A Soldier from Germany Remembered: Private Eric M. Heilbronn, United States Army

A number of my posts pertaining to Jewish soldier in the Second World War have focused on or referenced German-born Jews who served in the Allied armed forces.  One such soldier was Private Eric M. Heilbronn, who, serving in the United States Army’s 34th Infantry Division, was killed in Italy on January 7, 1944. 

Eric Heilbronn’s story is particularly notable because he was the subject of a short biography in the German “exile-newspaper” Aufbau (“Reconstruction”), which was accompanied by his photograph.  A brief biographical profile of Erich appeared in my post pertaining to Captain and Silver Star recipient Howard K. Goodman of the United States Marine Corps, who was killed in action on January 7, 1944.  

And, there Erich Heilbronn’s story remained.  That is, until late 2020 (hey, time flies…) when I received a most interesting communication from Dr. Bastiaan van der Velden of the Open University of the Netherlands, which follows below: 

Dear Michael

Thanks for your mail.  Erich’s father was born in the same village as my family [Tann] – and the two families married a couple of times, that’s why I have the info collected.  I will sent you also a wetransfer for a larger file.  I think there you find all the sources I used (you can search them).  

A youth picture [of Erich Heilbronn, within a biography of Emil and Fanny Jondorf, on page 8].

Success with the work

Kind Regards
Bastiaan

In light of Bastiaan’s generous contributions, this post presents a more complete picture of Erich Heilbronn and his family, seen through the eyes of his friend, fellow German-Jewish émigré soldier, Frank A. Harris (originally Frank Siegmund Hess).

But first – to recapitulate and save you from redundant mouse-clicks! – here’s the biographical record of Pvt. Erich Heilbronn which appears in the above-mentioned blog post about Captain Goodman, including the photo and article that originally appeared in Aufbau.  

____________________

Heilbronn, Eric Moses (Moshe ben Yitzhak), Pvt., 32816833, Purple Heart
United States Army, 34th Infantry Division, 168th Infantry Regiment, A Company
Rabbi Isak [6/4/80-6/9/43] and Mrs. Erna Esther [2/9/92-5/3/77] Heilbronn (parents), Cecil and Irmgard (Pinto) Heilbronn, 382 Wadsworth Ave., New York, N.Y.
Born Nurnberg, Germany, 1924
Burial location unknown
Casualty List 2/22/44
Aufbau 5/12/44
American Jews in World War II – 342

The May 12, 1944 edition of Aufbau, in which news about Private Heilbronn’s death appeared in the far left column, is shown below:

Here’s the news item about Private Heilbronn, which is followed by a transcription of the original German, and an English-language translation:

Pvt. Eric M. Heilbronn

ist im Alter von nur 20 Jahren auf dem italienischen Kriegsschauplatz gefallen.  Er war seit dem 7 Januar dieses Jahres als vermisst gemeldet, aber erst vor wenigen Tagen hat seine Mutter die Nachricht von seinem Tod erhalten.

Pvt. Heilbronn ist der Sohn des ihm sieben Monate im Tod vorangegangenen Rabbiners Dr. Isaak Heilbronn und stammte aus Nurnberg.  Er widmete such insbesondere der Jugendbewegung innerhalb der Gemeinde seines Vaters, der Congregation Beth Hillel, und versuchte, die eingewanderte deutsch-jüdische Jugend mit der americanischen Weltanschauung vertraut zu Machen und sie fur die Ideale Amerikas zu begeistern.

Pvt. Heilbronn kam Antang 1939 nach Amerika, absolvierte die High School in New York und nahm später Abendkurse in Buchprüfung am City College.  Tagsüber war er bei der Federation of Jewish Charities beschaftigt.  Im März 1943 rückte er in die Armee ein.

Pvt. Eric M. Heilbronn

died at the age of only 20 in the Italian theater of war.  He was reported missing since January 7 of that year, but only a few days ago his mother received the news of his death.

Pvt. Heilbronn is the son of Rabbi Isaac Heilbronn from Nurnberg, who died seven months before his death.  He was particularly dedicated to the youth movement within his father’s congregation, Congregation Beth Hillel, and tried to familiarize immigrant German-Jewish youths with the American world view and to inspire them with the ideals of America.

Pvt. Heilbronn came to America in 1939, graduated from high school in New York and later took evening classes in auditing at City College.  By day he was employed by the Federation of Jewish Charities.  In March 1943 he joined the army.

____________________

Frank Harris’ story can be found in the document “Biography of Frank A. Harris, Fürth“, at the website of RIJO Research, and, in the form of an interview by Jeffrey Boyce that was published at the website of the “National Food Service Management Institute – Child Nutrition Archives”, I think in late 2014; I think no longer accessible!  However, having kindly been given access to this interview by Bastiaan, the text of the document – up to and including Frank’s account of discovering Erich’s grave near Cassino, Italy, in early 1944 – follows.  (There’s more to Frank Harri’s story, but it’s not included here.) 

The transcript of the Jeffrey Boyce interview then is followed by a transcript of Frank’s biography, from in the Leo Baeck Institute’s Frank A. Harris Collection, 1977-1992

For both documents, I’ve highlighted those sections directly pertaining to Private Erich Heilbronn in dark red.  (Like “this”.)     

__________

Frank A. Harris
Oral History

Interviewee: Frank A. Harris
Interviewer: Jeffrey Boyce
Interview Date: June 8, 2011

JB: I’m Jeffrey Boyce and it’s June 8, 2011.  I’m here with Mr. Frank Harris in Somers, New York. Frank is going to share his story of child nutrition and some other things about his life with us.  Welcome Frank and thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

FH: Thank you very much and thank you for coming a long distance, and we much appreciate it.
JB: Happy to do it. We’ve been working on this about two years now haven’t we?
FH: That’s right. That’s just about what it is.

JB: Could we begin today by you telling me a little bit about yourself, where you were born and where you grew up?

FH: All right. I was born in Furth, Bavaria, Germany.  Furth is a city next to Nuernberg.  It’s like Minneapolis and St. Paul, kind of a twin city.  I was born on December 7, 1922, the second child born in 1922, which was very unusual.  My sister was born on January 3rd.  When my mother became pregnant again she was hesitant to tell my father, but in the long run she couldn’t hide it.  He became so upset muttering “People think I have nothing better to do.”  But when I did come I was totally accepted and my mother was delighted because she raised us almost like twins.

JB: So you were born in the same year?

FH: Same year, 1922, which was very unusual, so I could really say I was an accident, but a happy accident.

JB: Tell me a little bit about your childhood. You started school in Germany?

FH: Yes, I started school in Germany.  I started at an elementary school in 1929.  As you know, Hitler came to power in 1933.  In the beginning nothing much happened.  After I graduated from elementary school we went to high school, where the atmosphere became quite uncomfortable for us.  We had four Jewish students in our class.  Classes are not twenty-four like here in the United States.  We had about 35-40 students.  Our classroom teacher was Professor Berthold, who was marvelous.  He wrote all the French textbooks in Germany.  He himself was not a Nazi, but we had two gym teachers, Mr. Vilsmaier & Mr. Steinhardt.  We the four Jewish kids were superior in all athletic activities.  The students couldn’t accept us because the teachers pictured all Jews as clumsy and smelly, and would order the gentile students, “Ok.  It’s time to beat up the Jews.”  So our classroom teacher, Dr. Berthold, urged my father to take Franz out (my name was not yet Frank) and enroll him in the Jewish school.”  Myself and the other Jewish boys were taken out of the public high school and were enrolled in the Jewish high school in the Blumenstrasse in Furth.  This is where I met all the youngsters who have remained my friends for a lifetime.  Our teachers were excellent scholars.  We were taught many subjects, not only Hebrew.  The director, Dr. Prager, was superior, and the chemistry and math teachers were excellent.  We had a wonderful class, of about 30-35.  As of today there are still 12-15 alive.  Some have died in the Shoah, (in the Holocaust).  Many of them have immigrated to the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, etc.  We have maintained a wonderful relationship with all the survivors.

JB: I understand one of those men is quite well-known to most people who would be reading this – Mr. Kissinger.

FH: That’s right.  Henry Kissinger was one of my classmates.  He sat right behind me.  I should tell you – I’m not claiming that I was a great student – I really wasn’t.  I was great in imitating most of the teachers.  That was my greatest contribution.  Henry was not the greatest student either.  He was a good student.  He was interested in history.  We had an outstanding class of really outstanding students, but Henry was not an outstanding student.  He was a good student.  And I can truly say that we have remained friends to this very day.

JB: Were there any sort of nutrition programs in the schools you attended in Germany?

FH: No, we did not have any nutrition programs in the schools.  As a matter of fact school days were divided.  We attended school in the morning and at noontime we went home for lunch.  And it was not really lunch.  We like most families had our big dinner at noontime.  My father, who was the owner of a toy factory, came home for our big meal at noontime, and then took a nap, while my sister and I went back to school in the afternoon.  We did not have a nutrition program.  We had all our meals at home.  In order to get my dad home on time for our noon-time meal our dog Bobby ,who was a mean little creature , but very smart, left the house, ran down to my dad’s business, waited until my dad came out, and then raced back to alert us that Dad was on his way.  He never walked with him, but when Bobby arrived home; my mother could get the soup and the meat and everything ready, because Dad was on his way home.

JB: Sounds like a smart dog.

FH: Yes.

JB: You spoke earlier about why you changed schools.  Things were getting bad in Germany.  Then you ended up leaving Germany.  Tell us about that.

FH: Yes, ok.  That came a bit later.  You have no doubt heard of the Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938, when the Germans used as an excuse that a secretary at the French Embassy in Paris was killed by a Jew, to round up all the Jews in Germany and burn all the synagogues.  We were awoke at three o’clock in the morning.  The doorbell rang and some SA men, the home forces of the secret police, came to our house to arrest us.  Interestingly enough one of them was one of my father’s World War I comrades.  My Dad fought in the First World War and felt nothing ever could happen to him because he was born and lived in Germany all his life.  No matter whatever the Nazis did, whatever the Nazis said, nothing will ever happen to us.  But that night his Army comrade arrested him and all of us.  The other SA man that picked us up was the owner of the delicatessen store whose business flourished because of his Jewish clientele.  And we had very little time just to get dressed.  They took us to a place called Plaerrer, where all the Jews were assembled.  We marched through town.  Next to me was a little girl.  She was six years my junior.  I only had one pair of gloves that I shared with little Eva because it was November and bitter cold already.  It was supposed to be an action that nobody knew about, but the entire population was out.  They screamed and they hollered and they spat at us.  And we marched to this place called the Plaerrer, where some of us were beaten up.  Our little rabbi was asked to step on the Holy Bible, the Holy Torah, and when he refused to do this, he too was beaten up.  In the background we could see all of our synagogues were aflame.  We had one courtyard with one Haupt (Main) and four other smaller synagogues.  The Nazis burned them all down that day.  Later on we were marched to a huge auditorium.  This auditorium was called the Berolzheimerianum that was donated by a Jew many, many years ago.  We were lectured on the history of the Nazis, and why the Nazis are superior to everyone else, the superior Aryan race.  First they discharged the women and the girls.  Afterwards they released boys under sixteen.  I was one month shy of sixteen, born on December 7th, and this was only November 9th.  Therefore I was released while all the men were taken to the Justizpalast in Nuernberg, the very building where, after the war, all the Nazi criminals were put on trial.  All the adult men were kept overnight.  My friend Eva, the one I shared the gloves with, went with me to the Gestapo.  We had the courage to go, pleading to learn where they had taken our Pappas.  They told us that they were taken to the Justizpalast.  We went home to get some chicken soup, and returned to the Justizpalast to give the chicken soup to the guard, asking him to deliver it to our fathers.  Much, much later after their release, we found out that they never got the chicken soup.  The guard must have eaten the chicken soup prepared by Jews.  Along with all other men, my father was taken to a concentration camp, called Dachau.  In order to gain his release my mother and I were summoned to the Gestapo, the secret German police, to sign over my father’s business – the co-owner of a toy manufacturing company – and his Mercedes car to the tune of twenty marks, which is equal to about $10-15.  They indicated any reluctance on our part to sign could become a death sentence for my dad.  Therefore we shall never ever see him again.  And this is when I learned the real priorities very early in my life.  Not what was important the day before – my father’s business and the car, the jewelry or the Kristall that we owned – no, what was important was to get my father out of the K.Z. to allow us to function as a family once again, and get out of Germany.  While my father was in Dachau we went to the American Consulate in Stuttgart, to receive a number to allow us to immigrate to the United States.  There was a quota system.  We got our number – somewhere in the 14,000s – I will get back to this part of my life a little later.  My father was released five weeks after his arrest.  He was a totally broken man.  His first concern after his release was to get me out, since by that time I’d turned sixteen.  I quickly attended a cooks and bakers school to take a speed course in cooking and baking.  On March 7th or 9th, my dad – not my mother who was too upset – took me in the middle of the night to the railroad station to take a train with lots of other children called the Kindertransport, destination Holland.

JB: This was 1938?

FH: 1939.  March of 1939.  And Jeff, I will never forget the feeling when the train pulled into the station and I climbed aboard.  We had all these kids, some as young as three or four years old, and the train pulling out seeing your – in my case my father – while others seeing their parents at the railroad station, really not knowing if they’ll ever see them again.  I was fortunate.  I saw my parents again, but many, many of the other children never saw their parents again.  They didn’t understand why they were sent out of Germany.  They begged their parents to let them stay with them.  It was the greatest sacrifice that these parents had to make, to send their children out, to gain their freedom, even if in the long run they themselves couldn’t get out.  So we crossed the border and arrived in Holland, where we stayed first at a camp in Rotterdam close to the harbor.  Later on we were taken to a monastery, to be taken care of by nuns, who absolutely mistreated us.  This was very unusual because the Dutch people in general were very helpful.  I stayed there for a few weeks.  A cousin of mine Stefan, who was about twelve years my senior had earlier immigrated to Holland and had started his own business.  He came to visit with me regularly.  I begged him to get me out of there, and he did.  I lived with Stefan until my parents and my sister got out of Germany, arriving via France in England.  Upon their arrival they called Stefan, who took me to Hoek van Holland to cross the English Channel to Dover.  When officials looked at my papers they claimed that my entry visa into England had expired, and if they don’t allow me to enter England they’re going to send me back to Germany.  My cousin Stefan bribed the captain of this little boat and said, “That kid will never go back to Germany.  He has permission to be in England; just his entry visa has expired because his parents got out so late.”  I could not speak English at the time, since I was taught French in school by my famous Professor Berthold.  I looked extremely young, even though I was sixteen, but I looked like twelve.  After throwing up on the entire trip from Hoek van Holland to Dover the captain took me by the hand, put a little navy cap on me, and with my little suitcase, the Captain put me on a train destination London where my dad picked me up.  It was a happy reunion.  Together we moved from London to West Bromwich, Staffordshire, where my dad had a business friend who assisted us in starting a small toy business.  This lasted barely one year, when the war broke out, and my Dad and I were interned, but not my mother nor my sister.  We were arrested and taken for a couple of nights to a local jail.  I shall never forgot this either.  The arresting official, Police Commissioner Clark, apologized a thousand times for our arrest.  Those were orders by the Home Office to arrest us and to be classified as Enemy Aliens.  Not until many, many months or years later that our classification was changed from Enemy to Friendly aliens.  After a couple of nights at the local jail we were transferred to an internment camp, first to Lingfield, a racetrack in London.  We slept on the steps of the racetrack.  Later on we were taken to Huyton internment camp near Liverpool.  When we arrived at Huyton, one of my childhood friends, Lutz, tipped me off that a transport was leaving that night, either for Australia or for Canada with all the male youngsters.  During the night I escaped from where I was stationed to join my dad, which saved me from going to Australia.  We stayed in the internment camp until we were called up to the American Consulate under police guard, where we also met my sister and mother again and where we got our visas.  We had to go back to the internment camp while my mother and my sister went back to West Bromwich, to pack up whatever belongings we had, and join us in Liverpool.  We were released one night before our boat was to leave and stayed at a hotel that was bombed during the night by the Nazis.  The bombs hit the front of the building and we were in the rear of the hotel.  We were extremely fortunate.  We left on a boat called the S.S. Samaria that had 500 British evacuees, kids that were going to Canada.  We traveled in a convoy.  The boat was hit by a mine, but fortunately didn’t sink, because it was equipped with a device called a Churchill Device that neutralized the mine and saved our boat.  It was a very traumatic crossing.  Everybody was seasick.  My dad advised me not to undress at night, to stay prepared and ready for any emergency.  It so happened when the mine hit the boat I was dressed and he had undressed to clean and shave.  All of us had to go up on deck until they were sure that the boat was safe to continue our journey.  We were part of a convoy with destroyers racing around since they were not sure if it was a mine or a torpedo.  To make a long story short, we arrived safely in the United States on October 2, 1940.  It was the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and my first trip was to go to synagogue to thank the Good Lord that I made it.  At the entrance somebody stopped and asked me, “Where’s your ticket?”  I said, “What do you mean ticket?  I don’t need to get a ticket to go to synagogue to pray and thank God for my survival.”  “Oh, you need a ticket.”  But it was the synagogue of our congregation, Nuernberg, Furth, and Munich, and I responded by asking the guard to get my friend Eric Heilbronn, the rabbi’s son.  He came out running.  He was so excited that he ran right back into the synagogue up on the pulpit to tell the Rabbi (his Dad), “Papa, Papa, Franz ist da – Frank is here.”  “Let him come in,” was Rabbi Heilbronn’s response.  I could go in and see all my old friends – Walter Oppenheim, Hans Sachs, and Henry Kissinger, and so many others who were happy to see me again.  Rosh Hashanah 1940 we were reunited again.

JB: Wow, what an amazing story.  And then from there?

FH: Next step was for me to find a job.  My first trip was to visit an outfit called “The Blue Card”, who assisted German refugees who immigrated to the United States.  The Executive Director was a Dr. Richard Jung, who recognized me.  He was a friend of my uncle, Dr. Arnold Frankenau.  Since he was in no position to help me in finding a job he smiled and said, “Franz, here are ten dollars, and you don’t ever have to pay them back.”  I have never forgotten this good deed.  Years later I became very active with The Blue Card.  At present I am still Vice-President of this wonderful organization, who honored me at a special dedication at the Heritage Museum in New York in 2005.  I will talk about the wonderful work of The Blue Card a bit later on.

