Edwin Cartoski

Edwin Cartoski served his country for decades, retiring from the United States Marine Corps in 1974 with the rank of Colonel.

Mr. Cartoski grew up in Quiogue and graduated high school early to enlist in the United States Navy, where he had extensive flight training in the V-5 pilots training program.

He reported to Colgate University for civilian pilot accelerated training. He then went to UNC at Chapel Hill for a higher level of physical training and to learn code, aeronautical terms, advanced identification of enemy aircraft, and tactics. He received additional flight training at E Base in St. Louis, Missouri. The final stage of training took place in Pensacola Naval Air Station, where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. Marine Pilot.

Mr. Cartoski was sent to the Philippines and then Hawaii, where his squadron supported the Bikini Bomb test. Mr. Cartoski stated, “We had F6F drones that flew into the cloud to read the radiation and collect other data. Our ship was a support ship. We retrieved a Hell Cat that was irradiated. It was isolated, but a lot of guys were in bad shape by the time we got back to Pearl Harbor.”

In 1946, Mr. Cartoski left the military and enrolled at the University of Alabama to study aeronautical engineering, but was recalled to active duty and served with the Marines in Korea, where he provided air support for the First Marine Division. The Marine Corps sent him to Pensacola to be a Flight Trainer, then reassigned him to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Mr. Cartoski left active duty in 1955 and remained in the Marine Reserve and worked for Grumman Aerospace. He also is a graduate of the Naval War College at the Marine Base at Quantico, Virginia.

During his notable career, he earned numerous awards, including: The Distinguished Flying Cross with one Gold Star, The Air Medal with five Gold Stars, Presidential Unit Citation for service in Korea, Army Distinguished Citation for service in Korea, Organized Marine Corps Reserve Medal, American Campaign Medal, Victory Medal World War II, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and Korean Presidential Unit Citation for service in Korea.

Mr. Cartoski retired from Grumman in 1983 and received the Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award for his skills and courage when participating in numerous lifesaving missions.