Local WWII Veteran Passes Away at 98

Our condolences to the family of Robert Savage.

Robert Savage. Photo via the Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – One of Dearborn County’s last remaining World War II Veterans has passed away.

Robert Savage died on Tuesday at the age of 98.

Savage was a World War II U.S. Navy Veteran. According to the Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum, Savage was assigned as the radio man on the USS Springfield, which received orders to escort a heavy cruiser carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt overseas to Malta.

Throughout his time at sea, Savage spent 90 percent of his time below deck in the radio shack. His duty consisted of retrieving and typing out coded messages which were sent to be decoded.

Read more about Savage’s military career at https://www.ww2online.org/view/robert-savage#pacific-tour-of-duty.

Aside from serving in WWII, Savage was the owner of Savage Appliances for 35 years, a member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church, American Legion David McAllister Post #239, and the Knights of Columbus. He also served as a past President and Board Member at the Dearborn Adult Center.

Visitation for Savage will be held on Friday, November 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at St. Lawrence Catholic Churhc. Funeral services will follow the visitation.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Knights of Columbus (4th Degree) or St. Lawrence Catholic Church.

This past August, fellow World War II Veteran Leo Kittle passed away at the age of 99. At that time, PG Gentrup said he knew of 11 remaining World War II Veterans in Dearborn and Ohio counties. WIth the loss of Savage, the remaining known WWII Vets in the area are Clarence Cook, Tom Cook, George Klopp, JC Lewis, George Lingg, Lawrence Lyttle, George Shelby, Bob Browning, Bill Elder, and Leroy Guard.