I had to find a job in 1940.  I walked along Fifth Avenue, and was told that Fifth Avenue is the dividing line between east and west.  There was a jewelry store called Richter’s.  I went in and asked if they could use somebody.  They said, “OK.”  They gave me a job, ten dollars a week.  Ok.  I got the job, and had to take many jewelry items to the repair shops that were located in the 30s and in the 40s streets, to be repaired and then bring them back.  At night Mr. Richter gave me deliveries to make on my way home.  I walked up Fifth Avenue through Central Park, which was quite safe at the time.  Since most of the deliveries were on the West Side I walked through Central Park to save the 0.5 subway fare.  The first week was over; it was Friday.  I went out during my lunch period to buy little gifts for my family.  At night when I got my pay, I got my ten dollars, and Mr. Richter said, “Listen, I’ve got to let you go because you didn’t produce enough.”  I worked my everything off and tried to please the Richter Jewelry Store and I was fired after one week.  At least I had the good sense to say, “Mr. Michter, at least give me a recommendation.  Say that I have worked here for six months.  It will help me to find another job because I have only been in the country for two weeks.”  So he gave me the recommendation that is still in my possession.  The recommendation reads that I worked for six months for Richter’s and I was very satisfactory.  So I arrived home with a recommendation but without a job.

The next job I took was for a carpet outfit in Brooklyn.  I took the subway to Brooklyn, which for me was quite difficult.  I was never very tall.  I was never very strong.  I had to schlep these carpets, and yes after one week I quit.  I also got paid ten dollars.  So basically, ten dollars was my life.  I should have mentioned, when we arrived in the United States, we were allowed to bring in ten dollars per person, so it was ten dollars each for my father, for my mother, for my sister, and for me.  When I went to The Blue Card I got ten dollars to tie me over.  When I was fired from Richter’s I got ten dollars.

When I quit the carpet store I got paid ten dollars.  So again I was out of a job.  And I looked for some other jobs, and held all kinds of really crazy jobs.  I wanted to get into hotel work since I had taken a course in cooking and baking.  I went to the Waldorf-Astoria and I asked Monsieur Lugot, who was a Frenchman, if he could give me a job.  He looked at me, and since his eyesight was rather poor out of one eye, and out of the other one I believe he could see nothing.  He looked me over and said in his strong French accent, “Brrr.  Monsieur Harris, at your age I was potato peeler.  Don’t tell me you can cook.  Get out of here.  Come see me in a few years.”

I did come back and worked at the Waldorf after my army service.  I’m going to talk about it later on during this interview. 

JB: So after New York, you said a couple of years later you joined the army?

FH: Yes.  I had a few other jobs.  My dad unfortunately died in 1942, two years after we came to the States.  I got a deferment from the army for one year.  In 1943 I was drafted for the army.  When they looked at me, since I looked so young, the sergeant said, “Come on, stop kidding.  Send your brother.”  I said, “No, I’m the one.”  My name at that time still was Franz Siegmund Hess.  I was accepted and really enjoyed the army.  I was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and from Fort Dix I was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to cooks and bakers school.  The Military training was rather tough.  It was one day basic training and one day working in the kitchen.  At least I was able to get my foot in the kitchen, which was an advantage.  This is what I wanted.  As part of basic training we had a marathon race.  From every company they had to send a couple of fellows to run the marathon.  I certainly didn’t volunteer, but the sergeant said, “Hess, you’re the one that goes on the marathon.”  I had not trained for such a race, nor was I in any shape for it.  To make a long story short, I was ordered to run this marathon, even though I protested, since I had to work that night in the officers’ mess.  The response from the sergeant was, “I don’t want any excuses.  You’re going on the marathon.”  But it wasn’t an excuse – the real marathon is usually 26 miles – this marathon was 14 miles, but it was incredible.  When I finished all I wanted to do is lay down but they didn’t let me.  They marched me because you’re not supposed to lie down.  So I finished the marathon, swore to myself that I will never, ever volunteer, or will fight anyone that’s going to volunteer for me.  I still worked that night in the officers’ mess.

At another time I was once more tricked into a boxing tournament.  I was a featherweight – and was opposed by a fellow from the South, who hated me because I was a Yankee.  I tried to impress upon him that I’m not really a Yankee, I’m a refugee.  But he was so strong he beat the hell out of me.  And in between rounds my trainer said, “Go back and get him.”  I said, “No, you go get him.”  He didn’t and I took a heck of a beating, but I finished at least.  There were only three or four rounds, whatever it was.  But those were my special experiences at basic training.  Upon completing basic training we were transferred to Camp Meade, MD.  On a beautiful Fall day I was taken to Baltimore, Maryland, where I became an American citizen, a proud American citizen.  When I was asked, “Do you want to change your name?”  I said, “Yes, absolutely.”  As I mentioned earlier, my name was Franz Siegmund Hess.  So I requested a change from Franz to Frank.  And Hess, I didn’t want anyone to ever question me if I’m related to Rudolph Hess, the Deputy Fuehrer.  I asked to change it from Hess to Harris, but leave my middle initial S.  Somehow when the papers came back the army messed this up and made Frank A. Harris out of it, so that’s when Franz Siegmund Hess became Frank A. Harris.  From Camp Meade, Maryland, we went to Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia, and later on sailed on a troop transport to Casablanca.  I was terribly seasick.  They put me on a gun crew to look for submarines.  I was completely useless for this assignment, because all I did was throw up for the entire period of my duty.  This was a ship – the Empress of Scotland – that was used in peace time as a luxury liner to transport cruise passengers to the United States from England.  During the war this luxury liner was used as a transport ship for soldiers.  In place of 500 cruising passengers, we had 5000 seasick soldiers.  It was a horrible trip.  You couldn’t stand in line for food because the lines went all around the boat for any of the meals.  I became quite seasick and was taken on sick call.  The medic advised me “You need to eat.”  My response, “I agree please get me something to eat.”  He responded, “I can’t do that.  You have to stand in line.”  There was no way.  I made a deal with one of the sailors from the Empress of Scotland.  He sold me a dozen oranges for ten dollars – again here come the ten dollars – that saved me on the whole trip to Casablanca.

Being on the watch for submarines we had one tall fellow on the ship by the name of Walt Dropo.  Walt Dropo was the tallest of the company and I was the shortest.  One night on my submarine watch I felt that I had the urge again to throw up.  Since I was on my way up on top deck I raced out to the bridge to make sure that nothing happened to any of the boys on the lower deck.  All I could hear out of the dark, “I’m going to catch this son of a – that puked on my head and I’m going to throw him overboard.”  And as much as I wanted to die when we got back to our sleep quarters, I did not tell him who the son of a gun was.  At least not until we got to North Africa, when I confessed and he responded, “Frank you’re so smart that you didn’t tell me then – no telling what I would have done to you.”  And I tried to explain that I went out of my way to avoid this mess.  We remained good friends.  Walt Dropo, after his discharge, as some of you might remember, was the first choice of the Chicago Bears, a top choice of a basketball team.  His preference was baseball, and he became the famous first baseman for the Boston Red Sox.  Later on he also played for the Detroit Tigers.  After we were discharged I told my friends, “Oh, Walt Dropo’s a friend of mine.”  ‘Oh, tell me another one’ was my friend’s’ response.  So we attended a Yankee game, when they played the Detroit Tigers.  I went down in between innings to the top of the dugout asking the guard, “Tell Walt Dropo to come over here.”  He greeted me with a big grin, “Frankie Boy!  So good to see you again.”  So my friends were truly convinced that he was my army buddy.

JB: So from Casablanca you went where?

FH: From Casablanca we were transported to Oran with the 40 and 8, boxcars.  They were called 40 and 8 because at one time they were used for transporting horses.  We stayed in Oran for a few weeks, where we were taken frequently on long marches.  I never forgot that we arrived in Oran during the rainy season in Africa.  We were stationed on a hill where we had to pitch our tents.  It was horrible because the rain ran right through our tents.  But we survived this ordeal as well.  By boat we were transported to Naples, staying in a replacement depot until I was assigned to the 2759th Combat Engineers.  On our way north we bypassed Cassino and Anzio arriving in Leghorn (Livorno), where our outfit built bridges.  On one of my days off I was able to visit Cassino.  My childhood friend Eric Heilbronn – the one who got me into the synagogue without a ticket on my arrival in the States – was sent overseas about one month before me.  Permit me to back up a little bit.  Eric was in the military intelligence when his father the rabbi died.  Eric attended his father’s funeral in New York, and on the way back to South Carolina he passed through Fayetteville, North Carolina.  From Ft. Bragg I traveled to the railroad station to see and shake hands with Eric for the last time.  He was taken out of the military intelligence, put in the infantry, and sent overseas.  He only became a U.S. citizen overseas and was immediately sent into combat and killed the first day in combat.  When I traveled to Cassino I looked at some of the graves, when somebody told me that there was a cemetery about ten kilometers further back.  I hitchhiked there and saw literally thousands of graves.  Cassino was a total disaster.  The very first grave that I looked at was the grave of my friend Eric.  I had to inform his mother, who at this time was only notified that he was missing in action, while he was already killed.  I took pictures of his grave to send to his mom, who in many ways kind of adopted me, as the closest friend to her son.  Our company left Leghorn, Italy on our way to France.

____________________

From Frank A. Harris Collection at Leo Baeck Institute Archives

My parents and I moved in together with the Jonas’s, Grete Herzberg, her mother Lilli Huber and an assortment of “Unter Mieters”.  All of us had to earn a living, so I went to work the very first week as a delivery boy for Richter’s Jewelry store on 5th Avenue.  The pay – $10.00 per week.  The hours – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, 6 days a week.  Length of employment, 1 week.  Reason for dismissal-not lack of work, nor incompatibility, nor dishonesty – but that I was not productive enough for “that much money”.

And so I made the rounds from job to job – a “carpet schlepper” (the first job that I quit, because it was so strenuous) to chandelier assembler, to paper slipper § machine operator, to cook in a hotel.   This was my preference, having had training in Munich.    I also attended food trade high school at night in New York.   All of us were most active in the Beth Hillel Synagogue’s youth group.

December 7, 1941 – my 19th birthday.   During my party, the news came over the radio that Pearl Harbor had been attacked.   All of us realized that, sooner or later, we would be inducted to serve our new Country.

On August 18, 1942 my father died at the age of 57, never really recovering from the traumatic experiences in the concentration camp K. 2 and the internment camp in England.   So I became head of our household and chief provider at the ripe old age of 19.

My mother, who is now 84, is well and is now residing at the Isabella Home in Washington Heights, N.Y.C., along with many elderly friends from Nuernberg and Fuerth.

Barely 6 months after, I was drafted into the Army at Ft. Dix, took my basic training in Ft. Bragg, N.C. in the field artillery.  Needless to point out, I was a model soldier, bubbling with enthusiasm and patriotism, while live bullets were shot over my head during the obstacle course.  Some of my other accomplishments:  a) I volunteered for the marathon – to get out of K.P. – and, upon completion, it took me 6 hours to catch my breath, b) I was in the boxing finals of featherweights against a Southerner who liked me personally, but hated all Yankees.  He treated me as a Yankee in the ring.  I lost by a TKO.  The referee, also being a Yankee and having compassion for me, stopped the fight.  (No Purple Heart for my gallant efforts?)  Weekends I spent – meeting my friends, Henry K. [Henry Kissinger] (then a buck private) or Eric Heilbronn, both stationed in S.C.  Eric I saw for the last time when he returned from his father’s funeral.

I became a citizen and changed my name from Franz Siegmund Hess to Frank A. Harris in Baltimore, Maryland in October 1943.  This was one of the few quick moves I made in my life.  I had intentions of changing my first name from Franz to Frank.  The woman behind the desk asked about the 2nd name and as quickly as she asked, I answered “change it from Hess to Harris”.  The Army goofed up the middle initial from S. to A.  The real reaction came with my mother’s first letter, moaning over the fact that the “Stammbaum” will die.

While stationed at Ft. Meade (met my cousin Gus Osier there) my last stop in the U.S. was Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia, where the then Capt. Martin Herrmann was Supreme Commander of a colored outfit.  They were also guarding prisoners.  Since Martin was a linguist, he taught his men the German language (one of them stood in front of the doctor’s office instructing the prisoners

“Hosenturchen Zumaehen”.

I left the good old U.S. on Thanksgiving 1943 on the “Empress of Scotland”, a Cunard luxury liner designed for 500 passengers.  It was my good fortune that the British consider an 0 as a Zero, so there were 500(0) (five thousand) passengers aboard.  It was a never to be forgotten trip.  I was so seasick, that the ship’s commander thought I was an excellent prospect for the gun crew – to look for submarines.  I was on duty for two hours and off for four hours, and I never prayed so hard that some torpedo would get me out of my misery.  Food was non-existent on the boat and the toilet facilities were air-conditioned -overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  I arrived in Casablanca unexpectedly one day early, in terrible physical and mental condition, but with full field pack, gas mask and M-l rifle, marching down the gangplank to music by an Army band, witnessed by a crowd of suspicious-looking Arabs.  All I wanted was one square meal but I had to wait a full 24 hours for it.  After a couple of weeks of fraternizing with the Moroccans, I took the 40 and 8 train to Oran (40 refers to 40 hours for 400 miles, 8 for 8 box cars).  We slept in shifts, since there was little room to stand up, let alone lay down.

Oran is a very scenic city in French Algeria, but since every Arab looked at every American as a potential rapist or killer, it was totally unsafe to visit the city to engage in legitimate business transactions, such as selling your “Raleigh cigarettes” (they preferred Camels), we stayed around camp waiting for reassignment, which came shortly afterwards to Naples, Italy via Sicily.  You know the old saying “See Naples and die” – but I didn’t want to die in Naples – I had to fight the Germans in Germany.

It was then that I learned of the death of my friend Eric Heilbronn and I found his grave near Cassino – also Pauli Harris (Hechinger), and the cruelty of this war struck home some more.

I was assigned to the 2759th Combat Engineers of Clark’s 5th Army (I shared a tent with Henry Landman, Lisa Oettinger’s husband), finishing in Livorno, Italy before moving on the Marseilles, France and Gen. Patton’s 7th Army.  It was there that I met my cousin Al Moss (Mosbalner) again.  During the winter of 1944, we moved through France into Germany and what a feeling to return as a soldier of the U.S. Army!  I don’t know if I should say in retrospect that I was proud of what I had done in Germany.  I do know that I was full of hate and fury and I have no regrets, after what the Nazis had done to my father and to many of my friends and family.  The day I returned to Fuerth, my old friend Helmut Reissner came back from the K-2.  I was in Ausburg when word came that the war in Europe was over.  I left Germany, vowing that I would never return.  I was shipped back to Marseilles, waiting to be assigned to the Pacific.  The Atom bomb on Hiroshima finished the war there and exactly two years to the day from leaving the U.S., I embarked once again for the U.S.  I arrived near Boston on December 5th, 1945 and headed for the first phone booth to call my mother and share with her my safe return, waiting for three hours to get through, expecting my mother’s voice, choking with emotion that I am alive.  Her first words were “Franz, wo bist du denn?” [Franz, where are you?] and when I answered not in Germany nor in France, but in Boston and I will be home tomorrow, she didn’t say “I am so happy” but “Bring mir bitte ein seifewpulver und butter mit denn das ist sehr knapp hier” [“Please bring me some soap powder and butter, because that’s very scarce here”].

__________

“The very first grave that I looked at was the grave of my friend Eric.  I had to inform his mother, who at this time was only notified that he was missing in action, while he was already killed.  I took pictures of his grave to send to his mom, who in many ways kind of adopted me, as the closest friend to her son.  Our company left Leghorn, Italy on our way to France.”

Here’s Frank Harris’ photograph of the grave of his friend Erich Heilbronn, near Cassino.  

____________________

Like their son Erich, Rabbi Isak Heilbronn and his wife Erna Esther are buried at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey.  This photo of their matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor dalya d.

Erich is buried alongside three other WW II Army casualties of German-Jewish ancestry.  As seen in the photo below (also by dalya d) from left to right, these men are: T/5 John S. Weil, Pvt. Werner M. Strauss, PFC Paul M. Harris.  Erich’s grave is at far right. 

Biographical information about these three soldiers follows this image.  Note that information about them appeared in Aufbau, and, American Jews in World War II.

.ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.

Tehé Nafshó Tzrurá Bitzrór Haḥayím

May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.

John Samuel Weil (Shmuel ben Dovid), T/5, 42078365, Purple Heart
Luxembourg, January 19, 1945
Born Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 9/5/10
Mrs. Maxine (“Mayme”) (Leibovitz) Weil (mother), 820 West End Ave., New York, 25, N.Y.
Sgt. Eric Lennart (step-brother)
Casualty List 3/8/45
Aufbau 2/2/45, 2/23/45
American Jews in World War II – 466

Werner Martin (Michael) Strauss (Mikhael ben Mordekhai), Pvt., 32898487, Purple Heart
30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Italy, January 28, 1944
Mr. and Mrs. Max and Recha Strauss (parents), 880 West 180th St., New York, N.Y.
Born 3/11/24
Casualty List 3/17/44
Aufbau 3/3/44
American Jews in World War II – 457

Paul M. Harris (Pinkhas ben Yehuda), PFC, 32812529, Purple Heart
Italy, February 8, 1944
Dr. Otto M. Weller (friend), 676 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y.
Mr. Leo Marlow [Manhardt] (uncle?), 44 Bath Road, Buxton, England
Born Munich, Germany, 3/3/24
Surname was originally “Hechinger“
Casualty List 11/19/44
Aufbau 8/11/44, 10/20/44
American Jews in World War II – 341

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In closing, here’s a biography of Rabbi Heilbronn in English, followed by the original text in German, via RIJO Research.  Note that the document was written in February of 1937…

Rabbi Dr. Isaak Heilbronn

(Born June 4, 1880 in Tann in the Rhön)

Nuremberg-Furth Israelite Community Paper No. 12 from February 1, 1937 (16th year), page 198

On the 25th official anniversary of Rabbi Dr. Isaak Heilbronn in the religious community in Nuremberg

More than half a century ago our celebrant saw the light of day in Tann in the Rhön; his education took him to the Jewish universities of Berlin and Breslau via the Göttingen grammar school; he received his license to practice as a rabbi in the Breslau seminary, and in Erlangen he received his doctorate with a thesis on “the mathematical and scientific views of Josef Salomo Delmedigo”.

In the year 1904 Dr. Heilbronn got his first job as a preacher in Spandau.  The position was withdrawn for reasons of economy, because the community’s resources had been severely weakened due to the departure of the most efficient censite. [?]  What was an isolated case in those happy times threatens to become almost a general phenomenon today, due to the emigration of so many fellow believers and the decline in assets and income of those who remain behind.

From Spandau, in 1912 Dr. Heilbronn committed to our religious community.  That was a considerable promotion, which was also a testament to his excellent qualifications.

However, it was not pure and unclouded happiness that awaited him in Nuremberg.  Based on the provisions of the old Bavarian state church law, which was still in force at the time, Rabbi Dr. Freudenthal, who had been in charge of the rabbinate since 1907, [that] Dr. Heilbronn should not be treated on an equal footing, but only as a “rabbinate substitute”.

That was a structural limitation of his functions, but it must be said that even with equality, it would not have been easy [for] Dr. Heilbronn to emerge next to next to Freudenthal whose life maxim was a downright fanatical will to work, a man whose insatiable creative will could not even break severe shocks to his health, who would have needed rest even in the time when his reduced physical strength was most urgent, had refused any discharge; added to this was the genteel reluctance that Dr. Heilbronn exercised with consideration for the higher years of life and service of his official colleague.

