ZOLTOWSKI, EDWARD J.

Edward J. Zane, 75, a veteran of an elite Marine unit who survived World War II battles on Guadalcanal and other islands in the South Pacific, died Friday [March 17, 1995] of emphysema at Macomb Hospital Center in Warren.

“My husband was not high in rank, but he fought bravely for his country,” said Marjorie Zane. “He never talked too much about it, because so many of his friends were killed.”

Once a year, though, Mr. Zane and his wife did recall those dangerous times, attending national reunions of his unit, called the Edson Raiders.

Mr. Zane was a cryptographer trained to decode wartime communications. His unit often was sent to establish Allied outposts on islands still held by the Japanese army.

After the war, he worked for Eaton Manufacturing in Detroit. He was a supervisor at the plant, which produces automotive springs, when he retired in 1977.

Historian’s note: Edward J. Zoltowski changed his surname to Zane following World War II.