Edward Stone

Edward W. Stone, also known as Shanghaied Ed, was born on September 4, 1923 in Towanda, Pennsylvania. At age 17, Mr. Stone enlisted in the Navy because of his fascination with Morse code and submarines. In 1941, he was assigned to ammunition ship, “Pyro,” and bravely served as a radioman during the Pearl Harbor attacks. Afterward, he did Shore Patrol in California and served the rest of his enlistment as a radioman in Bumper.

Upon completing his service, Mr. Stone attended the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute in Washington, D.C., with the benefit of the G.I. Bill. He graduated in practical radio engineering with a specialization in television on January 13, 1949. General Electric Company employed Mr. Stone, who worked as a test engineer. After moving to Syracuse in 1952, he became a representative for Edward A. Ossman, and then in 1959, founded E.W. Stone Co. Inc.   

Mr. Stone belongs to such organizations as Pearl Harbor Survivors, U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc., and many more. His service is noteworthy because “less than 2 percent of United States Navy personnel served in submarines during WWII.”

Published in 2015, Mr. Stone’s account of the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 8, 1941, have been included in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. Mr. Stone received an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and has given talks around the nation about his experience. On Veterans Day 2015, Edward Stone was honored as Grand Marshal for the New York State Fairgrounds parade.