Through all of this, Dr. Heilbronn had a very limited field of activity; the shackles that were imposed on him left little room for the free development of the forces that slumbered in him; until Freudenthal’s resignation he could rarely speak from the pulpit to the congregation and only serve their members as pastors at weddings and funerals for short periods of time.  The fact that he won the hearts of everyone very soon, the love and trust of the widest circles, speaks to a high degree for his rabbinical ability, for the warmth and humanity of his being that radiates from him.  Dr. Heilbronn knew and always knows in his sermons to instruct his listeners by virtue of his great knowledge, to arouse them and to sooth them, he always finds words to fill the many people who are desperate today with God’s-trusting confidence.  On the altar and on the bier, threads of solidarity weave from him to the happy and the mourning to create a kind of deeply human community.

A very special area of Heilbronn’s work has always been the education of young people; years ago, Dr. Heilbronn recognized with a clear view the paramount importance, especially in our religious community, of the training of religious youth who are not ashamed of their Judaism but are proud of it.

But the very own field of Dr. Heilbronn, towards which his innermost being urges him, is after all caring for the poor and depressed, a circle that is expanding almost from day to day in this difficult time.  There is hardly a welfare organization in our community in which Dr. Heilbronn is not in a leading position or in any other influential position, and everywhere he is the warm, eloquent advocate for all who have to struggle hard for their existence.

Josef Salomo Delmedigo, who life chose Dr. Heilbronn chose as the subject of his doctoral dissertation, was a scholar of high grades, of unusual versatility, he was an astronomer, doctor, philosopher, mathematician, but he was certainly not a role model for his biographer in mathematics and even less in one whole other area.

A mathematician, if you mean an arithmetic artist in the usual sense, is not Dr. Heilbronn at all; at least not in welfare.  He doesn’t calculate at all, but yields in the exuberance of his heart, or to put it more correctly, he would give if the writer of these lines didn’t give him a friendly stop every now and then.  – But the difference in lifestyle is even greater.  Delmedigo has not always expressed his true conviction – perhaps under the pressure of a frequently changing but always difficult to treat environment – he has not infrequently thrown diplomatic veils over his innermost thoughts.  In this point, Dr. Heilbronn is just the opposite: his word is clear, his manner open, sincere and true.  This truthfulness, like the mildness of his being, is also the cornerstone for the harmonious cooperation between him and the chairman of the community.

The cradle of our jubilee was shrouded in the harsh winds of the Rauen Rhön, but they did not give him any of their roughness on the path of life, his mind was and remained full of tender feelings, understanding everything human, open-minded everything human, his heart filled with kindness and love.

Anniversary articles usually close with friendly pictures for the next span of life, with beautiful prospects for a bright future; such words would be empty phrases, hollow idioms in this dark time that has come upon us all.  On the contrary, the rabbi’s duties will weigh particularly heavily on our celebrant in the near future.  From the pulpit he will have to try more than ever to instill courage and confidence in the souls of the oppressed parishioners.  Welfare care will make ever greater demands with the growing need and ever more difficult problems will have to be mastered.

We therefore close with the wish: [that for] Dr. Heilbronn and his honored wife, the loyal and proven helper in works of charity, may strengths be retained for many years to help overcome the endless difficulties that surround us and await us.  [Ludwig] Rosenzweig

On February 10, 1939, the Heilbronn family emigrated to New York via London, where Dr. Heilbronn together with the former Munich rabbi Dr. Leo Baerwald founded a community for emigrants from Germany, in which many people from Nuremberg, Munich and Fürth became members and found a spiritual home.  His son Erich died as an American soldier in World War II.

____________________

Rabbiner Dr. Isaak Heilbronn

(geb. 4.6.1880 in Tann i.d. Rhön)

Nürnberg-Fürther Israelitisches Gemeindeblatt Nr. 12 vom 1. Februar 1937 (16. Jg.), S. 198f.:

Zum 25jährigen Amts-Jubiläum des Rabbiners Dr. Isaak Heilbronn in der Kultusgemeinde Nürnberg

Vor mehr als einem halben Jahrhundert erblickte unser Jubilar in Tann in der Rhön das Licht der Welt; sein Bildungsgang führte ihn über das Göttinger Gymnasium auf die jüdischen Hochschulen von Berlin und Breslau; im Breslauer Seminar erhielt er seine Approbation als Rabbiner und in Erlangen promovierte er mit einer Arbeit über “die mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Anschauungen des Josef Salomo Delmedigo” zum Doktor.

Im Jahre 1904 erhielt Dr. Heilbronn seine erste Anstellung und zwar als Prediger in Spandau.  Die Stelle wurde aus Sparsamkeitsgründen eingezogen, weil die Mittel der Gemeinde wegen Wegzugs des leitungsfähigsten Censiten sehr geschwächt worden waren.  Was in jenen glücklichen Zeiten ein Einzelfall war, droht heute durch die Auswanderung so vieler Glaubensgenossen und durch den Vermögens- und Einkommensverfall der Zurückbleibenden beinahe eine Allgemeinerscheinung zu werden.

Von Spandau wurde Dr. Heilbronn im Jahre 1912 für unsere Kultusgemeinde verpflichtet.  Das war ein beträchtlicher Aufstieg, der zugleich Zeugnis für seine ausgezeichnete Qualifikation war.

Ein reines und ungetrübtes Glück war es jedoch nicht, das ihn in Nürnberg erwartete.  Auf Grund der Bestimmungen des damals noch geltenden alten bayerischen Staatskirchenrechtes konnte Dr. Heilbronn Herrn Rabbiner Dr. Freudenthal, der seit 1907 das Rabbinat betreute, nicht gleichgestellt, sondern nur als “Rabbinatssubstitut” angestellt werden.

Das war schon eine strukturelle Einschränkung seiner Funktionen, aber es muss gesagt werden, dass es auch bei einer Gleichstellung Dr. Heilbronn nicht leicht geworden wäre, neben einem Freudenthal, dessen Lebensmaxime ein geradezu fanatischer Arbeitswille war, aufzukommen, neben einem Manne, dessen unstillbaren Schaffenswillen nicht einmal schwere gesundheitliche Erschütterungen zu brechen vermochten, der auch in der Zeit, in der seine geminderten körperlichen Kräfte dringendst der Schonung bedurft hätten, jede Entlastung abgelehnt hat; dazu kam noch die vornehme Zurückhaltung, die Dr. Heilbronn mit Rücksicht auf die höheren Lebens- und Dienstjahre seines Amtskollegen übte.

Durch all das hatte Dr. Heilbronn ein sehr eingeschränktes Wirkungsfeld, die Fesseln, die ihm auferlegt waren, liessen der freien Entfaltung der Kräfte, die in ihm schlummerten, wenig Spielraum; er konnte bis zum Rücktritt Dr. Freudenthals nur selten von der Kanzel zur Gemeinde sprechen und nur während kurzer Zeiträume ihren Mitgliedern bei Trauungen und Bestattungen Seelsorger sein.  Dass er sich trotzdem sehr bald die Herzen aller gewann, die Liebe und das Vertrauen weitester Kreise errang, spricht in hohem Mass für sein rabbinisches Können, für die Wärme und Menschlichkeit seines Wesens, die von ihm ausstrahlt.  Dr. Heilbronn wusste und weiss immer in seinen Predigten seine Zuhörer kraft seines grossen Wissens zu belehren, aufzurütteln und auch zu beruhigen, er findet immer wieder Worte, um die vielen Menschen, die heute am Verzagen sind, mit gottvertrauender Zuversicht zu erfüllen.  Am Traualtar wie an der Bahre weben sich von ihm zu den Frohen wie zu den Trauernden Fäden der Verbundenheit zu einer Art tiefmenschlicher Gemeinschaft.

Ein ganz besonderes Gebiet Heilbronnschen Wirkens war von jeher die Erziehung der Jugend; Dr. Heilbronn hat schon vor Jahren mit klarem Blick erkannt, welch überragende Bedeutung gerade in unserer Glaubensgemeinschaft der Heranbildung einer religiösen Jugend, die sich ihres Judentums nicht schämt, sondern stolz auf es ist, zukommt. 

Aber das ureigenste Feld Dr. Heilbronns, auf das ihn sein innerstes Wesen hindrängt, ist doch die Fürsorge für die Armen und Bedrückten, ein Kreis, der sich in dieser schweren Zeit fast von Tag zu Tag erweitert.  Es gibt in unserer Gemeinde kaum eine Wohlfahrtsorganisation, in der Dr. Heilbronn nicht an leitender oder sonstiger einflussreicher Stelle steht, und überall ist er der warme, beredte Fürsprecher für alle, die hart um ihr Dasein ringen müssen. 

Josef Salomo Delmedigo, dessen Leben sich Dr. Heilbronn zum Gegenstand seiner Doktor-Dissertation gewählt hat, war ein Gelehrter von hohen Graden, von ungewöhnlicher Vielseitigkeit, er war Astronom, Mediziner, Philosoph, Mathematiker, aber ein Vorbild für seinen Biographen war er bestimmt nicht in der Mathematik und noch weniger auf einem ganz anderen Gebiet.

Ein Mathematiker, wenn man darunter einen Rechenkünstler im üblichen Sinne versteht, ist Dr. Heilbronn ganz und gar nicht; wenigstens nicht in der Wohlfahrt.  Da rechnet er überhaupt nicht, sondern ergibt im Überschwang seines Herzens, richtiger gesagt, er würde geben, wenn ihm der Schreiber dieser Zeilen nicht mitunter ein freundschaftliches Stop entgegenhalten würde.  – Noch grösser aber ist der Unterschied in der Lebensführung.  Delmedigo hat nicht immer – vielleicht unter dem Druck einer häufig wechselnden, aber stets schwer zu behandelnden Umwelt – seine wahre Überzeugung zum Ausdruck gebracht, er hat nicht selten diplomatische Schleier über seine innerste Gedankenwelt gebreitet.  In diesem Punkte verkörpert Dr. Heilbronn das gerade Gegenteil: sein Wort ist klar, seine Art offen, aufrichtig und wahr.  Diese Wahrhaftigkeit, wie die Milde seines Wesens, sind auch die Grundpfeiler für das harmonische Zusammenwirken zwischen ihm und dem Vorsitzenden der Gemeinde. 

Die Wiege unseres Jubilars war umwittert von den harten Winden der Rauen Rhön, aber sie haben ihm von ihrer Rauheit nichts mit auf den Lebensweg gegeben, sein Gemüt war und blieb voll zartester Empfindung, alles Menschliche verstehend, allem Menschlichen aufgeschlossen, sein Herz erfüllt von Güte und Liebe.

Jubiläumsartikel schliessen gewöhnlich mit freundlichen Bildern für die nächste Lebensspanne, mit schönen Ausblicken auf eine frohe Zukunft; solche Worte wären in dieser düsteren Zeit, die über uns alle gekommen ist, leere Phrasen, hohle Redensarten.  Im Gegenteil, die Pflichten des Rabbiners werden in der nächsten Zeit besonders schwer auf unserem Jubilar lasten.  Von der Kanzel herab wird er mehr wie je versuchen müssen, Mut und Lebenszuversicht in die Seelen der bedrückten Gemeindemitglieder zu träufeln.  Die Wohlfahrtspflege wird mit der wachsenden Not immer grössere Anforderungen stellen und immer schwierigere Probleme werden zu meistern sein.

Wir schliessen daher mit dem Wunsche: mögen Dr. Heilbronn und seiner verehrten Gemahlin, der getreuen und bewährten Helferin in den Werken der Nächstenliebe, noch lange Jahre die Kräfte erhalten bleiben, um die unendlichen Schwierigkeiten, die uns umgeben und unserer harren, überwinden zu helfen.  [Ludwig] Rosenzweig

Am 10.2.1939 wanderte die Familie Heilbronn über London nach New York aus, wo Dr. Heilbronn zusammen mit dem ehemaligen Münchner Rabbiner Dr. Leo Baerwald eine Gemeinde für die Emigranten aus Deutschland gründete, in der viele Menschen aus Nürnberg, München und Fürth Mitglieder wurden und eine seelische Heimat fanden.  Sein Sohn Erich fiel als amerikanischer Soldat im Zweiten Weltkrieg.

Reference  (Just One)

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947.

Acknowledgement

My deep thanks to Bastiaan van der Velden for enabling me to present a fuller historical picture of Erich Heilbronn and his family.  

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: 1 Lt. Norman F. Hirsch (November 26, 1944) – I [Updated post…  “New and Improved!”]

[Created “way back when” – in August of 2018 – this post – focusing on November 26, 1944 – has now been updated, with additional information primarily pertaining to the 8th Air Force’s mission to the Deurag-Neurag oil refinery at Misburg, Germany.  New material comprises the following: 1) Crew lists for 8th Air Force B-24 losses, including airmen’s names, crew positions, serial numbers, home towns of residence, and indications about an airman’s ultimate fate (those who survived are denoted by a boldface surname), 2) Extracts from Luftgaukommando Reports pertaining to the location where an aircraft crashed, 3) Mapple Apps Apple Maps showing the locations of these crash sites, with the crash site denoted by a red oval, and – for reference – the target location at Misburg Nord denoted in blue, 4) For two lost B-24s – THE FIREBIRD and ARK ANGEL – images of pages from relevant Luftgaukommando Reports, from NARA, 5) Also from NARA, a few images of personal documents from B-24 crewmen who were casualties on the mission, 6) A few Army Air Force photographs from Fold3, 7) New images of B-24s Problem Child, and, ARK ANGEL.  Plus, a small amount of commentary.

I’m aware, that in the world of 2021; an age dominated by the civilizationally corrosive oxymoron otherwise known as “social media” (Gee, thanks, Jack!  Golly, thanks, Mark!), this post will appear to be extraordinarily long (hmmm…  most of my posts are that way) but, well, so be it. 

After all, the past is worthy of contemplation, and cannot be captured in a “Tweet”. 

Then again, neither can nor should the present.   

So, back to the post…!]

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There is more to “the news” than mere news. 

Like a Matryoshka doll, the events of every age – whether of “man” in the abstract, or “men” as individuals – contain within themselves tales, within stories, within memories.  Often, stories can be understood only long after they occurred: when participants and witnesses are few, or longer exist. 

Such was the case on the 24th of February in the year 1945, when an obituary for Army Air Force aerial navigator 1 Lt. Norman F. Hirsch, killed in action over Germany on November 26, 1944, appeared in The New York Times

As situated within a list of names of wounded servicemen from the New York Metropolitan area and northern New Jersey (the Times’ list having been derived from combined Army and Navy nationwide casualty lists comprising over 4,300 names), the reader could not – then – have known what occurred over Germany three months before: On November 26, during Eighth Air Force mission number 725, over 1,100 B-17s and B-24s, escorted by over 730 P-47s and P-51s, were dispatched to attack rail viaducts, marshaling yards and oil installations in western Germany, the latter target being the Deurag-Nerag Synthetic Oil Refinery, in Misburg, a district of Hannover.  

Targets allocated to the heavy bombers on Mission 725 were as follows:

Altenbeken – Railroad viaduct: 118 B-17s
Bielefeld – Railroad marshalling yard: 36 B-17s
Bielefeld – Railroad viaduct: 240 B-24s
Gutersloh – Railroad marshalling yard: 37 B-17s
Hamm – Railroad marshalling yard: 266 B-17s
Hannover – Railroad marshalling yard: 26 B-24s
Herford – Railroad marshalling yard: 24 B-17s
Misburg – Deurag Industry oil refinery: 243 B-17s and 57 B-24s

…and…

Oosterhout, Netherlands – Leaflet drop: 8 B-17s and 6 B-24s

That day, American bombers were intercepted by approximately 500 Luftwaffe fighters.  The 8th Air Force lost over 30 B-17s and B-24s, and 9 fighters, in turn claiming the destruction of over 130 German aircraft.

While Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) record the loss of 9 fighters (among the 55th, 78th, 339th, 355th, and 364th Fighter Groups), 1 F-5E reconnaissance Lightning (43-28619, of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group), and 14 B-17 Flying Fortresses (among the 91st, 303rd, 305th, 351st, 381st, 388th, 390th, 398th, and 487th Bomb Groups), strikingly, the loss of 21 B-24 Liberators occurred only among three Bomb Groups – the 389th “Sky Scorpions” (1 aircraft), 445th (5 aircraft), and 491st “Ringmasters”, which lost 15 Liberators.  Additionally, the 8th AF Historical Society notes the loss – for which there are no MACRs – of an additional three B-24s (among the 445th, 453rd, and 491st Bomb Groups) respectively through crash-landing, crashing, and abandonment by the bomber’s crew over Belgium. 

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The emblem of the Ringmasters, from the US Militaria forum.  The three-banded horizontal green-white-green pattern reflects the 491st’s group markings as displayed on their B-24s’ outer tails and rudders, following the Bomb Group marking system of the 8th Air Force’s 2nd Air Division. 

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This toll of men and planes represented one of the heaviest losses incurred by an Army Air Force Combat Group during the Second World War, with the worst such event – resulting in the loss of 26 Liberators – befalling the 445th Bomb Group during a mission to Kassel, Germany, on September 27, 1944.  (The initial cause of the 445th’s losses of September 27 was an error in radar navigation in the 445th’s lead Liberator, B-24J 42-51541, RN * H, piloted by Captain John H. Chilton, with Major Don W. McCoy as command pilot; neither man survived.)  Another such incident, perhaps less widely known, was the 483rd Bomb Group’s loss of 14 B-17s during a mission to Memmingen, Germany on July 18, 1944, which included seven B-17s of the 816th Bomb Squadron. 

The commonality of these incidents was that they were situations in which the German air defense network was able to detect, recognize, and exploit the absence of American escort fighters, directing its fighters to strike the temporarily undefended American Bombardment Groups, overwhelming the bombers’ combined defensive firepower through a succession of coordinated, tightly concentrated, and close attacks by multiple aircraft.

Thus, the loss of the Ringmaster’s 15 Liberators within the space of fifteen minutes, on November 26, 1944. 

As part of the 8th Air Force’s B-24-equipped 2nd Bombardment Wing, the Ringmasters were sequentially the “last” combat group (preceded by the 389th and 445th Bomb Groups) allocated to bomb the Deurag-Neurag oil refinery. 

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This map gives a sense of the the location of Hannover relative to other cities in northern Germany, as well as the Netherlands, Belgium, and France…  

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…while this map shows the locations of Hannover and Misburg Nord relative to one another.

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Before the Misburg mission.  (Well, long before the Misburg mission.)  This photo – presumably taken by the Royal Air Force – shows the Deurag-Nerag Synthetic Oil Refinery as it appeared in 1942.  The channel running parallel to the bottom of the image is the Stichkanal Misburg.  For the purposes of this post, I’ve digitally “rotated” the photo (you can view the original at Fold3) such that its orientation is consistent with the refinery’s actual geography:  Thus, “up”, or the “top” of your screen, is north, and “down”, or the bottom of your screen, is south.

