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(November 4, 1921-February 22, 1945)
Norwood, March 23--Mr. and Mrs. Ira Narrow of High Street, this village, have been notified by the war department that their son, Pvt. Paul A. Narrow, 23, a member of the paratroops, was killed in action Feb. 22 on Corregidor. He is survived by his parents, seven sisters, Mrs. Lena Foley, Brandon, Vt.; Mrs. Dorothy Queor, Vancouver, Wash.; Mrs. Pearl Robinson, Colton; Mrs. Eileen Rampell, Norwood; Miss Elizabeth Narrow, Miss Doris Narrow and Miss Evelyn Narrow, all of Norwood, and one brother, Gerald Narrow, Norwood. Private Narrow entered the service more than four years ago. He was the first Norwood casualty when he was wounded in the arm in the North African campaign on Nov. 8, 1942. He was returned to this country in January, 1943 where he was hospitalized at Halloran General hospital in New York city. He was sent from there to Camp Shelby, Miss., where he volunteered for foreign service. His last furlough which he spent at home was in July, 1943. He then reported to California from where he left for the Pacific theater. He was stationed first on New Guinea, then sent to Netherlands East Indies and then into the Philippines.
(SLCHA Scrapbook; Newspaper Unknown) ****************************************************************************************** By Elizabeth B. Jenner
Norwood--Pfc. Paul A. Narrow, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ira Narrow of this village, who was injured in action in the African campaign, has returned to Camp Shelby, Miss, after spending a furlough here with his parents. Pfc Narrow has been awarded the Purple Heart which is worn by soldiers wounded in action. He was then with the First Division, and now with the 879th Field Artillery, 69th Division. He was shot through the right arm by a sniper during the bloody three-day battle for the control of St. Cloud in North Africa. He related his experience thus, "We landed in Arzu, Algiers, November 7th. There was some enemy machine gun fire but it was quickly knocked out and we marched ten miles to St. Cloud. "The fighting in St. Cloud was pretty terrific; hand-to-hand combat. The French forces were well dug in and we couldn't get anywhere at first. We had to withdraw until the artillery shelled the hell out of the town. Casualties on both sides were pretty steep. "On the third day we tried again and still couldn't get anywhere so we fell back again while the artillery shelled the town for half an hour--and let me tell you the boys in the artillery that were backing us up were pretty good--then our tanks took the lead and broke through the French defenses and we followed them. They finally surrendered about 4 p.m. that afternoon." he continued. "I got clipped in the arm not many hours before the French surrendered," he explained. He has high praise for the magnificent job done by the U.S. Navy. "The Navy just moved in and knocked hell out of those shore batteries in no time flat. The shore batteries were shelling us when we anchored. Several of our ships were sunk by shore batteries until U.S. destroyers moved in and put them out of action before they knew what was happening to them." He said that it was common talk that the "French forces which opposed the American G.I.'s had no desire to fight us. He can assure anyone that if the French soldiers at St./Cloud lacked conviction they did not lack nerve or the discipline to carry out their order to fight no matter what their personal convictions were. "They were plenty tough and scrappy," Narrow exclaimed.
(SLCHA Scrapbook/Newspaper Unknown)
(Note: Pfc. Paul A. Narrow is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Norwood. Was a member of the 503 Parachute Infantry ).
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