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   Norman
William Behm was born on Wednesday, April 24, 1918
in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital in Camden City,
New Jersey. He was the son of
Grover Cleveland and Elizabeth (Mugrauer) Behm.
In the 1920 census,
Norman was living with his parents and siblings at
36 Newkirk Place in Camden City. They were listed as
living at 584 Line Street in Camden in 1930. By
1935, he was working for the Civilian Conservation
Corp (CCC) which was a government program to help
alleviate unemployment during the Great Depression.
 The
1940 census found Norman living at 25 East Clinton,
Oaklyn Borough, Camden County. He and his brother,
Edward Gilbert Behm, were sharing the residence. At
the time, he reported that he had been out of work
for 116 weeks.
On Friday, November
14, 1941 at the age of 23, he and Frances Dora
Abbate who was 19 years old, eloped and got married.
They had two children.
-
Dorothy Frances Behm
-
Edward Joseph Behm
  On
October 9, 1942, Norman joined the U.S. Navy just
after the start of World War II. He became a chief
aviation ordnance man serving in Sicily and North
Africa. He served on three ships including the USS
John M. Howard, USS Lyon and USS Mount Vernon. He
ended military service on July 11, 1945 at the
United States Naval Hospital, Shoemaker, Alameda
County, California.
Norman Behm was the
last family member to see John Pershing Hawes. They
met in Africa in 1944. John Hawes died 20 July 1945
in Paris, France. John was the brother of Norman's
sister-in-law Beulah (Mrs.
Edward Gilbert Behm).
From 1954 to 1970,
Norman worked as a pipe fitter at the E.I. Du Pont
Company. He had also worked in contruction,
shipbuilding and bread delivery over his adult life.
After retirement, he and Frances lived in Naples,
Florida. By 1980, they resided at 246 Malvern Drive
in Venice, Florida.
On November 16, 1991,
Norman and Frances renewed their wedding vows in
Bitburg, Germany. Their daughter, Dottie, was
Principal of the Elementary School in that town. It
was attended by about sixty people including two of
Norman's sisters.
He was a member of
the Masonic Lodge 85 in Glassboro, Gloucester
County, NJ and No-Vel American Legion Post 159 in
Venice, Florida.
Norman died on May
27, 1998 at the age of 80 at Bon Secours, 654
Tamiami Trail South in Venice, Sarasota County,
Florida. He was buried in Section 60, Row 13, Site 7
in the Bay Pines National Cemetery in Bay Pines,
Florida. |