Caption:  “Synthetic plant at Misburg, Germany with monthly pre-attack capacity of 25,000 tons looked like this in 1942.”  Print received January 1945 from Pub. Sec., AC/AS Intel.  Used in January, 1945 issue of Impact.  (Photo 55774AC – A22022 (1942)

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By the time the Group approached the target, the horizontal distance between the Ringmasters and the two preceding Groups had notably increased, diminishing the potential effectiveness of escort fighter coverage for all three Groups, as well as placing the 491st in a relatively isolated position relative to the remainder of the 2nd Bomb Wing as a whole.

At 1226 hours, the 491st had just turned at the I.P. (the “Initial Point”, an identifiable land mark about 20 miles more of less from a target, from which location a Group’s bomb-run would typically commence); in this case the Lower Saxon town of Wittingen, approximately 46 miles northeast of Hannover.  Just prior to reaching this location, a large number of Luftwaffe fighters – approximately 150 to 200 aircraft – was seen southeast of the 491st’s formation.  As stated in Ringmasters, “They [Luftwaffe fighters] made no move toward the Liberators but were “just playing around in the clouds” as if daring the Mustangs and Thunderbolts to come over and mix it up.  The chance seemed too good to miss and the entire close fighter escort, consisting of 197 P-51s and 48 P-47s, went storming after the Germans, estimated at from 150 to 200 strong.  In a matter of minutes they were fully engaged, leaving the B-24s on their own.  Area coverage fighters, as noted above, had already been diverted to meet an earlier appearance of the enemy.”   

The Group’s Air Commander (and Commanding Officer of the 854th Bomb Squadron) Lt. Col. Parmele – about whom possibly more in a future post – was immediately faced with the decision of whether to: “…uncover his three squadrons in the face of imminent enemy attack or to preserve the Group formation and meet the enemy with a united front.  Realizing that superior bombing results could only be achieved by uncovering, he unhesitatingly ordered this maneuver.”  The 491st thus commenced its bomb run.  Then, a mishap occurred in the lead B-24 of the “low” – 854th – Bomb Squadron (Lt. Haney’s plane, #735, 6X * Z –): Within the already crowded nose of the plane, the nose gunner accidentally tripped the bomb toggle switch, which caused the B-24 to release its bombs.  The rest of the 854th Bomb Squadron immediately followed suit, that entire squadron’s bomb load falling into open fields 15 miles from Misburg. 

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After “a” Misburg mission.  (But which mission?!)  Dated as having been received on October 6, 1944 from the BPR (Bureau of Public Relations?) this reconnaissance photo shows the level of destruction incurred from aerial bombardment.  While damage is readily apparent across the facility, particularly among the storage tanks, it seems that other parts of the plant are still relatively intact.  Also, note the degree to which bombs have impacted on nearby farmland.  

Akin to the previous image, this image has been rotated to conform to geographic north.  As such, the very long southwest to northeast oriented shadows, particularly those projecting from infrastructure near the Stichkanal, suggest that the image was taken very late in the afternoon.  Well, an afternoon.       

Caption: “HITLER’S OIL PLANT AT MISBURG HIT HARD – Gutted installations and burned out storage tanks set the stage at the German synthetic oil plant at Misburg, near Hannover, after U.S. Army 8th Air Force heavy bombers had attacked it several times in the past few months.  It was last attacked on 12 September 1944.”  Negative received 10/6/44 from BPR, to accompany Press Release: “HITLER’S OIL PLANT AT MISBURG  (Photo +54123AC – A22017)

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The image below, from Ringmasters, is captioned “The COs – Golf, Miller, Parmele”, but doesn’t specify “who” commanded “what”.  While I can’t identify “Golf” and am uncertain of “Miller’s” identity (could he be Group CO Colonel Frederic H. Miller, Jr.?), “Parmele” is definitely Lt. Col. Charles C. Parmele of the the 854th.  (In 2007, Edward Kamarainen, one of the six survivors of 853rd Bomb Squadron’s DORTY TREEK, wrote and published (via lulu.com) This Is War and We Are Prisoners of the Enemy, in which he states that the commander of the 853rd was Lt. Col. Harry Stephy.)

The German air defense network recognized the status and disposition of the 2nd Bomb Wing’s three trailing B-24 Groups, particularly the sudden vulnerability of the 491st.  Thus, flak stopped, a prelude to attack by Luftwaffe fighters.  As noted by Sal Leotta, Dead-Reckoning navigator in Lt. Haney’s crew (in a description and tone consistent with the above quote pertaining to the Group’s fighter escort), “After passing the Dummer Lake area we received many reports of enemy fighters.  The mission continued until about 20 minutes before the IP when a large force of enemy fighters was sighted.  Our fighter escort peeled off to intercept and stave off any attack on the bombers.  I recall the subsequent air battle drifting off in the distance.  Looking back later, it became obvious that this engagement was a ruse to strip us of our fighter escort.” 

The impression arising from these accounts is that the 491st was – in effect and reality – left on its own, the escort fighters having been drawn away off in the pursuit and attack of nearby concentrations of Luftwaffe interceptors.  Doubtless events could genuinely and sincerely have been perceived as such by the crews of the Ringmasters.  (This comes across in Edwin Kamarainen‘s book.)  However, it could be ventured that – given the sheer number of aircraft (American (732) and German) operating in a geographically limited airspace; the near-inevitable fluidity and complexity of aerial combat; the simple unpredictability inherent to any military engagement – a difference in perspective and priority vis-a-vis bomber crews and fighter pilots might well have been, and be, sadly inevitable.  So…  If you’re interested in more information about the 8th Air Force fighter engagements of November 26, 1944, you can find 38 combat reports for this mission (and 790 reports for other dates) at WW II Aircraft Performance.

In any event…  As described in the Group’s mission report, “At 1240 hours approximately 100 E/A attacked the formation just south of Hannover.  The attack was made by FW 190s in line astern formation mostly from 6 o’clock high and pressing attack to within 100 yards — Peeling off and coming in again from any angle — This attack lasted until 12:55 hrs.  The squadrons were in trail when the attack started and the last squadron [853rd] was attacked first — Then the middle [854th] and finally the lead [855th] — The attack on the lead squadron was not intense and no A/C were lost from the squadron.”  Again, Sal Leotta: “In what appeared to be seconds, the sky filled with enemy fighters and the high squadron (853rd BS) was literally blown out of the skies.  Without a pause, we (854th BS) were the next target.  They came at us about 10 to 20 abreast firing their cannons.  During the attack I felt useless with no gun to fire.  All I could do was to call out the positions of incoming bandits.  In retrospect, I am amazed at the intensity, speed and success of the attack.  It may have felt like an eternity but it actually was very swift, a matter of a few minutes.  It happened so quickly that there was not time to pray or be frightened.”

In an indirect and sad way, the nature of the tactic employed by Jagdgeschwader 301 against the 491st is verified by a review of Missing Air Crew Reports for Ringmaster B-24 losses that day:  These documents reveal that a slight preponderance (well, in a general sense) of aircrew casualties occurred among those airmen whose crew positions were situated in the rear of their aircraft – tail, waist, and ball turret gunners, while those situated in the front – pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and flight engineers – seem to have had a somewhat better chance of survival.  Of the 16 491st B-24s that were lost, there were no survivors on three planes (Problem Child, ARK ANGEL, and Blue Circle) while in the B-24s piloted by Lieutenants Ecklund (853rd) and Lanning (854th), all crewmen but one survived the mission.  In no case did a shot-down Ringmaster crew survive intact, though all crew members in two of the five 445th Bomb Group’s losses (both of the 703rd Bomb Squadron) survived the mission.  

The bombers were attacked by Jagdgeschwader 301, a Luftwaffe fighter wing based at Stendal (110 miles east of Hannover), at the time equipped with FW-190A-8 and A-9 fighters.  After the Wing’s three Gruppen downed 15 Ringmaster and then 5 445th B-24s (389th Bomb Group B-24J 44-10579 Pugnacious Princess Pat was shot down by flak), P-51s of the 2nd Scouting Force, followed by P-51s of the 339th, 355th, and 361st Fighter Groups, responding to radio calls, came to the defense of the Liberators, pilots of the three Fighter Groups respectively claiming 28, 21, and 23 enemy planes, these 72 aerial victories comprising FW-190s from JG 301, and, fighters from other Luftwaffe fighter wings.

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Combat in real time:  This image, probably captured by a B-24’s automatic downward-facing camera, has photographically “captured” an FW-190 flying over Hannover.  Paralleling the two above images of the Deurag-Nerag Synthetic Oil Refinery, I’ve photoshopifically “rotated” this image such that geographic north is “up” towards the top of your screen.  This orientation was determined by comparing the layout of streets and other features in the photo (the original image at Fold3 has a typical horizontal format) to Apple Map views of Hannover.

The FW-190, flying south-southeast, is situated almost exactly halfway between the two puffy clouds in the left half of the image.  

Caption: “A Nazi FW-190 wings over the Misburg area as U.S. 8th Air Force heavies, high overhead drop their lethal load on the oil refinery there 26 Nov 44.”  Passed for publication 22 December 1944.  Negative received 12/29/44 from BPR.  (Photo 55593AC – A22019)

This’ll make it easier to see the FW-190:  It’s a cropped view of the above photo, with the FW-190 in the very center of the image.  Nothing on camouflage and markings, but hey, it’s an interesting and relevant picture.  

So, where exactly is – more accurately, where was – the plane in relation to Hannover?  This 2021 view reveals that the plane’s location – shown by the red circle – was directly over what appears to be the Stadtfriedhof (State Cemetery) Lindener Burg… 

…as shown in the map below.

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The diagram below, from Ringmasters, illustrates the arrangement of the 491st’s formation as if viewed from above, with each aircraft identified by the pilot’s surname, the last three digits of its serial number, and its individual squadron code letter.  (Edward Kamarainen noted that one 853rd Liberator – #341 (T8 * – W) – turned back because of radio failure.)  Red boxes indicate aircraft shot down, with 1 Lt. Harold E. Lanning’s plane (blue box: Reluctant Dragon, 6X * I –, probably 42-95610) surviving the attack.  Mortally damaged and with one waist gunner (S/Sgt. Lee A. Taylor) dead, its nine survivors safely parachuted near Brussels.  Note that the lead (855th) squadron survived the mission intact.

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Lieutenant Hirsch was the navigator of an aircraft ironically named THE FIREBIRD (B-24J 42-110167; a camouflaged plane with squadron code T8 * – O), piloted by 1 Lt. Daniel C. Budd.  There were two survivors from the plane’s crew of ten: right waist gunner S/Sgt. Frank Verbosky and left waist gunner S/Sgt. Thaddeus C. Jarosz, for whom postwar Casualty Questionnaires are conspicuously absent from the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR 10768) covering their plane’s loss. 

Perhaps there was little for them to say. 

Crash location as listed Luftgaukommando Report KU 3452:
Bredenbeck near Bennigsen; 20 km northwest of Hildesheim.

Budd, Daniel C., 1 Lt. – (0-797459), Falls Church, Va. – Pilot
Oury, Noel A., 2 Lt. – (0-1998532), Richmond, Va. – Co-Pilot
Hirsch, Norman F., 1 Lt. – (0-709375), Brooklyn, N.Y. – Navigator
Walker, Floyd A., Jr., 2 Lt. – (0-2058592), Des Moines, Ia. – Navigator (Nose)
Phelps, William F., 1 Lt. – (0-706899), New London County, Ct. – Bombardier
Brock, Vernon R., T/Sgt. – (36458670), Albion, Mi. – Flight Engineer
Bemis, Elmer H., T/Sgt. – (31261913), Marlboro, Ma. – Radio Operator
Verbovsky, Frank, S/Sgt. – (32911685), North Bergen, N.J. – Gunner (Right Waist) (Survived)
Jarosz, Thaddeus C., S/Sgt. – (31362327), Laurence, Ma. – Gunner (Left Waist) (Survived)
Crane, Thomas R., S/Sgt. – (32757283), Salem, N.J. – Gunner (Tail)

As reported in the Luftgaukommando Report, the bomber crashed 20 kilometers northwest of the town of Hildehseim, at “Bradenback near Bemimgsen”.  (The correct spellings should be “Bredenbeck” and “Bennigsen”.)  Curiously, MACR 10768 lists aircraft as being assigned to the 853rd BS, as does “Ringmasters”, but B-24BestWeb designates plane as belonging to the 852nd BS.  (Perhaps the plane was assigned to 853rd BS prior to the mission of November 26.)

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Here are pages from Luftgaukommando Report KU 3452.  The degree of destruction of the plane is indicated by the near-complete absence of technical information about the wreckage, with the exception of one entry about radio equipment.  Apparently, there was very little left.    

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Lt. Hirsch, serial 0-709375, received the Air Medal and Purple Heart, and is buried in Section 24 of Arlington National Cemetery, in a collective burial with Lt. Budd, co-pilot 2 Lt. Noel A. Oury, flight engineer T/Sgt. Vernon R. Brock, and radio operator T/Sgt. Elmer H. Bemis.  They presumably had flown all their prior missions together, as mentioned in Ringmasters by 853rd Squadron bombardier Vince Cahill:  “It was a quiet hut that night.  Pilots Budd and Orley, Navigator Hirsh [sic] and Bombardier “Shorty” were gone.  I wondered if we would ever be lucky enough to complete our 35 missions.  This was Budd’s crew’s 26th mission, four more to go for 30 and a complete tour.” 

This photo of the mens’ collective grave is by FindAGrave contributor John Evans.

This photograph of THE FIREBIRD’s nose art is from B-24 Best Web

…while this image is from the 491st Bomb Group website, now available through Archive.org’s “Wayback Machine”.

…and this image, taken on May 13, 1944, is from the Flickr photostream of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

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Lt. Hirsch’s obituary, as published in The New York Times on February 24 (and in the Brooklyn Eagle on February 21, 1945), follows:

Killed While in Action In Battle of Germany

First Lieut. Norman F. Hirsch of the Army Air Forces was killed in action over Germany on Nov. 26, the War Department informed his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reuben [and Esther] Hirsch of 416 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn, on Jan. 26, it was announced yesterday.  Twenty-three years old, Lieutenant Hirsch held the Air Medal, was a Liberator navigator with the Eighth Army Air Force in England and had flown thirty-five missions.

Born in Elizabeth, N.J., Lieutenant Hirsch attended Brooklyn College and City College and was a senior in the latter institution when he enlisted in 1942.  He began his air training in 1943 and received his wings in 1944.

His father is a lawyer.  Besides his parents, he leaves a brother, Second Lieut. William J. Hirsch of the Fifteenth Army Air Force in Italy.

The New York Times 2/24/45 (obituary), Casualty List 3/14/45
Brooklyn Eagle 2/21/45 (obituary), 5/16/46, 5/17/46, 6/6/46, 6/10/46
American Jews in World War II – 345

Here’s a contemporary view of 416 Ocean Parkway, from Jeff Reuben’s Flickr photostream.

Over a year later, the Brooklyn Eagle would carry two brief news items mentioning Lt. Hirsch, both mentioning a Jewish War Veterans Post named in his honor, which met at Congregation Ahavath Israel and Talmud Torah of East Midwood, at 2818 Avenue K in Brooklyn.    

May 16, 1946

Three years ago a certain Brooklyn College student left behind classroom and books to enlist in the army and did not return.  Tonight one of his former instructors, Prof. Louis A. Warsoff, will speak at an open meeting to be held by the Jewish War Veterans post named for the student, Norman F. Hirsch.  Professor Warsoff will speak on “The World of Tomorrow” at the session of the Lt. Norman F. Hirsch Post, Congregation Ahavath Israel, 2818 Avenue K.

June 6, 1946

Annual memorial services will be held at 8:30 p.m. Sunday in Congregation Ahavath Israel, 2818 Avenue K.  Participating will be members of Flatlands Post, American Legion, and Lt. Norman F. Hirsch Post, Jewish War Veterans.

This Flickr image, by Matthew X. Kiernan, is a 2012 view of the schul, now the home of Young Israel of Avenue K.

Some other Jewish military casualties on Sunday, November 26, 1944 (10 Kislev 5705), include…

Killed in Action
– .ת.נ.צ.ב.ה. –

United States Army Air Force

8th Air Force

445th Bomb Group, 701st Bomb Squadron

Bailey, Herbert Edward, 2 Lt., 0-712477, Navigator, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Mr. and Mrs. Meyer E. [7/22/97-10/10/65] and Marion T. [1902-2/12/60] Bailey (parents), Alan P. Bailey (brother), 100 Laurel Road, New Haven, 13, Ct.
Born Hartford, N.Y., 6/17/23
MACR 10754, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3366, Aircraft B-24H 42-94940 (The Green Hornet), Pilot 2 Lt. William K. Boykin, 9 crew – 3 survivors
Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium – Plot D, Row 24, Grave 21
American Jews in World War II – 61

Statement in MACR: “Ship #940 was jumped by fighters after bombs away and started going down.  Four (4) chutes were observed.  Plane was not on fire and seemed under control.”

Crash location:
In MACR: 15 miles southeast of Hannover
In Luftgaukommando Report: Sorsun, 10 km southwest of Hildesheim

Boykin, William L., Jr., 2 Lt. – (0-772784), Philadelphia, Pa. – Pilot
Tubergen, Gary V., Jr., 2 Lt. – (0-821812), Plymouth, Mi. – Co-Pilot
Bailey, Herbert E., 2 Lt. – (0-712477), New Haven, Ct. – Navigator
Price, Junius C., T/Sgt. – (34644499), Florence, S.C. – Flight Engineer (Survived)
Welch, Donald N., T/Sgt. – (35549094), Lima, Oh. – Radio Operator (Survived)
Gutowsky, Joe A., S/Sgt. – (36262079), Racine, Wi. – Gunner (Nose)
McFadden, Walter C., S/Sgt. – (33679986), Grove City, Pa. – Gunner (Waist) (Survived)
Crespolini, Americo A., S/Sgt. – (33609563), Old Forge, Pa. – Gunner (Waist)
Craig, Otis D., S/Sgt. – (32956491), Wilmington, De. – Gunner (Tail)

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This is an image of Herbert Bailey before he became “Lieutenant” Bailey: It’s his graduation portrait from the Milford, Connecticut, (junior?) high school class yearbook of 1939, via Ancestry.com. 

Here’s Lt. Bailey’s Officer’s Identification Card.  Note that the card is designed to be twice folded, enabling it to fit inside a wallet. 

While certainly hardly every Luftgaukommando Report includes this type of document, in terms of the materials that can be found in these Reports, Officer’s Identification Cards tend to be among the more common items.  Note that information is limited to name, serial number, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, and a set of fingerprints, and the card’s serial number – the latter not identical to the officer’s military serial number.  No information is present concerning next of kin or place-of-residence.

Herbert Bailey’s Army and Navy Officer’s Club (of Beverly Hills, California) dated March 25, 1944.  

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And, a newspaper clipping, undated.  Crumpled and torn, but still intact.      

