Long Island centenarian, formerly of
Fresh Meadows, dies of coronavirus
BY BILL PARRY
The COVID-19 pandemic claimed
the life of a charter member of the
Greatest Generation when 100-yearold
World War II veteran Philip Kahn
died on April 17 at his Westbury, Long
Island home.
He fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima
and later served as a chief flight engineer
and co-pilot on a Boeing B-29
Superfortress during the months-long
firebombing of Tokyo and performed
aerial surveying of the damage done
by the atomic bombs that were dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Kahn earned two Bronze Stars and
he was awarded a campaign medal for
Service is the Asiatic-Pacific Theater,
a victory medal, the overseas service
medal, and a medal for sharpshooting.
Following the war, Kahn settled
in Fresh Meadows with his wife Rose,
where they raised two daughters before
moving to Long Island in the early
1970s.
“He was a remarkable man; he was
literally a living history,” his grandson
Warren Zysman said. “He met Colonel
Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola
Gay. The two of them spoke and shook
hands just before that mission.”
Kahn had two older brothers who
also survived the war: one fought in
the Battle of the bulge and the other
took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
Kahn’s death came a century
after his twin brother succumbed to
the Spanish flu soon after his birth in
1919.
“Here he was, at age 100, still walking
up to three miles a day. He was so
fit both mentally and physically that
we felt we had at least another decade
with him,” Zysman said. “He had some
symptoms and his doctor had him tested
at home and he died later that day.
It was only later that we found out he
tested positive for COVID-19.”
In addition to his service in the Pacific
Theater, where he rose to the rank
of Sergeant, Kahn was an avid photographer.
“He saw the Intrepid as it was
bombed by the Japanese and those
photos are on permanent display at the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Sea Museum,” Zysman
said. “He also has a photo archive
at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in
Garden City and his oral account of his
experiences during World War II is now
a part of the Library of Congress.”
Kahn worked as an electrical foreman
with Local 3 and helped build the
World Trade Center and the first New
York Blood Bank. He enjoyed swimming
and ballroom dancing and taught
his grandchildren how to roller skate.
“In the years after the war he was
able to combine ballroom dancing with
roller skating professionally,” Zysman
said. “He was a professional dancer
paid to dance at roller rinks. He was
still in his 60s and he would roller
dance with all these college kids and
he would skate circles around them
all.” Kahn’s wife of 73 years, Rose, died
last summer. He is survived by his
daughter Lynn Zysman and her husband
Simon and six grandchildren. He
was buried at New Montefiore Cemetery
in West Babylon.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
TIMESLEDGER | 4 QNS.COM | MAY 1-MAY 7, 2020
Phil Kahn surrounded by his family at his 100th birthday party earlier this year.
Photos courtesy of Warren Zysman