Canisius College

Cadet Midshipman Norbert Amborski
Canisius College class of '43M

Norbert Amborki '43M was one of 13 men who lost his life in a North Atlantic ocean battle on September 13, 1942.  Norbert and his younger brother Leonard entered Canisius College together as members of the class of 1943.  While Leonard graduated in 1943, Norbert only spent one year at Canisius before being appointed to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.  Although he had resigned, the attack on Pearl Harbor led to Norbert's appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, NY.  There, Norbert applied for a cadet position and was assigned to the SS Stone Street where he served and died for his country.  

Dr. Leonard Amborski chronicled his brother's wartime sacrifice in the book The Last Voyage: Maritime Heroes of World War II.  The cover and the dedication page of Dr. Amborski's book are below.

This book can be found in the Canisius College Rev. Clayton J. Murray, S.J. Archives.  We are deeply indebted to Dr. Amborski for sending us a copy of his book and for his eagerness to share his brother's story.

The 1943 yearbook picture of Leonard Amborski.

Leonard Amborski
Canisius College class of '43M

While Norbert was fighting with the Merchant Marines, his brother, Leonard, had his own experiences on the homefront.  After graduating from Canisius College in May of 1943, Leonard spent the next year teaching physics to the Army Air Cadets who were training here. 

After his time teaching at Canisius, he and eight other Canisians worked at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institute.  These included Harold H. Hebeler '39, Leonard Amborski '43, John J. Kowalak Jr., Lawrence J. Halpin, George X. Saltarelli and Anthony Ventre, Daniel E. George and William M. Huebsch all from the class of 1942.  James Murray, who also worked with the Carnegie Institute, was a former physics instructor at Canisius.  While Leonard worked for 18 months in Washington, D.C., each of the others were assigned to work in different areas of the country.  All worked on important advances in radio communications and terrestrial magnetism.  According to a Buffalo News article of April 19, 1946, their work "made radio communications virtually 'foolproof' so that frequencies--selected months in advance--may be depended upon 90 percent of the time or better."

After the war, these Canisius alumni kept in touch through Dr. Austin C. McTigue, a physics professor at Canisius College.

To see the full article from the Buffalo News entitled "Canisius Alumni Helped Make Radio Foolproof During War" (April 19, 1946), click on the links below.  The article is in two parts.