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T/Sgt. Junius C. Price was one of the three survivors of The Green Hornet.  This is his Individual Issue Record of flying equipment, which appears to have been assigned to him on May 27, 1944.  Some of these items are described and illustrated in Gordon Rottman’s 1993 book (published by Osprey) US Army Air Force: 1.

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Sgt. Price’s Merit Award, dated May 20, 1944.

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And, his Class “A” Pass from Biggs Field, Texas, dated June 30 of that year.    

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Levy, Robert D., 2 Lt., 0-825915, Co-Pilot
Mrs. Gertrude Levy (mother), 4917 B Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
MACR 11214, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3386, Aircraft B-24J 42-50467, Pilot 1 Lt. John D. Barringer, 9 crew – no survivors
Possibly from Hamilton County, Tennessee
Nashville National Cemetery, South Madison, Tn. – Section MM, Graves 64-64A-65; Buried 4/24/50
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Statement in MACR: “Ship #467 was jumped by fighters and two (2) chutes were seen coming out of the plane.  This ship was under control at the time.”

Crash location:
In MACR: 15 miles southeast of Hannover
In Luftgaukommando Report: “Hammerswald” (probably Hämelerwald) near Peine / 6 km east of Lehrte

Barringer, John D., Jr., 1 Lt. – (0-763904), Nashville, Tn. – Pilot
Levy, Robert D., 2 Lt. – (0-825915), Philadelphia, Pa. – Co-Pilot
Juliano, Paul J., F/O – (T-126230), Niagara Falls, N.Y. – Navigator
Brunswig, Norman F., 2 Lt. – (0-722691), Rock Island, Il. – Bombardier
Black, Joseph F., S/Sgt. – (39414426), Fort Smith, Ar. – Flight Engineer
Sullivan, Eugene J., S/Sgt. – (11069588), North Cambridge, Ma. – Radio Operator
Lyons, Roland C., Jr., Sgt. – (33543987), Portsmouth, Va. – Gunner (Waist)
Personette, Eldon R., Sgt. – (37568985), Minneapolis, Mn. – Gunner (Waist)
Vance, William J., Jr., Sgt. – (34778642), Asheville, N.C. – Gunner (Tail)

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491st Bomb Group, 853rd Bomb Squadron

Negrin, Carl, Sgt., 32823090, Right Waist Gunner, Purple Heart
MACR 10762, Aircraft B-24H 41-28884 (T8 * – X / Problem Child), Pilot 2 Lt. John P. Hite, 9 crew – no survivors
Born 7/17/24, Rochester, N.Y.
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Joseph [1895-?] and Esther [12/4/97-10/63] Negrin (parents)
Mrs. Sarah M. Lindenfeld (sister), 509 Hegeman Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. Michael Negrin (brother) [5/5/34-12/22/00]
Labety and Zacharia Negrin (half-brothers)
Place of Burial unknown
American Jews in World War II – 398

Aircraft crash location unknown.

Hite, John P., 2 Lt. – (0-448833), Christiansburg, Va. – Pilot
Volden, Morris J., 2 Lt. – (0-689416), Cottonwood, Mn. – Co-Pilot
O’Brien, Thomas R., 2 Lt. – (0-2062692), Maspeth, N.Y. – Navigator
Sutton, Bill H., Jr., 2 Lt. – (0-780446), Little Rock, Ak. – Bombardier
Tykarsky, Edward B., Sgt. – (13108280), West Alliquippa, Pa. – Flight Engineer
Weible, Kenneth F., Sgt. – (37356037), Chappell, Ne. – Radio Operator
Negrin, Carl, Sgt. – (32823090), Brooklyn, N.Y. – Gunner (Right Waist)
Marko, Andrew, Sgt. – (31409763), Bridgeport, Ct. – Gunner (Left Waist)
Wagers, Harold R., Sgt. – (35872381), College Corner, Oh. – Gunner (Tail)

Two in-flight views of Problem Child (images UPL 17514 and UPL 17515, respectively) from the McCool collection, via the American Air Museum in England

…and the nose art of Problem Child, from the FindAGrave biography of S/Sgt. Harold R. Wagers, contributed by Jap Veermeer.

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Starr, Irving B., S/Sgt., 32995257, Nose Gunner, Air Medal, Purple Heart
MACR 10764, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3385, Aircraft B-24J 44-40073 (T8 * –  B / ARK ANGEL), Pilot 1 Lt. David N. Bennett, Jr.; 9 crew – no survivors
Mrs. Dora E. Starr (mother), 54 Lott Ave., Brooklyn, 12, N.Y.
Place of Burial unknown
American Jews in World War II – 453

Statement in MACR: “Aircraft came up from High Squadron and joined Lead Squadron after attack by enemy aircraft.  Martin turret was missing and there was large hole in right wing.  Last seen at 1258 hrs losing altitude.  No chutes were seen.”

Crash location:
In Luftgaukommando Report:
1) 3 km south of Oerrie
2) 15 km northwest of Hildesheim
Or, Between Jeinsen and Oerie, 5 km west of Sarstedt

Bennett, David N., Jr., 1 Lt. – (0-686214), Norwood, N.C. – Pilot
Blount, Jessie F., 2 Lt. – (0-710548), Gainesville, Tx. – Co-Pilot
Engel, George B., 2 Lt. – (0-723332), Pittsburgh, Pa. – Navigator
Warford, Norman G., T/Sgt. – (35703424), Frankfort, Ky. – Flight Engineer
Patrick, Peter, Jr., T/Sgt. – (33741746), East Point, Ky. – Radio Operator
Starr, Irving B., S/Sgt. – (32995257), Brooklyn, N.Y. – Gunner (Nose)
Hixson, Charles E., S/Sgt. – (34505462), Cleveland, Tn. – Gunner (Right Waist)
McKee, Raymond O., S/Sgt. – (38199681), East Baton Rouge, La. – Gunner (Left Waist)
Stovall, Henry P., S/Sgt. – (35869219), Beckley, W.V. – Gunner (Tail)

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Here’s Luftgaukommano Report KU 3385.  It closely parallels that for THE FIREBIRD, in that virtually nothing remained of ARK ANGEL for evaluation and salvage.  

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1 Lt. David N. Bennett, Jr. and his crew, in an image from Ringmasters.  The crewmen are unidentified, but Lt. Bennett, co-pilot Lt. Jessie Blount, navigator Lt. George Engel, and flight engineer T/Sgt. Norman Warford, are probably standing at rear.  (The crew did not fly with a bombardier during the Misburg mission.)  This B-24 bears nose-art inspired by an Albert Vargas pin-up from Esquire.

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The Ark Angel, as depicted by artist Mark Rolfe, in Robert F. Dorr’s B-24 Liberator Units of the Eighth Air Force…

A color image of ARK ANGEL (via the American Air Museum in England) taken in the summer of 1944…


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The nose art of ARK ANGEL, from Ringmasters…

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An in-flight view of ARK ANGEL, also from the 491st Bomb Group website, now accessible via Archive.org’s “Wayback Machine”.  (On this aircraft, oddly, the 491st Bomb Group identification letter – a white “Z” within a black circle, atop the outer right wing – has been painted in reverse.)

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The story of the ARK ANGEL presents a mystery…

As is typical for MACRs covering aircraft lost in the European and Mediterranean Theatres of War (those for aircraft and airmen known to have been accounted for and identified by German investigators, which entailed the compilation of Luftgaukommando Reports), ARK ANGEL’s MACR (10764) includes the English-language translation of the above-illustrated Luftgaukommando Report (KU 3385).  This includes documentation for every airman determined or believed to have been aboard the plane.

As such (see above) KU 3385 lists the names of:

Blount, Jessie F., 2 Lt.
Engel, George B., 2 Lt.
Warford, Norman G., T/Sgt.
Patrick, Peter, Jr., T/Sgt.
Starr, Irving B., S/Sgt.
McKee, Raymond O., S/Sgt.

While the names of…

Bennett, David N., Jr., 1 Lt.
Hixson, Charles E., S/Sgt.
Stovall, Henry P., S/Sgt.

…are absent. 

But, one of the “Report of Capture of Member of Enemy Air Forces” forms in KU 3385 lists the name and serial number of a member of the United States Woman’s Army Corps: Her name: Ida Rosenfield, serial A-202639.

Here’s a translation of the above document, from MACR 10764.  

However!…  A check of all relevant historical databases reveals that while an Ida Rosenfield definitely existed and served in the Army (she was born in New York in 1924, and enlisted at Caspar, Wyoming in 1943), she probably never left the continental United States to begin with.

According to records at Ancestry.com, she seems (?) to have been the daughter of Fred and Elizabeth (Di Pillo) Rosenfield (and sister of Estelle, Leon, Nathaniel, Pearl, and Theresa), who owned a store at 2875 Butler Ave., in the Bronx.   

Who was Ida Rosenfield?  How did German investigators discover her name?  Was she the girlfriend or fiancée of a member of ARK ANGEL’s crew – perhaps S/Sgt. Starr, as he was from Brooklyn?  Might he have carried her dog-tag as a sign of friendship, affection, or much more?  I don’t know.  The answer has assuredly been lost to time.  

______________________________

Steinman, Elmer, S/Sgt., 32775794, Tail Gunner, Air Medal, 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, 32 missions
MACR 10763, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3390, Aircraft B-24H 41-29464 (The Unlimited), Pilot 1 Lt. Charles W. Stevens, 9 crew – 5 survivors
Born 6/7/22, Bayonne, N.J.
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham / Abram (Yudel) [8/8/86-11/8/62] and Anna / “Annie” (Kronitz) [11/18/86-2/28/79] Steinman (parents), 18 Linden Ave., Bayonne, N.J.
Edith and Meyer (brother and sister)
Mount Moriah Cemetery, Fairview, N.J. – Section D03, Section D; Buried 5/29/49
American Jews in World War II – 256

Crash location in Luftgaukommando Report:
1) Hannover / near Huepede
2) 3 km southwest of Pattensen

Stevens, Charles W., Jr., 1 Lt. – (0-811461), Charlotte, N.C. – Pilot (Survived)
Thornburg, Brice E., 1 Lt. – (0-813609), Davidson, N.C. – Co-Pilot (Survived)
McCarty, David W., 1 Lt. – (0-702065), New York, N.Y. – Navigator (Survived)
Boyer, Joseph L., T/Sgt. – (37261239), Mullen, Ne. – Flight Engineer
Dechaine, Joseph P., T/Sgt. – (31215932), Waterville, Me. – Radio Operator (Survived)
Ryan, Troy L., S/Sgt. – (34622806), Balwyn, Ms. – Gunner (Nose)
Shepherd, Elmore W., S/Sgt. – (32755264), Virgilina, Va. – Gunner (Right Waist)
McJimsey, John D., Jr., S/Sgt. – (38387667), Bethany, La. – Gunner (Left Waist) (Survived)
Steinman, Elmer, S/Sgt. – (32775794), Bayonne, N.J. – Gunner (Tail)

Infantry

Brodsky, Milton, Cpl., 32707024, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart
United States Army, 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion, B Company
Born 1916
Mrs. Norma Brodsky (wife), 495 Vermont St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Holland – Plot C, Row 6, Grave 12
Casualty List 4/3/45
American Jews in World War II – 284

____________________

Feldblum, Charles V., Pvt., 31373724, Purple Heart (Germany)
United States Army, 104th Infantry Division, 414th Infantry Regiment, C Company
Born April 14, 1925
Mr. Harry J. Feldblum (father), #9 Pleasant St., Hillsboro, N.H.
Beth Jacob Cemetery, Concord, N.H.
American Jews in World War II – 224

A photo by FindAGrave contributor bhd, of Pvt. Goldblum’s matzeva, at Beth Jacob Cemetery…

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Gollender, Warren, Pvt., 19132367, Purple Heart (Germany)
United States Army
Mr. and Mrs. Albert and Rae Gollender (parents), Morton (brother), 63-109 Saunders St., Forest Hills, N.Y.
Mount Ararat Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section 25, Range I, Lot 22 (?); Buried 11/23/47
Casualty List 2/17/45
The New York Times (Obituary Section) 11/22/47
American Jews in World War II – 329

Greenblatt, Morris, PFC, 39715208, Purple Heart
United States Army, 35th Infantry Division, 134th Infantry Regiment
Born August 29, 1925
Mrs. Annie Greenblatt (mother), 1467 Canfield Ave., Los Angeles, Ca.
Beth Olam Cemetery of Hollywood, Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles, Ca. – Section 14, Row J, Grave 41
Casualty List 2/14/45
American Jews in World War II – 45

Lewis, Leonard Sidney, PFC, 35927001, Purple Heart (France)
United States Army
Born 1919
Mr. and Mrs. Hyman and Sarah Lewis (parents), 290 Parkwood Drive, NE, Cleveland, Oh.
Martin, Sam, Mrs. Lillian L. Jacober, Mrs. Dorothy Rothman, Mrs. Adele Bass, and Mrs. Shirley Friedlander (brothers and sisters)
Mount Olive Cemetery, Cleveland, Oh.
Cleveland Press & Plain Dealer, 1/7/45, 1/8/45, 9/10/48
American Jews in World War II – 493

Merrill, Edwin J., T/4, 35608805, Radio Operator, Purple Heart
United States Army
DNB (“…as a result of injuries incurred in a vehicle accident.”)
Born April 11, 1924
Mr. Ralph Merrill (father), 1368 W. 64th St., Cleveland, Oh.
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. – Section 12, Grave 5906
Cleveland Press 1/12/45
American Jews in World War II – 495

______________________________

Sadowsky, Louis M. (Ari bar Moshe Yakov), Pvt., 33847832, Purple Heart (Germany)
United States Army, 5th Armored Division, 47th Armored Infantry Battalion
Born 6/20/14
Mrs. Marian Sadowsky (wife), 249 Atwood St., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Beth Abraham Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Matzeva unveiled 9/18/49
Casualty List 3/11/45
Jewish Criterion 9/7/45
American Jewish Outlook 9/9/49, 9/16/49
American Jews in World War II – 548

A photo by FindAGrave contributor Bill Bodkin, of Pvt. Sadowsky’s matzeva, at Beth Abraham Cemetery…

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Weiler, Arthur, 1 Lt., 0-1054299, Purple Heart
United States Army, 1st Infantry Division, 18th Infantry Regiment
Mrs. Caroline H. Weiler (wife), 1506 West 4th St., Wilmington, De.
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium – Plot H, Row 6, Grave 49
Jewish Criterion 2/14/45
American Jews in World War II – 74

______________________________

England

Sonenthal, Alfred, WO, 1814140, Wireless Operator
England, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 131 Operational Training Unit
Aircraft: Catalina IVA (PBY-5A) JX252, Pilot Sgt. John Rew, 9 crew – no survivors
As described at Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, “The crew was scheduled to land on the Lough Erne but due to a visibility reduced by foggy conditions, he misjudged Lake Navar with the Lough Erne.  On approach, the seaplane hit a mountain and disintegrated.  All nine crew members were killed.”  (Data from BAAA.)
Crashed near Ely Lodge, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (For additional information, see JoeLoughlin.com)

Crew: (All Royal Air Force)
Sgt. John Rew
F/Sgt. Noel George Edward Ladbrook
Sgt. Bernard Alfred Rosentreter
Sgt. Alfred Sonenthal
W/O Reginald William Shallis

Sgt. David Henry Pidgeon
Sgt. Kenneth Percy West
Sgt. Edmond Thomas Crow
Sgt. James Pringle

Mrs. H. Sonenthal (mother), 37 Garden Road, Dunstable, Beds., England
Enfield (Adath Yisroel) Cemetery, Middlesex, England – Section D, Row 1, Grave 30
The Jewish Chronicle 12/1/44
We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945 – 228

In 2006, a memorial for the crew was visited by Joyce Hotson, fiancée of W/O Shallis, as reported in The Mirror (London).  “CLOSURE: 62 YEARS LATER; EXCLUSIVE Joyce finally gets to grieve WWII airman who crashed on Ulster”  (May 31, 2006)

A photo by FindAGrave contributor DerealJolo, of W/O Sonenthal’s matzeva, at Enfield Cemetery…

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France

Hertz, Andre (AC-21P-48961) (France, Haut-Rhin, Riesen)
France, Armée de Terre, 152eme Regiment d’Infanterie
Born 1/19/12
Benfeld, Bas-Rhin, France

Mochet, Marcel Louis, Soldat (AC 21 P 93870), Croix de Guerre (France, Territoire de Belfort, Bretagne / Montreaux-Chateau)
France, 21eme Regiment d’Infanterie Coloniale
Born France, Haute-Marne, Charmoy; 6/8/21
“On November 26, 1944, during a reconnaissance patrol on Montreux-Chateau, he was the first to search for a passage.  He crossed a region flooded with water up to his belt.  _____ on the opposite bank, where the enemy was not revealed, he went with a comrade to the first houses of the locality.  He fell gloriously, avoiding by his sacrifice that his group would be caught in an ambush.”
[Le 26 novembre 1944, lors d’une patrouille de reconnaissance sur Montreux-Chateau, s’est mis le premier à l’eau pour rechercher un passage.  A traversé une région inondée avec de l’eau jusqu’à la ceinture.  Parve-un sur la rive opposée où l’ennemi ne se dévoilait pas, s’est porté avec un camarade aux premières maisons de la localité.  Est tombé glorieusement, évitant par son sacrifice que son groupe ne soit pris dans une embuscade.]
Livre d’Or et de Sang – Les Juifs au Combat: Citations 1939-1945 de Bir-Hakeim au Rhin et Danube – 169
Information also at Memorial Gen Web

Mosseri
, Nessim Lionel (AC 21 P 102408) (France, Haut-Rhin, Masevaux)

France , 1ere Groupe de C.D.O.S Legers de France
Born Sannen, Switzerland, 8/31/21

Slomsky, Armand, Second-Maitre, CC8 62 K 12505, Char (Fusilier), Croix de Guerre
France, Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers Marins
Born Moselle, France, 11/15/14
“Disappeared after having commanded his tank; burnt by the enemy’s fire to the last extremity.”
[Disparu aprés avoir commandé jusqu’à la derniére extrémité son char mis en flammes par le feu d l’ennemi.]
Livre d’Or et de Sang – Les Juifs au Combat: Citations 1939-1945 de Bir-Hakeim au Rhin et Danube – 169
Information also at Memorial Gen Web, and, 2ème Division Blindée de Leclerc

______________________________

Soviet Union

Red Army
РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)

Amelkin, Ilya Samoylovich – Lieutenant [Амелькин, Илья Самойлович – Лейтенант]
Infantry (Company Commander)
337th Rifle Division, 1127th Rifle Regiment
Died of wounds
Born 1919, in Saint Petersburg (Leningrad)
Mr. Solomon Mikhaylovich Amelkin (father)
Buried Arad, Rumania

