tribute or salute to a different facet of Naval Operations during every program. Polished, well-paced, and patriotic, all thirteen 15-minute programs were--and remain--a treat to the listener. Veteran announcer Ken Roberts introduced and closed every program. The opening introduced the featured vocalist for the evening, offered a tribute to a particular arm or installation of the Navy, then smoothly segued into Eddy's opening number. Eddy and Ken would then discuss a particular Naval career before launching into Duchin's second piece of the evening, often accompanied by regular vocalist, Tommy Mercer.
On February 9, 1951, Eddy Duchin died at age 41 in New York City of acute myelogenous leukemia. Although he was Jewish, Eddy Duchin was cremated and his ashes scattered by a Navy fighter plane over the Atlantic Ocean.
Other Comments:
Edwin Frank Duchin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sources are divided as to whether his birth occurred on 1 April 1909 or 10 April 1910. The son of Ukranian Jewish immigrants, he first became a pharmacist before turning full-time to music and beginning his new career with Leo Reisman's orchestra at the Central Park Casino in New York, an elegant nightclub where he became hugely popular in his own right and eventually became the Reisman orchestra's leader by 1932. He became widely popular thanks to regular radio broadcasts that boosted his record sales, and he was one of the earliest pianists to lead a commercially successful large band.
Eddy Duchin, 'Magic Finger' Pianist, Dies
NEW YORK--(AP)--Eddy Duchin, whose mastery of the piano keyboard delighted millions of Americans, died here Friday night only a few hours after the navy cited him for his World War II combat record.
Rear Admiral Walter S. Delany, commandant of the Third naval district, delivered the citation personally Friday to Duchin, 41, who was a patient at Memorial hospital.
Duchin enlisted in the navy eight years ago. He served on destroyers in some of the toughest engagements of both the Atlantic and Pacific. In 1945 he was discharged as a lieutenant commander.
His losing battle against leukemia--a form of cancer of the blood--started several months ago. The hospital said he had been a frequent patient recently.
At his bedside when he died was his wife and a sister.
Normandy Campaign (1944)/Operation Overlord
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
June / 1944
Description The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Neptune) were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the invasion of German-occupied western Europe, led to the restoration of the French Republic, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war.
Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, but postponing would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days in each month were deemed suitable. Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion.
The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 British, US, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France starting at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beach. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks.
The Allies failed to achieve all of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five bridgeheads were not connected until 12 June. However, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day were around 1,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area host many visitors each year.
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than three million allied troops were in France by the end of August.
The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), and General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The Normandy coast was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at Utah and Omaha Beaches, the British at Sword and Gold Beaches, and Canadians at Juno Beach. To meet the conditions expected on the Normandy beachhead, special technology was developed, including two artificial ports called Mulberry harbours and an array of specialised tanks nicknamed Hobart's Funnies. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, Operation Bodyguard, using both electronic and visual misinformation. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion.
The Allies failed to reach their goals for the first day, but gained a tenuous foothold that they gradually expanded as they captured the port at Cherbourg on 26 June and the city of Caen on 21 July. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August led to 50,000 soldiers of the German 7th Army being trapped in the Falaise pocket. The Allies launched an invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord.
