Norman Ralph Ross

Dr. Norman Ralph Ross (born 27 February 1924), author of Memoirs of a Tail-Gunner, father of Robin Higgins, father-in-law of Col. William R. Higgins, and the recipient of over a dozen combat medals, most notably the Distinguished Flying Cross (twice).
Norman Ralph Ross was born as Norman Ralph Rosenberg on 27 February 1924 in Long Branch, New Jersey, to Michael and Shirley Rosenberg. Michael Rosenberg, who served during World War I in the 27th Aero Squadron (the “Balloon Busters”), died in 1934 as a result of diseases and injuries from the war that had left him a triple amputee. His widow Shirley moved to the Bronx, New York City, with Norman and his younger sister, Betty.
Norman Ross graduated from James Monroe High School in Bronx, NY, in June 1941 and joined the Navy in November 1942. After extensive training, he was assigned to a PB4Y (Liberator) squadron, VB-110, attached to Fleet Air Wing 7 out of Dunkeswell, England, serving in the same air wing as Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. until the latter’s death. As the flight crew’s radioman and belly turret gunner, he flew a total of 60 wartime combat missions, primarily over Europe. His missions included an aborted crash takeoff in a plane with full ordinance, and a fatal ditching in the English Channel, with a rescue by a British submarine. After June 1945, he was transferred to a PB4Y2 (Privateer) squadron in the Pacific Theater and served there until his discharge in November 1945.
Following the war, Ross spent 6 months in the Bronx Kingsbridge VA hospital with what was then known as "battle fatigue" and since as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This condition continued to affect him throughout his life, yet he was able to overcome the disability and find great success in his education, career, and family life.
After his release from Kingsbridge, Ross changed his surname from Rosenberg, entered Columbia University, and in June 1947 married Thelma Silverman. He eventually received his B.A., M.A., and PhD degrees in English Literature from Columbia, and he and Thelma raised four children.
He got his first teaching job as a high school English teacher in 1952, and two years later moved to Sea Cliff High School (Sea Cliff, NY), which evolved soon after into North Shore High School in Glen Head, NY. Ross eventually rose to be the Chairman of the English Department, a post from which he resigned so he could coach soccer and track. His soccer teams won many championships, including the 1976 Nassau County Championship. His track teams also were very successful, producing one of the greatest mile relay teams in the New York Metropolitan area. Ross’s other achievements included a position as Assistant Professor of English at C.W. Post College (Greenvale, NY), President of the Nassau County Soccer Coaches Association, and President of the Nassau County Referees Association - a rare double honor never attained before or since.
After his marriage ended in divorce in 1977, Ross retired to Florida in 1982 and married Rhoda Tessler a year later. Always a talented actor, while in Florida, he furthered his acting career by performing leading roles in various shows including HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, Music Man, Show Boat, Fiddler on the Roof, The Pirates of Penzance, and My Fair Lady.
In the late 1980s, Ross's son-in-law, Col. William R. Higgins, was abducted and then murdered by Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, where Higgins was stationed as part of the United Nations peacekeeping forces.
In addition to authoring his autobiography, Memoirs of A Tail Gunner, Ross also has published Shadows in the Sunset, a collection of his poetry; as well as five volumes of Pater Noster in Condoland, consisting of essays which first appeared as blogs detailing his life as an octogenarian in Florida. A number of his blogs went on to be published in south Floridian newspapers.
After requesting that the U.S. Navy review his wartime service record, it was discovered that the Navy had inadvertently failed to present Ross with a number of earned combat medals. In a 2003 public ceremony, excerpts of which were widely reported by the news media, the Southern Command presented Ross with nine additional Air Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Norman Ross continues to live in Delray Beach, FL with his wife Rhoda. In addition to his four grown children, he also has four grandchildren.

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