Abramovich, Pavel Fedorovich – Guards Senior Lieutenant [Абрамович, Павел Федорович – Гвардии Старший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Rifle Company Commander)
Lightly wounded in action 6/14/42 (Southern Front, 353rd Rifle Division, 1145th Rifle Regiment)
Killed in action 11/26/44 (4th Guards Army, 41st Guards Rifle Division, 124th Guards Rifle Regiment)
Born 1921, in Dnepopetrovsk
Mrs. Mariya Moiseevna Abramovich (wife)
Buried Lanchok, Hungary

Dumay, Isay Borisovich – Junior Lieutenant [Думай, Исай Борисович – Младший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Mortar Platoon Commander)
113th Rifle Division, 1290th Rifle Regiment, Headquarters
Died of wounds
Born 1925, in Pervomansk, Odessa Oblast
Mrs. Esfir Izrailovna Dumay (wife)
Buried in Yugoslavia (Osevskaya region, Batinsky district)

Grishpun, Shaul Moiseevich – Guards Senior Lieutenant [Гришпун, Шаул Моисеевич – Гвардии Старший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Rifle Platoon Commander)
Wounded 8/25/41 (Southern Front)
Killed in action 11/26/44 (3rd Ukrainian Front, 20th Guards Rifle Division, 6th Autonomous Army Penal Company)
Born 1907, in Mogilev-Podolsk
Mrs. Anna Adolfovna Grinshpun (wife)
Buried in Hungary

Menster, Matvey Efimovich – Guards Lieutenant [Менстер, Матвей Ефимович – Гвардии Лейтенант]
Infantry (Platoon Commander)
228th Rifle Division, 767th Rifle Regiment
Died of wounds at Evacuation Hospital 3332
Born 1918
Mrs. P.P. Menster (wife)
Buried Lithuania (Kaunas district, Upper Shantsy, military cemetery, Grave No. 24A)

Morchik, Ruvik Davidovich – Senior Lieutenant [Морчик, Рувик Давыдович – Старший Лейтенант]
Infantry (Platoon Commander)
43rd Engineer-Sapper Brigade
Killed in action / Died of wounds
Born 1915, in Moscow
Relative – Ekaterina Mikhaylovna Derevyankina
Buried Hungary

Military Air Forces
VVS [Военно-воздушные cилы России – ВВС]

Kleyman (Клейман), Mordko Volfovich (Мордко Вольфович), Technician-Lieutenant [Техник-Лейтенант]
13th Air Army, 203rd Autonomous Corrective Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment [203 ОКРАП [Отдельный Корректировочно-Разведывательный Авиационный Полк]]
Two other crewmen – also killed – were…
Pilot: Lieutenant Vasiliy Pavlovich Kuznetsov (Лейтенант Василий Павлович Кузнецов)
Pilot-Observer: Junior Lieutenant Viktor Vasilevich Sovenko (Младшии Лейтенант Виктор Васильевич Совенко)
Aircraft lost (in accident?) in vicinity of Kirimäe, Estonia
Year and Place of Birth: 1920; city of Odessa
Mr. Volf Mordko Kleyman (father), Vostochnaya Street, city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Place of Burial: Estonia

This document is a “List of Irrecoverable Losses” for the 13th Air Army, dated 10 December 1944.  Mordko Kleyman’s crew are listed as #4 (Kuznetsov), #5 (Kleyman), and #6 (Sovenko)…

Prisoners of War

United States Army Air Force

Aschendorf, Irving, F/O, T-127406, Navigator, Air Medal, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, 12 missions
United States Army Air Force, 8th Air Force, 390th Bomb Group, 568th Bomb Squadron
MACR 11209, Luftgaukommando Reports KU 1160A and KU 3474, Aircraft B-17G 44-6491 (BI * Y / I’ll Be Around), Pilot 2 Lt. Gilbert A. Meyer, 10 crew – all survived
Prisoner of war at Stalag Luft I (Barth, Germany), North Compound 3
Mrs. Joan E. Aschendorf (wife), 1916 Robinson Ave. (or) 1818 Kendall St., Apt. E, Portsmouth, Oh.
Mrs. Francis (Marder) Aschendorf (mother), 1938 Green St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Casualty List (Liberated POW) 6/11/45
The Story of the 390th Bombardment Group (H) – 448
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Some years ago, Mr. Aschendorf kindly shared with me memories of his experiences as a navigator and prisoner of war, as well as documents and photographs.  Some of the latter are shown below…

Irving Aschendorf’s crew, during training in the United States.  The plane is probably B-17G 42-102462, a Flying Fortress assigned throughout the war to various Army Air Force Base Units, which never left the continental United States and finally passed on to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, in December of 1945. 

Unfortunately, the image does not carry any names (albeit Irving is designated by the “x”), but the men, based on the crew list in MACR 11209 (the plane was lost with a crew of 9, as opposed to the ten men in the photo!), probably were:

Front (L-R)

2 Lt. Gilbert A. Meyer, Pilot
2 Lt. Alfred W. Burkhart, Co-Pilot
2 Lt. Dan W. Finlayson, Bombardier

Rear (L-R)

S/Sgt. Dale T. Westell, Radio Operator
S/Sgt. John L. Bartram, Flight Engineer
Sgt. Raymond W. Maul, Gunner (Ball Turret)
Sgt. Richard W. Kuerten, Gunner (Tail)
Sgt. Aaron E. Mickelson, Gunner (Waist)

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Irving.  The chalked “6364” might represent a crew number. 

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From KU 3474, here’s the document’s header sheet, listing seven of I’ll be Around’s ten crew members.  

Here’s the English-language translation of KU 3474’s “Report on Captured Aircraft”, covering equipment in I’ll Be Around.  While the data in this report is typical of technical information about American aircraft appearing in Luftgaukommando Reports, some Luftgaukommando Reports are very perfunctory in this regard, while others are vastly more detailed.

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This is the English-language translation of the Luftgaukommando Report (KU 1160A) listing Irving’s possessions at the time of his capture.  Note that the information stamped on Irving’s dog-tag (serial number, and symbols for blood-type and religion) has also been recorded.

Here’s the original document, with Irving’s dog-tag still attached.

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Irving’s German Prisoner of War Kriegsgefangenenkartel – Prisoner of War [information] card.  Though the card has numerous data entry fields, information in this example is relatively limited.  Significantly, however, it includes two images of Irving (front and profile) taken shortly after his capture – with his German POW number (“6375”) – and thumbprint.

__________

A front photo…

__________

…and an (almost) side photo.  It looks as if Irving has a half-smile: Humor?  Defiance?  Irony?    

__________

Kuptsow, Aaron, 2 Lt., 0-710276, Radar Navigator, Air Medal
United States Army Air Force, 8th Air Force, 398th Bomb Group, 600th Bomb Squadron
MACR 11146, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3375, Aircraft B-17G 42-97740 (“N8 * Q”), Pilot Capt. Gene L. Douglas, 10 crew – all survived
Solitary confinement at Oberursel between 11/28 and 12/24/44.  “To this day [2000], I don’t know if the length of my stay in solitary was because he [interrogator] really wanted that information [about frequency of H2X radar navigation system] or if it was because I was Jewish.”
POW at Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Born 1922
Mrs. Anita L. Kuptsow (wife)
Mr. David Kuptsow (father), 3000 S. Sydenham St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Jewish Exponent 3/23/45
Philadelphia Record 3/9/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 3/12/45, 6/1/45
American Jews in World War II – 534

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Here the crew list in the header sheet for Luftgaukommando Report KU 3375.  

____________________

And, something odd.  A map of Lager Nürnberg Buchenbühl [Nuremberg Buchenbühl Camp] (prison camp?), which somehow became part of KU 3375.  Buildings outlined in dark blue are correlated to the map keygeschäftszimmer” – translating as “business room”.  How, and why, this map was incorporated into KU 3375 (it certainly wasn’t carried aboard N8 * Q!) is a matter of conjecture.    

____________________

But, though the following paper may be surprising, there is no surprise as to why it’s found in KU 3385:  This paper, text almost entirely in Yiddish, is a protective amulet or talisman which was carried by Lt. Kuptsow … perhaps on all his missions?

The “rear” of the paper (the “bottom” sheet, below) bears Aaron’s Hebrew name: אהרן בן דוד בן יהודת, which phonetically is pronounced “Aharon ben Dovid ben Yehúdes”, translating as “Aaron, son of David [his father] son of Yehuda“, Yehuda having been Aaron’s grandfather.

As to the front of the paper (the “top” sheet, above) which bears text arranged in boxes?  An explanation follows, care of scholar and translator Avi Gold:  

The contents are described in the following manner:

1. Above the large rectangle
2. Under the large rectangle
3. Three compartments on the right (a, b, c) with vertical writing
4. Three compartments on the left (a, b, c), also with vertical writing.
5. Three middle compartments (a, b, c) (with horizontal writing)
6. The one remaining thin compartment on the bottom with horizontal writing)

Hebrew Transcription

1. שמירה ; עזרי מעם ד’ עושה שמים וארץ
2. מהרב הצדיק המקובל ר’ משה טייטלבוים אב”ד אוהעל זצוק”ל ע”י נכדו הרה”צ ר’ משה ליפשיץ שליט”א
3a. ד’ ישמר צאתך ובואך
3b. ויעמד פנחס ויפלל ותעצר המגיפה
3c. ושם בת אשר שרח
4a. ד’ ישמרך מכל רע
4b. אבינו מלכנו מנע מגפה מנחלתך
4c. אימא דאברהם אמתלאי בת כרנבו
5a. בזה השער לא יבא צער, בזה הדלת לא יבא בהלת, בזה הפתח לא יבא רצח
5b. רבש”ע כשם שפסחת על בתי בני ישראל במצרים ולא נתת המשחית לבא אל בתיהם, כן תעצור המגפה מעלינו ומעל כל בני ישראל אמן.
5c. דא האט מען שוין געפאקט, געמוזעלט און געשרלכט
6. וישב אהרן אל משה אל פתח אהל מועד ומגפה נעצרה

English Translation

1. Protection (underlined); [under that word] My help is from God, Creator of Heaven and Earth

2. From the Righteous Mystical Rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Teitelboim, [otherwise known as the Yismach Moshe] Chief Judge of the Rabbinical Court of the town of Oyhel by his grandson, the Righteous Rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Lifshitz, Shlita [abbreviation meaning “May he live a long and good life, Amen”]  [Thus, the talisman was presumably transcribed from a talisman authored by Rabbi Teitelboim, the original talisman dating to some time within the late 18th and early 19th centuries.]

3a. May God protect your going out and your coming in

3b. And Phineas stood and prayed, and the plague stopped [a verse from Psalms which refers to an event in the Torah, in the Book of Numbers, where Phineas is credited with stopping a plague which afflicted the Israelites in the desert]

3c. And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah [Serah, the daughter of Asher, appears in some midrashim as the female parallel to Elijah, and according to midrashic tradition she lived a very long life indeed: She was a young girl when Jacob and his family went down to Egypt, and she was an elderly woman when the Exodus took place centuries later!  Several midrashim say that she was the one who helped Moses find the tomb of Joseph, because she remembered where his sarcophagus had been placed centuries earlier!]

4a. May God protect you from all evil

4b. O our Father, O our King, prevent plague from afflicting Your Land

4c. The mother of Abraham, Amtelai, daughter of Karnevo

5a. Through this gate, no sorrow will enter, through this door no terror will enter, through this entrance no murder will come.  [In Hebrew, the three lines are meant to rhyme.]

5b. Master of the Universe, just as You protected the homes of the Israelites in Egypt and did not allow the destroyer to enter their homes, so too may the plague cease to afflict us and all of Bne Yisrael, Amen!

5c. Here one had already caught / packed (This is Yiddish, rather than Hebrew) 

6. And Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and (the) plague ceased

According to Avi, “Interestingly enough, this protective amulet/talisman speaks of protection against a plague, and causing the plague to cease, and it even has a Pesach connection.”

Avi’s final comment, from early 2021:

May we all see better days soon, and may the plague of authoritarian politicians as well as the plague of the Chinese virus both cease soon!

P.S. Thanks very much, Avi!

____________________

The experiences of Aaron Kuptsow – who was among the Jewish POWs segregated at Stalag Luft I in early 1945 – are recounted in detail at:

Stalag Luft I (“World War II – Prisoners of War – Stalag Luft I ) – A collection of stories, photos, art and information on Stalag Luft I”) incldues Aaron’s story, in his own words.

You can read Robert W. Martin’s interview of Aaron Kuptsow at the website of Clyde D. Willis, radio operator / gunner in the 451st Bomb Squadron, 322nd Bomb Group, 9th Air Force.  (Clyde Willis was shot down and captured during the disastrous mission of the 450th and 452nd Bomb Squadrons to Ijmuiden, Holland, on May 17, 1943; he was one of the 26 survivors of that mission.)

It’s interesting none of these accounts make mention of the presence of this document, particularly in light speculation about the motivation for his month-long solitary confinement before being released to Stalag Luft I.

The Library of Congress Veterans History project’s biographical profile of Aaron Kuptsow includes a half-hour duration audio interview.

Men who were Aaron’s barrack-mates after the segregation of the Jewish POWs at Stalag Luft I were:

Bauman, Mort (2 Lt. Morton Bauman, Bombardier; 506th Bomb Squadron, 44th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Edgar, Richard (2 Lt. Richard Edgar, Navigator; 861st Bomb Squadron, 493rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Davis, “Bwana” (2 Lt. David Davis, Navigator; 725th Bomb Squadron, 451st Bomb Group, 15th Air Force)

Eskenazi, “Esky” (1 Lt. Jack Eskenazi, Bombardier; 553rd Bomb Squadron, 386th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force)

Finklestein, “Fink” (1 Lt. Frederick G. Finkelstein, Co-Pilot; 331st Bomb Squadron, 94th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Galfunt, “Hap” (2 Lt. Abraham Galfunt, Co-Pilot; 861st Bomb Squadron, 493rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Kattef, Max (2 Lt. Maxwell Samuel Kateff, Navigator; 863rd Bomb Squadron, 493rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Labowitz, Jack (2 Lt. Jack Oscar Labovitz, Pilot; 743rd Bomb Squadron, 455th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force)

Oppenheimer, “Oppy” (2 Lt. Alfred Martin Oppenheimer, Bombardier; 578th Bomb Squadron, 392nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Rubin, Melvin (2 Lt. Melvin Rubin, Co-Pilot; 824th Bomb Squadron, 485th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force)

Safer, Henry (1 Lt. Henry Safer, Bombardier; 429th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, 15th Air Force)

Scheer, Harold (2 Lt. Harold Scheer, Navigator; 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

Stovroff, “Russian” (2 Lt. Irwin Joseph Stovroff, Bombardier; 506th Bomb Squadron, 44th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force)

______________________________

8th Air Force, 491st Bomb Group, 853rd Bomb Squadron

Pollak, Harry Hamilton, T/Sgt., 12093803, Radio Operator, Air Medal, 5 Oak Leaf Clusters
MACR 10767, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3368, Aircraft B-24J 42-51530 (Idiot’s Delight), Pilot Capt. Wayne E. Stewart, 10 crew – 5 survivors
Crashed at Annaturm-Deister, 5 kilometers north of Springe
Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft IV (Gross-Tychow, Germany)
Born New York, March 21, 1921;
Mr. Sigmond Pollak (father), 278 Ackerman Ave., Clifton, N.J.
Casualty List (Liberated POW) 6/7/45
Harry Pollak, who served in the States Department as an authority on international labor affairs, died on September, 27, 1980.  His obituary can be found at the Washington Post
American Jews in World War II – 249

Crash location in Luftgaukommando Report:
1) Annaturm
2) Deister, 5 km north of Springe

Stewart, Wayne E., Capt. – (0-811152), Meadow, Ut. – Pilot
Spady, Frank A., Jr., 1 Lt. – (0-815007), Chuckatuck, Va. – Co-Pilot (Survived)
Johnson, Woodrow G., 1 Lt. – (0-702443), Iron River, Mi. – Navigator
Reese, William L., 1 Lt. – (0-703016), Garfield Heights, Oh. – Navigator (Nose)
Valachovic, George A., 1 Lt. – (0-886529), Johnstown, N.Y. – Bombardier (Survived)
Anderson, Laverne G., T/Sgt. – (17154654), Littlefield, Ma. – Flight Engineer
Pollack, Harry H., T/Sgt. – (12093803), Clifton, N.J. – Radio Operator (Survived)
Corona, George H., S/Sgt. – (39122650), San Francisco, Ca. – Gunner (Right Waist)
Mosley, Henry K., Jr., S/Sgt. – (15140725), Arcade, N.Y. – Gunner (Left Waist) (Survived)
Reichenau, Walter W., S/Sgt. – (38366475), Fredericksburg, Tx. – Gunner (Tail) (Survived)

____________________

Rosenfield, Samuel Stanley, S/Sgt., 12075010, Right Waist Gunner, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
MACR 10761, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3362, Aircraft B-24J 44-10534, Pilot 1 Lt. Charles J. Ecklund, 9 crew – 8 survivors
Crashed at Rieste, District of Bersenbrueck
Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft IV (Gross-Tychow, Germany) and Stalag Luft I (Barth, Germany) (North Compound 3)
Mr. Frank M. Rosenfield (father), 2067 Mapes Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
Casualty List (Liberated POW) 6/6/45
American Jews in World War II – 419

Crash location in Luftgaukommando Report: Rieste, County of Bersenbrueck


Ecklund, Charles J., 1 Lt. – (0-772320), Harveyville, Ks. – Pilot (Survived)
Strohl, Marvin E., 2 Lt. – (0-720957), Detroit, Mi. – Co-Pilot (Survived)
Vosiepka, George K., 2 Lt. – (0-2056649), Omaha, Ne. – Navigator (Survived)
Simms, Horace R., Jr., 2 Lt. – (0-773343), Oakland, Ca. – Bombardier (Survived)
Guerry, Edward C., T/Sgt. – (39281104), Imperial, Ca. – Flight Engineer (Survived)
Heib, John N., T/Sgt. – (39203497), Seattle, Wa. – Radio Operator
Rosenfield, Samuel S., S/Sgt. – (12075010), New York, N.Y. – Gunner (Right Waist) (Survived)
Johns, Burton A., S/Sgt. – (39290817), Los Angeles, Ca. – Gunner (Left Waist) (Survived)
Cole, Dennis C., S/Sgt. – (16115245), Westby, Wi. – Gunner (Tail) (Survived)

____________________

445th Bomb Group, 703rd Bomb Squadron

Spiegel, Harvey, 2 Lt., 0-834053, Co-Pilot
MACR 11217, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3387, Aircraft B-24J 42-50756 (RN * J), Pilot 2 Lt. Dance W. Snow, 9 crew – all survived
Crashed at Fischbeck / Weser (1 kilometer north of Fischbeck, 6 kilometers northwest of Rinteln)
Prisoner of war at Stalag Luft I (Barth, Germany), North Compound 3
Born April 7, 1924
Mrs. Janice Spiegel (wife), 1739 Dahill Road, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Casualty List (Liberated POW) 6/20/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Statement in MACR: “No information has been received about ship # 756.  The four (4) ships flying nearby all failed to return.”

