Robert Firstman, former Massapequa resident who survived WWII ship sinking, dies at 103

Robert Firstman loved to tell stories. He started writing poetry in his late 90s and did 150 standing pushups at the kitchen counter every day, his family said.

The former Massapequa resident was the last living survivor of the World War II sinking of the British ship HMT Rohna; he was known for being a "very steady, soft-spoken person, who just kept going," his son, Rick Firstman, of Manhattan, said.

"He had a really great heart and cared about people," his son said.

Firstman died on Feb. 15 after a brief illness in Lake Worth, Florida. He was 103.

Robert Firstman was born on Feb. 8, 1923, in the Bronx. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1942 while studying music at Brooklyn College. A trained Morse code specialist with the 130th Army Airways Communications System, Firstman was among more than 2,000 soldiers aboard the British troop transport ship HMT Rohna, bound for India. The ship was struck by a German radio-controlled bomb in the Mediterranean, killing 1,015 soldiers and dozens of civilians, making it the deadliest loss at sea in U.S. military history. Against all odds, Firstman escaped and was rescued.

"He wasn't cheated of a day," his son said.

Songwriter

Firstman began writing songs as a teenager and played in small hotels all over the city. After the war, he resumed his music studies and graduated in 1947. Firstman met his late wife, Elaine, who died in 2018, on the first day of his music composition class in college.

"They had a whirlwind, musical, passionate romance. They played piano duets on their dates," said Rick Firstman, a former Newsday reporter and features editor.

The couple married in 1948 and lived in Elmhurst as they raised their two children. Firstman and his wife relocated to Massapequa in 1960.

"He loved the lake in Massapequa and was constantly at war with the Canada geese," his son said. "He was also a loving, caring father who took care of his family and taught us how to live."

Firstman pursued a career in music as a jazz pianist and songwriter before a successful career as a jewelry designer and manufacturer in Manhattan's Diamond District in the 1950s. Having grown up in a musical family — Firstman's father was the founder and conductor of the New York Mandolin Symphony Orchestra, and his mother was a mandolin player — music made Firstman "feel alive," said his daughter, Meryl Schlossberg, of Lake Worth, Florida.

"He was always fascinated, not just by music itself, but by the theory — how music is made — the beats, the rhythm, the composition, the instruments, the arrangements, the melodies and the harmonies," Schlossberg said. "He was able to just sit down at the piano, no music in front of him, and just play. To him, music was a language of love, a way to express himself and inspire those he loved."

Golf was his passion

Firstman also enjoyed watching the Mets, Giants and Knicks, but his favorite hobby was golf. According to his family, he loved to play, study and watch the sport, and twice had holes-in-one on Long Island courses.

"He was always perfecting his swing, his stance, his drive. Golf is such a head game, and he loved that about it," said Schlossberg.

Firstman's son said his father would want to be remembered as "someone who was creative, loved music, and cared about his country."

"My dad was truly a humble man who didn't relish the spotlight," Schlossberg said. "He was always present, living in the here and now."

In addition to his son and daughter, Firstman is survived by four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services took place on Feb. 23. Firstman was buried with military honors in South Florida National Cemetery.