Sam Pomerantz was born on September 23, 1910 in New York City. During the Depression years he lived in Newark, NJ with his uncle who owned a commercial garage, where Sam worked as an auto mechanic.
He graduated the aircraft engineering department of New York University and worked as a supervisor in an aircraft factory and maintenance facility.
In March 1948 he left his job in the U.S. to serve as chief mechanic and roving supervisor of the nascent Israeli state's operations in and from Czechoslovakia. This included both the airlift from Zatec of desperately needed small arms, ammunition and Messerschmitts in American transport planes (the Air Transport Command), as well as two direct flights of Spitfires (Operations Velveta 1 & 2) to Israel. Without his indispensable help, it is doubtful whether these operations could have succeeded.
Sam was killed piloting one of the Spitfires when it crashed in the mountains of Yugoslavia during a snowstorm on December 18, 1948. His body was brought to Israel and buried at Nahalat Yitzhak in Tel Aviv on January 9, 1949. He left behind a widow, Elsie.
*** The information on this page is part of the 'Yizkor' commemoration project by the Ministry of Defense / the 'La'ad' website by the National Insurance Institute, in memory of the fallen. We strive for accuracy and apologize for any errors. For corrections or comments, please contact us here: https://aaciremembers.org/contact-us/ ***