Crash location:
In MACR: 15 miles southeast of Hannover
In Luftgaukommando Report: Fischbeck, 6 km northwest of Rinteln

Snow, Dance W., 2 Lt. – (0-690264), Silver City, N.M. – Pilot (Survived)
Spiegel, Harvey, 2 Lt. – (0-834053), Brooklyn, N.Y. – Co-Pilot (Survived)
Hudson, Robert F., 2 Lt. – (0-2056798), Rochester, N.Y. – Bombardier / Navigator (Survived)
Barbieri, Joseph W., Jr., T/Sgt. – (32781916), Jamaica, N.Y. – Flight Engineer (Survived)
McKim, Ernest M., T/Sgt. – (32905189), Glen Cove, N.Y. – Radio Operator (Survived)
Valore, Biaggio F., Sgt. – (35924434), Cleveland, Oh. – Gunner (Nose) (Survived)
Maronski, Stanley J., Sgt. – (42029120), Angola, N.Y. – Gunner (Waist) (Survived)
Rogers, J.B., S/Sgt. – (38346476), Wheeler, Tx. – Gunner (Waist) (Survived)
Jordan, Robert, Sgt. – (42101534), Upper Montclair, N.J. – Gunner (Tail) (Survived)

From Luftgaukommando Report KU 3387, here’s co-pilot Harvey Spiegel’s wallet-size Identification Card, issued almost three months before the Misburg mission…  

____________________

…and, his New York state driver’s license. 

United States Army

Cromnick, Harry, S/Sgt., 32167040
United States Army, 44th Infantry Division, 71st Infantry Regiment
Prisoner of War at Stalag 3B (Furstenberg, Germany)
Mr. Hyman Cromnick (father), Alex (brother), 120 West 54th St., Bayonne, N.J.
Casualty List (List of Liberated POWs) 6/4/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Goldsmith, Clifford H., Pvt., 42050862
United States Army, 34th Infantry Division, 168th Infantry Regiment
Prisoner of War at Stalag 7A (Moosburg, Germany)
Mr. Fred Singer (brother-in-law), 680 West 204th St., New York, N.Y.
Casualty List 4/1/45; List of Liberated POWs 6/21/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Greenberg, Sam, Pvt., 33699813
United States Army, 34th Infantry Division, 168th Infantry Regiment
Prisoner of War at Stalag 7A (Moosburg, Germany); German POW # 142238
Mrs. Geraldine R. Greenberg (wife), 43 South Remington Road, Columbus, Oh.
Mr. Paul Greenberg (father), 2328 Sherbrook St., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Employee of Frank and Seder’s Department Store
List of Liberated POWs 6/5/45
Pittsburgh Press 3/21/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Ratner, Alvin J., T/5, 32702618
United States Army, 44th Infantry Division, 71st Infantry Regiment
Prisoner of War at Stalag 12A (Limburg an der Lahn, Germany)
Mrs. Sarah Ratner (mother), 85-37 91st St., Woodhaven (Brooklyn?), N.Y.
Lists of Liberated POWs 6/10/45, 6/14/45
Casualty List 4/19/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Wounded

Canada

Gilboord, Norman, Gunner, B/18743
Canada, Royal Canadian Artillery
310 Roxton Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canadian Jews in World War II – Part II: Casualties – 98

United States

Etkin, Morris S., Cpl., 33173559, Purple Heart (France)
United States Army
Wounded
Born 1914
Mrs. Gussie R. Etkin (wife), 513 Reed St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Jewish Exponent 3/9/45
Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Record 2/28/45
American Jews in World War II – 519

Kaiser, Arthur, Pvt., 32000743, Purple Heart (France)
United States Army
Wounded
Born 1913
Mrs. Fannie Kaiser (mother), 307 Fox Hill Place, Exeter, Pa.
Mrs. Esther Burmil (sister), 207 Fox Hill Place, Pittston, Pa.
Originally from New York, N.Y.; Worked at Lee Manufacturing Company, West Pittston, Pa.
Wilkes-Barre Record 1/11/45
American Jews in World War II – 530

Another incident…

Witness to the loss of two B-17s

Tolochko, Joseph S., 2 Lt., 0-820102, Bomber Pilot, Air Medal, 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, 35 missions
United States Army Air Force, 8th Air Force, 398th Bomb Group, 600th Bomb Squadron
Born in Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. M. Leon and Bess Tolochko (parents), Dorothy and Jacob (sister and brother), 5840 Phillips Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jewish Criterion (Pittsburgh) 2/9/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

On 11/26/44, witness to loss of two B-17s:

1) B-17G 43-37846 (“N8 * T”, “Phony Express”), Pilot 1 Lt. Kermit R. Pope, 10 crew – all survived ; MACR 11144, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3371

An image of the wreck of Phony Express (near Velswijk, in the Eastern Netherlands) via the American Air Museum in England, taken by the grandfather of American Air Museum Contributor Fer Radstake… The appearance of the bedraggled wreck (sans engines and armament, with a multitude of holes in the airframe) suggests that the plane had received ample attention from souvenir hunters.

2) B-17G 42-97740 (“N8 * Q”), Pilot Capt. Gene L. Douglas, 10 crew – all survived; MACR 11146, Luftgaukommando Report KU 3375

On 11/30/44, witness to loss of another B-17:

Aircraft 43-38463 (“N8 * X”), Pilot 1 Lt. Roger J. Weum, 10 crew – 7 survivors; MACR 11145

The February 9, 1945 issue of Pittsburgh’s Jewish Criterion, which – as was typical through the war – presented in every issue news about Jewish servicemen from Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.


A news item about Lieutenant Tolochko, whose name never appeared in American Jews in World War II.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Avi Gold, for Hebrew and Yiddish scholarship and translation!

References

Books

Abelow, Samuel P., History of Brooklyn Jewry, Scheba Publishing Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1937

Caldwell, Don, and Muller, Richard, Luftwaffe Over Germany: Defense of the Reich, Frontline Books, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, 2014

Carter, Kit C., and Mueller, Robert, Combat Chronology – U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, 1941-1945, Center for Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1991

Chiche, F., Livre d’Or et de Sang – Les Juifs au Combat: Citations 1939-1945 de Bir-Hakeim au Rhin et Danube, Edition Brith Israel, Tunis, Tunisie, 1946

Dorr, Robert F., B-24 Liberator Units of the Eighth Air Force (Osprey Combat Aircraft 15), (Mark Rolfe, Illustrator), Osprey Publishing, Inc., 1999

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom – Compiled by the Bureau of War Records of the National Jewish Welfare Board, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Forman, Wallace F., B-24 Nose Art Name Directory, Specialty Press Publishers and Wholesalers, North Branch, Mn., 1996

Freeman, Roger A., The Mighty Eighth – A History of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York,. N.Y., 1970

Freeman, Roger A., and Osborne, David, The B-17 Flying Fortress Story: Design – Production – History, Arms & Armour Press, London, England, 1998

Kamarainen, Edwin, This Is War and We Are Prisoners of the Enemy, lulu.com, June 5, 2007

Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, United Kingdom, London, 1989

Rottman, Gordon, US Army Air Force: 1, Osprey Publishing Ltd., London, England, 1993 (with color plates by Francis Chinn)

Other Works

Binghamton Press, February 23, 1945, “Two Binghamton Lieutenants Win New Honors in Battles in Air: Harold Lanning Awarded DFC; Richard Bailey Hits Nazi Plane” (via FultonHistory.com)

Canadian Jews in World War II – Part II: Casualties, Canadian Jewish Congress, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1948

The Story of the 390th Bombardment Group (H) (Privately printed for the Men and Officers of the 390th Bombardment Group 1947), 1947

The 491st Bombardment Group (H) Inc., “Ringmasters”: History of the 491st Bombardment Group (H), Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Tx., 1992

USAAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, USAF Historical Study No. 85, Office of Air Force History, Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center – Air University, 1985

Websites

Misburg-Anderten, Germany, at Wikipedia

Deurag-Nerag Synthetic Oil Refinery, Germany

Eighth Air Force Historical Society – Missions by Date – November 26, 1944  

Eighth Air Force Historical Society – Mission to Deurag-Nerag Industry Oil Refinery, Misburg, Germany – November 26, 1944

445th Bomb Group – Kassel Mission of September 27, 1944

The Kassel Mission Historical Society

491st Bomb Group

B-24J 42-110167, at B-24 Best Web

Jagdgeschwader 301 History, at Wikipedia

8/25/18

The Reconstruction of Memory: Soldiers of Aufbau – Jewish Prisoners of War

[I’ve got lots of “stuff” in the pipeline, both here at TheyWereSoldiers, and at my other blogs, WordsEnvisioned and ThePastPresented In the meantime, here’s a “quick” little post…]

Between 1941 and 1945, the German exile newspaper Aufbau – “Reconstruction” – published ten news items about the experiences of Jewish prisoners of war.  Though the topic of Jewish POWs in German captivity is – probably? – more commonly perceived in terms of the appalling fate of Jewish members of the Soviet armed forces captured on the Eastern Front, aviators of the United States Army Air Force (specifically, the 8th, 9th, 12th, and 15th Air Forces) captured throughout the war, or, soldiers of the United States Army ground forces captured during the Ardennes Offensive, another aspect of this topic is, I think, the subject of far less public awareness:  Over 1,300 Jewish soldiers, most from the Yishuv – primarily men serving in Port Companies of the British Commonwealth armed forces – were captured during the fall of Greece at the end of April, 1941.  Most of these men were interned at Stalag VIII-B (later renumbered Stalag 344) at Lamsdorf, in Silesia, or Stalag 383, at Hohenfels, Bavaria. 

Among Aufbau’s articles about Jewish POWs, six are notable for their focus on soldiers from the Yishuv.  While several of these men attempted to evade capture or escape from German captivity, to the best of my knowledge only a mere handful of these men definitely returned to Allied control.  One such soldier, born in Germany and later residing in Haifa, was a member of Kibbutz “Ashdoth-Ya’akov” (Ashdot Ya’akov) in northern Israel.  His experience was the subject of a three-part series of articles in Aufbau, entitled “Ich war ein Kriegsgefangener der Nazis” – “I Was a Prisoner of the Nazis,” which was published in October of 1943, while his name appeared in a very (very!) brief news item in the Palestine Post.

The topic of the fate of Jewish prisoners of war in German custody was also a focus of the news coverage in the The Jewish Chronicle, and especially, the South African Jewish Times, the latter given that approximately 300 South African Jewish soldiers were captured during the fall of Tobruk on June 21, 1942. 

An Aufbau article of a very different nature was Sergeant Walter Bonne’s “In Deutschland kriegsgefangen – Die Erlebnisse des Sgt. Bonne” – “Prisoners of war in Germany – The experiences of Sgt. Bonne”, which recounts in straightforward fashion German-born Sergeant Bonne’s capture during the Ardennes Offensive, and, his liberation a few months later.    

You’ll be able to read the full text of these above-mentioned articles – in the original German, with Googlific English translations – in the future.  In the meantime, here’s a list of Aufbau’s articles pertaining to Jewish POWs:

Date Article Title
10/17/41 Jüdische Kriegsgefangene in Griechenland  (“Jewish war prisoners in Greece”)
12/18/42 1200 jüdische-palästinensische Kriegsgefangene in Deutschland  (“1200 Jewish-Palestinian war prisoners in Germany”)
10/15/43 Ich war ein Kriegsgefangener der Nazis  (“I was a Prisoner of War of the Nazis”)
10/22/43 Ich war ein Kriegsgefangener der Nazis  (“I was a Prisoner of War of the Nazis”)
10/29/43 Ich war ein Kriegsgefangener der Nazis  (“I was a Prisoner of War of the Nazis”)
2/4/44 Jüdische Soldaten in deutscher Kriegsgefangenenschaft – Das Rote Kreuz wacht – Solidarität der englischen Kameraden  (“Jewish soldiers in a German war prison – The Red Cross watches – solidarity of English comrades”)
2/4/44 Erste Mordanklage gegen französische KZ-Offiziere  (“First murder case against French concentration camp officers”)
5/18/45 In Deutschland kriegsgefangen – Die Erlebnisse des Sgt. Bonne  (“Prisoners of war in Germany – The experiences of Sgt. Bonne”)
5/25/45 Buchenwald und Auschwitz (S/Sgt. Fred Levy)  (“Buchenwald and Auschwitz”)
5/25/45 Amerikanische Kriegsgefangene erobern ein deutsches Dorf (PFC Herbert Frank)  (“American war prisoners conquer a German village”)

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: A Soldier from Germany – PFC Harry Kaufman (April 17, 1945)

Among the ninety-odd obituaries for Jewish servicemen published in The New York Times during the Second World War, were three for Jewish soldiers born in Germany.  Whether these servicemen were selected for news coverage specifically because of that ancestry – or – this number by chance approximated the relative proportion of German-born Jews in the American armed forces – or – whether the Times’ reporting about these men was influenced by other publications, such as Aufbau – or? – whether this was attributable to social connections with the families of these soldiers on the part of the Times’ staff (which was evidently the case for Army Air Force Captain William Hays Davidow) is unknown.  

In any event, thus far in this project I’ve presented the story of T/4 Alexander H. Hersh, who was killed in action in the European Theater on January 21, 1945. 

In the future, I hope to present information about Berlin-born 2 Lt. Alfred Kupferschmidt, who, as a member of the 116th Reconnaissance Squadron, 101st Cavalry Group, was killed by artillery fire on February 25, 1945, and reported upon in the Times the following May 6.  Like many of the soldiers profiled in this series of posts, Kupferschmidt’s name never appeared in American Jews in World War II

But, until then, here’s a “third” German-born Jewish soldier:  Private First Class Harry Kaufman, 32817804.  Born in Bielefeld in 1925, he was the son of Sally and Elsie Kaufman, his family residing at 3593 Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx.  A member of the 254th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division, his name appeared in a Casualty List published on May 10, 1945.  He was the subject of (brief) news stories in the Times on May 23, the Daily News on May 17, and Aufbau on May 4.  His name appears on page 359 of American Jews in World War II.  A recipient of the Purple Heart, he is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery at Saint Avold France, in Grave 32 Row 16, Plot D.  

Here is his very brief obituary, as it appeared in the Times:

Refugee in U.S. in 1936 Is Casualty in Germany

Pfc. Harry Kaufman was killed in action in Germany on April 17, according to word received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sol Kaufman, of 3593 Bainbridge Avenue, the Bronx.

He came to this country in 1936 from Germany with his parents and tried to enlist in the armed forces in 1942, but was not accepted.  He was a student at the Bronx High School of Science when drafted in February, 1943.

Private Kaufman was injured while a paratrooper.  He later was transferred to the infantry. 

Here’s Private Kaufman’s portrait, as published in the Times.  

Here’s the first page of Aufbau’s May 4 issue.  The headlines are self-explanatory even if one doesn’t know German!

And, here’s the paper’s last page, on which appeared information about military awards, military accomplishments, and inevitably, casualties.  The practice of publishing such news items specifically on te final page of every issue page was established in the newspaper as early as 1944.  In this instance, the news article about Harry Kaufman appears in the upper left corner.  

Once again, Harry Kaufman’s portrait.  This is the same image which appeared in the Times, albeit the latter published only a cropped version of the photo.  Here, Harry’s glider infantry shoulder patch is visible on his left shoulder, indicating that this picture was taken before his assignment to the 63rd Infantry Division.  

Here’s a better view of the shoulder insignia of the glider infantry…  

…and here’s the shoulder patch – an original from WW II – of the United States Army’s 63rd Infantry Division.

A transcript and translation of Aufbau’s very brief news item about Harry Kaufman’s death in battle….

Für die Freiheit gefallen
Pfc. Harry Kaufman

ist am 18. April in Alter von 20 Jahren “irgendwo in Deutschland” gefallen.  Er wurde in Bielefeld geboren und kam 1936 mit seinen Eltern nach New York.  Ende Februar 1943 wurde er in die Armee eingezogen und im November 1944 nach Uebersee geschickt.  Er gehörte der 7th Army an.

Fallen for Freedom
Pfc. Harry Kaufman

fell “somewhere in Germany” on April 18th at the age of 20.  He was born in Bielefeld and came to New York with his parents in 1936.  At the end of February 1943 he was drafted into the army and sent overseas in November 1944.  He was a member of the 7th Army.

__________

This Oogle map of the New York metropolitan area shows the location of the Kaufman family’s residence at 3593 Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx…

…and, here’s a larger scale Oogle map of the same area.  

__________

Harry Kaufman’s matzeva at the Lorraine American Cemetery, photographed by FindAGrave researcher Thomas Welsch.

Some other Jewish military casualties on Tuesday, April 17, 1945 (Yom Shishi, 5 Iyar, 5705) include…

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –

תהא
נפשו
צרורה
בצרור
החיים

United States Army (Ground Forces)

Butler, Manfred, PFC, 42136245, BSM, Purple Heart (Italy)
10th Mountain Division, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment
Born in Germany, in 1926
Mrs. Natalie J. Butler (mother), 863 Hunts Point Ave., New York, N.Y.
Florence American Cemetery, Via Cassia, Italy – Plot F, Row 14, Grave 25
Aufbau 11/9/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Cohn, Irving, PFC, 32272686, BSM, Purple Heart (at Ie Shima, Okinawa)
77th Infantry Division, 307th Infantry Regiment, I Company
Born 5/22/10
Mrs. Mary Cohn (mother), Evelyn (sister), 825 Gerard Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
Mount Hebron Cemetery, Corona, N.Y.
American Jews in World War II – 293

Goltman, David Monroe, PFC, 42126851, Purple Heart
97th Infantry Division, 303rd Infantry Regiment
Born Brooklyn, N.Y, 1/24/26
Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Jeanette Goltman (parents), 1675 54th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Cemetery location unknown – buried 1/7/49
Casualty Lists 5/9/45, 6/8/45
The New York Times (Obituary Section) 1/6/49
American Jews in World War II – 329

Hayek, Teddy K., PFC, 32681062, Purple Heart
30th Infantry Division, 117th Infantry Regiment, Medical Corps
Mr. Albert K. Hayek (brother), 239 West 103rd St., New York, N.Y.
(also) 4 W. 109th St., New York, N.Y.
Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section H, Grave 9586
Casualty Lists 5/14/45, 5/28/45
American Jews in World War II – 342

____________________

Kiel, David (David Bar Yosef), PFC, 32863120, Purple Heart, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
34th Infantry Division, 168th Infantry Regiment, K Company (Signal Corps)
Wounded previously, approximately on 1/15/44 and 7/9/44
Mr. Joseph Kiel (father), PFC Bernard Kiel, and, Hyman Kiel (brothers), 37-07 61st St., Woodside, N.Y.
Born New York, N.Y., 9/18/24
Mount Hebron Cemetery, Flushing, N.Y. – Society T.D. Young Men, Block 50, Reference 2, Section A-C, Line 7, Grave 39
Casualty Lists 2/15/44, 9/9/44, 5/12/45
Long Island Star Journal 6/13/45
American Jews in World War II – 361

A pensive mood: Private Kiel’s portrait, as it appeared in the Long Island Star Journal on June 13, 1945…  

…which accompanied the following news item:

Killed in Italy

Private First Class David Kiel was killed in Italy, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kiel of 37-07 61st St., Woodside, have been informed by the War Department.  He was extending a communications line to a forward position when he was fatally wounded by bomb fragments, his father and mother were told.  He has been buried in Italy.  His brother, Bernard, is a private first class in the Army in New Guinea.  Another brother is a seaman, 2/C, at the Sampson Naval Training Center.

