WWII Veteran Receives Congressional Honors On 100th Birthday

CLEARWATER, FL — World War II veteran Murray Zolkower received an unexpected gift when he celebrated his 100th birthday Feb. 6.

Col. Jerry Custin, district aide to U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, presented Murray with a Congressional coin and a letter of recognition for his distinguished service.

Zolkower served as a medic with the highly decorated 45th Infantry Division, seeing action from the beaches of Belgium to Scotland. His unit penetrated both the Maginot and Siegfried lines and helped conclude the war in Munich. The 45th Infantry was known as the Thunderbird and suffered more than 3,500 casualties during 500 days of combat operations.

After the war, Zolkower earned his degree as a pharmacist in 1948. He still works as a part-time pharmacy assistant at CVS.

Additionally, Zolkower is the commander of Paul Surenky Post 409 Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. in Clearwater, Florida. He has been a member since the 1970s.