NORTH BRUNSWICK – North Brunswick honored the late U.S. Navy veteran Irwin “Chase” Schorr by dedicating Linwood Place and Schirra Road as Schorr Way.
The Township of North Brunswick’s Veteran Street Sign Program allows township residents who were wartime veterans to be recognized by adding their name on a secondary street sign to an existing municipal road.
Schorr was recognized with a street naming ceremony on Nov. 17. He was born on Nov. 18, 1927, in the South Bronx, New York City. He was the youngest child born to Joseph and Anna Schorr.
He was a devoted New York Yankees fan and loved playing both hockey and baseball, according to the proclamation read during the ceremony. He earned the nickname Chase by his friends because he was always “chasing” the hockey puck.
Schorr attended vocational high school for carpentry, hoping one day to follow in his father’s trade of furniture and building, according to the proclamation. At age 17, he was scouted by the Chicago Cubs minor league baseball team. Although he wanted to pursue baseball, his mother refused to give him permission, according to the proclamation.
Instead, Schorr enlisted in the U.S. Navy on May 21, 1945. He concluded recruit training in Sampson, New York. He developed skills in welding and the machine shop and was later assigned to the Navy’s Construction Battalion, otherwise known as Seabees (CBs).
Seaman First Class Chase Schorr served in the Asian Pacific Theater and received the Victory Medal, the American Theater Medal, Unit Commendation Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Medal. He was Honorably Discharged from active service on June 16, 1956, and Honorably Discharged from inactive reserve duty on June 16, 1950, according to the proclamation.
Schorr married Frances and together they have two daughters, Paula and Laurie. The family moved to North Brunswick in 1964 from Manhattan, New York. Schorr worked at Perth Contractors in Metuchen and retired in 1990. He resumed cabinet and furniture building in his own woodworking business better known as “Mr. Chase,” according to the statement.
Schorr passed away on Feb. 15, 2011.