__________

David’s matzeva at Mount Hebron Cemetery, photographed by FindAGrave researcher Ronzoni.

PFC David Kiel’s story continued, at least indirectly, at least for a time, at least (and at most) for a few years beyond 1945:  In 1949, Jewish War Veterans Post named in his memory was established in Woodside.  The following three news articles, from the (good ‘ole!) Daily News, and, Long Island Star Journal, report on this event:

JWV to Install
Daily News (New York)
March 13, 1949

Joseph Newman, commander, heads a staff of officers to be installed tonight by the David Kiel Jewish War Veterans Post of Woodside.  The installation will be held in Paprin’s restaurant, 60-21 Roosevelt Ave., Woodside, Queens.

__________

Long Island Star Journal
March 1, 1949

Organizing New Jewish War Veterans Post in Woodside

Four Woodsiders go over plans for the David Kiel Jewish Veterans Post of Woodside institution ceremony, to be held March 13 in Paprin’s restaurant, Woodside.  They are (seated, left to right) Raymond Newman of 59-16 Woodside Avenue, chairman, and Philip Paprin, the restaurant owner, and (standing, left to right) Henry Rosenblatt, Queens J.W.V. Musical Director, and, Rabbi Yehudah Pehkin of the Woodside Jewish Center.  The program includes a dinner and installation of officers.

__________

DAVID KIEL POST TO SEAT OFFICERS
Long Island Star Journal
March 10, 1949

The David Kiel Jewish War Veterans Post will be formally instituted Sunday night in Paprin’s restaurant, 60-21 Roosevelt avenue, Woodside.  Joseph Newman of 59-16 Woodside avenue, Woodside, commander, and other officers will be installed.

They include Bernard Kiel and Jordan Rolnick, vice-commanders; Arthur Schulman, quartermaster; Isadore Kamen, adjutant; Harold Morrison, officer-of-the-day; Dr. Arthur Gordon, surgeon; Milton Hong, chaplain; Wallace Green, officer of the guard; Joseph Zarchy, historian; Joseph Honig, patriotic instructor; Arthur Zarchy, service officer, and Stanley Ganz, Max Schaffer and William Bell, trustees.

Raymond Newman is the arrangements committee chairman.  Dancing will follow the installation.

It would seem that by now, the year 2021, the David Kiel Jewish War Veterans Post no longer exists: Searching the very phrase “David Kiel Jewish War Veterans Post” in DuckDuckGo, and that o t h e r search engine – y’know, that one in Menlo Park? – yields parallel results:  “No results found for “David Kiel Jewish War Veterans Post””, and, “It looks like there aren’t many great matches for your search,” respectively.  This should not be too surprising, given the passage of time and the fragility of human memory, let alone the enormous sociological, demographic, and technological changes that have transpired in the United States, and the rapidly atrophying “West” in general, since the late 1940s. 

If such forces have affected the Western world in general, so are they similarly affecting the Jews of the United States.  As for the future of the Jews in the United States?  About that I make no predictions, other than to say that while history never repeats itself congruently, there is a similarity in patterns of thought and behavior across time and space, for human nature remains unchanged.  And so, the following two essays – by Joel Kotkin and Caroline Glick, despite all their likely ideological differences! – deserve equal contemplation. 

And in time, not just contemplation.

Why American Jews are Looking to Israel

The Threats American Jewry Refuses to Face

____________________

Klein, Jerome R. (Yosef Bar Yakov Klein), Pvt., 13179290
Died Non-Battle
Born 1924
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob E. (7/1/92-5/6/69) and Minnie (1/12/99-8/14/89) Klein (parents), Philadelphia, Pa.
Montefiore Cemetery, Jenkintown, Pa. – Section 4, Lot 353, Grave 1; Date of burial unknown
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Here’s the Klein family plot at Montefiore Cemetery in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.  Jerome’s resting place is at the left.  

Jerome Klein’s matzeva.  Information concerning the specific military unit to which he was assigned is unavailable.  Given that he’s categorized as having “Died Non-Battle”, I believe his military service was limited to the United States.

____________________

Krieger, Morris J., PFC, 35517750, BSM, Purple Heart (at Mount Serra, Tuscany, Italy)
10th Mountain Division, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, F Company
Born 1917
Mrs. Emilie Krieger (wife); Charles Krieger (son; YOB 1942), William J. Krieger (brother); Mrs. Sadie Thomas and Mrs. Mary Winston (sisters), 110 Hill St., Bay City, Mi.
Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy – Plot B, Row 6, Grave 5
Cleveland Press & Plain Dealer – 5/23/45
American Jews in World War II – 492

____________________

London, Maurice (Moshe Bar Benyamin), PFC, 33786461, Purple Heart (Germany)
283rd Field Artillery Regiment, A Battery
Born 10/18/19, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mrs. Norma London (wife); “Ganelle” / “Janella”?) (daughter), 3209 W. Dauphin St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Benjamin London (father); Billie and Lena (sisters)
Mount Sharon Cemetery, Springfield, Pa. – Section L, Lot 450, Grave 2; Buried 9/26/48
The Jewish Exponent 5/18/45, 6/8/45, 10/1/48
The Philadelphia Inquirer 5/12/45, 9/24/48
Philadelphia Record 5/12/45, 5/28/45
American Jews in World War II – 537

Private Maurice London’s matzeva.  Examination of the upper part of the column reveals that a photographic portrait set in a ceramic mount may once have been attached to it, in the custom of many matzevot from the 20s through the 40s.  That picture has been lost in the decades since the late 1940s.  

____________________

Paul, Solomon, PFC, 33053838, BSM, Purple Heart
77th Infantry Division, 307th Infantry Regiment
Born 4/25/20
Mr. and Mrs. Louis and Rose Paul (parents), 2732 North Front St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii – Plot E-170; Buried 1/3/49
Philadelphia Inquirer 6/11/45
Philadelphia Bulletin and Philadelphia Record – 6/12/45
American Jews in World War II – 452

Penso, Stanley, PFC, 42183678, Purple Heart (Germany)
Born 1926 (?)
Mrs. Ray Penso (mother), 1460 Grand Concourse, New York, N.Y.
City College of New York Class of 1947
Cemetery location unknown
Casualty List 5/19/45
American Jews in World War II – 404

____________________

Sapperstein, Melvin S., Pvt., 36978192, Purple Heart
91st Infantry Division, 361st Infantry Regiment, I Company
Born Detroit, Michigan, 8/7/20
Mrs. Theodora (Alpert) Sapperstein (wife), 2923 Monterey St., Detroit, Mi.
Mr. Sol Sapperstein (father); Eileen (sister), 2923 Monterey, Detroit, Mi.
Machpelah Cemetery, Ferndale, Mi. – Section 6, Lot 36, Grave 413D; Buried 11/28/48
Casualty List 5/22/45
The Jewish News (Detroit) 6/15/45, 11/26/48
Baltimore Jewish Times 4/27/45
American Jews in World War II – 195

Announcement of a memorial service for Private Sapperstein, published in The Jewish News on June 15, 1945.  

Private Sapperstein’s matzeva, as photographed by FindAGrave contributor KChaffeeB.  His name appears atop the stone in Hebrew characters, but the text cannot be resolved due to the angle of the image.      

____________________

Schwartzman, Henry, Pvt., 32899677, Silver Star, Purple Heart
14th Armored Division, 48thy Armored Tank Battalion
Mrs. Sylvia Schwartzman (wife), 1559 40th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tablets of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France
Casualty List 5/31/45
American Jews in World War II – 436

Unger, Irwin M. (Ezriel Mordechai Ben Yehuda Tzvi), PFC, 42064656, Silver Star, Purple Heart (Germany)
8th Armored Division, 49th Armored Infantry Battalion, A Company
Born 1926
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph (Juda) [1892-3/13/41] and Molly M. (Gottesman) [1897-2/17/77] Unger (parents), 133 Clarke Place, New York, N.Y.
Baron Hirsch Cemetery, Staten Island, N.Y. – First Nadworner Sick Benevolent Association (matezva is missing)
Casualty List 5/18/45
American Jews in World War II – 463

United States Army Air Force

First Lieutenant Nathaniel Norman Shane

– Murdered while Prisoner of War –

On the 17th of April, 1945, First Lieutenant Nathaniel Norman Shane (0-781687), a co-pilot in the 327th Bomb Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, was one of three airmen – from a crew of eight – who were able to parachute from their B-17G Flying Fortress (43-39110, UX * E, otherwise known as Naughty Nancy), after their aircraft was struck by another 327th Bomb Squadron B-17G (44-8903, the un-nicknamed UX * G) in a mid-air collision during a mission to Dresden, Germany.

Missing Air Crew Report 14053, for Naughty Nancy, reveals that the plane’s other two survivors were the pilot, 1 Lt. John W. Paul., Jr., of Dundalk, Maryland, and tail gunner, S/Sgt. Peter B. Taylor, of Worcester, Massachusetts.  Of the eight crew members aboard UX * G, covered in MACR 14052, there were two survivors:  Pilot 1 Lt. Arthur H. Heuther, and co-pilot 2 Lt. Frank K. Jones.

Shane landed uninjured in the vicinity of the German town of Reinhardtsgrimma*, south of Dresden, and was soon captured by a member of the SS named “KIRSTEN”. 

As angry civilians arrived on the scene, Shane was murdered:  He was shot several times by Kirsten.

As documented in Shane’s Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) – in the context of the discovery and identification of Shane’s body in 1948 – “The [Parish] Preacher [“Hinke”, who reported the shooting] evidently seemed to know more than he was willing to talk about.” 

A review of documents in Shane’s IDPF, and, NARA Records Group 153 (Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General), shows that the case was not investigated beyond the context of recovering Shane’s body.  The limiting factor, of course, was the Cold War (the first Cold War?!):  Correspondence in 2017 with the German Central Office of the National Judicial Authorities for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes revealed that the, “…events and persons described … are unknown or unidentifiable.  This, et. al., is due to the fact that both Reinhardtsgrimma and Dippoldiswalde are located in Saxony and thus lay in the Soviet occupation zone or the GDR, for which the central office was not responsible due to the German division until 1989/90.”

As recorded in Shane’s IDPF, the last information about Kirsten – first name unknown – was that as of February, 1948, the former member of the SS was jailed in the town of Dippoldiswalde. 

Beyond that, there is nothing.

Shane’s body was in time returned to the United States.  He was buried at King Solomon Memorial Park, in Clifton, New Jersey (Section Lebanon, Block 66, Grave 43) on April 23, 1950.

Having flown 27 missions, Nathaniel Shane received the Purple Heart, Air Medal, and three Oak Leaf Clusters.  Born on June 6, 1922, in Manhattan, he was married, his wife Beatrice residing at 1231 Boynton Avenue, in the Bronx.  His parents, Harry A. and Sadie Shane, and his brother, Sidney, lived at 810 Hunts Point Avenue, (also) in the Bronx.

While Lt. Shane’s name appeared in a Casualty List published on May 22, 1945, his name – like the names of many American Jewish WW II military casualties – is absent from American Jews in World War II, as attested to by many prior posts at this blog. 

Strangely, while the National WW II Memorial hosts an Honoree page for Lieutenant Shane created by his brother, with the statement, “AIR CORPS PILOT.  HE WAS KILLED ON APRIL 17, 1945 IN A RAID OVER DRESDEN, GERMANY. RECEIVED THE HONORABLE SERVICE LAPEL BUTTON, EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN MEDAL WITH 1 BRONZE STAR, AND THE WWII VICTORY MEDAL,” (accompanied by the above photo of the Lieutenant), Nathaniel Shane’s name is absent from that website’s National Archives Registry.  (I’ve encountered this discrepancy with other record searches at the National WW II Memorial website.)

Akin to the post about Corporal Jack Bartman, I hope to create a separate post about Nathaniel Shane’s story in the future. 

“…a former municipality in the district of Weisseritzkreis in Saxony in Germany located near Dresden. On 2 January 2008, it merged into the town Glashütte.

This Oogle map image shows Reinhardtsgrimma in relation to Dresden. 

…and, Oogling on in, here’s a map of the town at a larger scale. 

Soviet Union

Red Army
U.S.S.R. (C.C.C.Р.), Red Army [РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)]

Altman, Boris Shlemovich – Guards Senior Sergeant [Альтман, Борис Шлемович – Гвардии Старший Сержант]
385th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
Telephone Operator [Телефонист]
Born 1924; Tetievskiy Raion

Beloshevskiy, David Borisovich – Junior Lieutenant [Белошевский, Давид Борисович – Младший Лейтенант]

6th Guards Tank Corps, 51st Guards Tank Brigade
Tank Commander [Командир Танка]
Born 1922; city of Serdobsk
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume I – 126

Dekhtyar Iosif Markovich – Lieutenant [Дехтяр, Иосиф Маркович – Лейтенант]
Battery Commander – Self-Propelled Guns [Командир Батареи – Самоходной Установки] – SU-76 [СУ-76]
Armored and Mechanized Troops, 1221st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, 1st Belorussian Front
Born 1919, city of Korosten, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine

Gimelfarb / Gimelford, Nikolay Naumovich – Guards Sergeant Major [Гимельфарб / Гимельфорд, Николай Наумович – Гвардии Старшина]
Cannon Commander – Self-Propelled Gun [Командир Орудия – Самоходной Установки] – ISU-122 [ИСУ-122]
367th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, 31st Tank Corps
Born 1925; city of Moscow

Greys, Grigoriy Danilovich – Guards Junior Lieutenant [Грейс, Григорий Данилович – Гвардии Младший Лейтенант]
54th Guards Tank Brigade
Tank Commander [Командир Танка]
Born 1911; Kushchenskiy Raion, Rostov Oblast
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume VIII – 206

Perelman, Lev Solomonovich – Private [Перельман, Лев Соломонович – Красноармеец]
Machine-Gunner [Автоматчик]
240th Rifle Division
Born 1923; city of Nezhin
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume VIII – 401

Sunik
, Abram Shaevich – Junior Lieutenant [Суник, Абрам Шаевич – Младший Лейтенант]

175th Tank Brigade
Tank Commander [Командир Танка]
Born 1921; city of Tashkent
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume III – pp. 395, 423

Tsimkin / Tsinkin Aleksandr Yakovlevich, Guards Sergeant [Цимкин / Цинкин, Александр Яковлевич – Гвардии Сержант]
Gun Charger (Заряжающий)
51st Guards Tank Brigade
At Ette, Germany
Born 1910; city of Mari, Turkmen SSR

England

“FROST, WITH A GESTURE STAYS THE WAVES THAT DANCE.”

Warrant Officer II Class John Gamble was one of the 37 members of the Jewish Brigade who were killed during the time in which the unit was engaged in combat with German forces.  Biographical information, his portrait, and his story as presented in Jacob Lifshitz’s The Book of the Jewish Brigade: The History of the Jewish Brigade Fighting and Rescuing [in] the Diaspora – the latter transcribed as Hebrew, with English translation – are presented below…  

Gamble, John Allan, WO 2C, 938393, Battery Sergeant-Major
England, Royal Artillery
200th Field Regiment, Palestine Regiment, Jewish Brigade Group
Mrs. Joan Gamble (wife), Kingsbury, Middlesex, England
Mr. and Mrs. Graham and Caroline Susan Gamble (parents)
Born 1918
Forli War Cemetery, Vecchiazzano, Forli, Italy – VI,C,23
We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Volume I – 244
The Book of the Jewish Brigade – 249

סרגינט מיגיור גאמבל ג’ון אלאן ז”ל.

Sergeant Major John Allan Gamble of blessed memory.

נפצע ומת מפצעיו ביום 17 באפריל 1945 בתאונת-דרכים באיטליה.

He was injured in a car accident in Italy on April 17, 1945 and died of his injuries.

סוללת התותחנים שלו נסעה לחזית ,וג’ון ,שרכב על אופנוע ,שימש כמפקח-התנועה.  מכוניות השיירה העלו גלי אבק גדולים לאורך הדרך ,שסינוורו את העינים והאופנוע שלו התנגש עם מכונית-משא גדולה והוא נפצע קשה בברכיו ובשוקיו ומת מפצעיו .נקבר בבית-הקברות הצבאי (Forli)  בעיר פורלי.

His artillery battery drove to the front, and John, riding a motorcycle, served as traffic inspector.  The convoy cars raised large waves of dust along the road, which dazzled his eyes and his motorcycle collided with a large truck and he was badly injured in his knees and calves and died of his wounds.  He was buried in the military cemetery in the town of Forli.

בן כ”ז במותו  .נוצרי יליד אנגליה  .נתחנד בבית-ספר ברונט שבמאנספילד  .ספורטאי נלהב ,ייצג את בית-ספרו בתחרויות קרירט וכדור רגל והיה חבר פעיל במשד כמה בקלוב חובבי הקריקמ בוודהאוז ;שחייו וצולל מובהק  .עסק לפני התגייסותו בהנהלת-חשבונות  .גשוי  .התגייס לצבא עם פרוץ המלחמה וצורף לחיל התותחנים  .עד שנת 1943 שימש כמדריך בשיעורי-תותחנות בדרום וולס ובאירלנד ,אחר כך נשלח לצפון-אפריקה ושירת במחנה השמיני  .אתר עבר לאיטליה והצמיין באומץ-לב בפעולות בפיזה וזבה על בך באות-ההצטיינות “עלי אשל” ביום 24 באוגוסט 1944  .ושוב הצטיין באומץ-לב זוכה להיוכר בהודעה צבאית ביום 11 בינואר 1945  .כשהחי”ל נכנס לחזית ,צורף אלאן לחיל התותחנים שבחי”ל.

He was 27 years old at the time of his death.  A Christian born in England.  He became an enthusiastic athlete at the Brunt School in Mansfield. He joined the army when the war broke out and joined the artillery.  Until 1943 he served as an artillery instructor in South Wales and Ireland, then was sent to North Africa and served in the camp “Ali Eshel” on August 24, 1944.  And again he excelled in courage.  He was recognized in a military announcement on January 11, 1945.

This phot of Warrant Officer II Class’ Gamble’s matzeva is by FindAGrave researcher bbmir (no longer active), who apparently took images of many tombstones at the Forli War Cemetery.  

____________________

Gordon, Stanley Edward, Lt., 331196
Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
Mr. A. Gordon (father), “Aloha”, King__on (?) Lane, Southwick, England
(also) 86 Great Tischfield St., London, England
Becklingen War Cemetery, Borkel, Kreis Becklingen, Germany – 3,B,16
Jewish Chronicle 5/18/45
We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Volume I – 96

____________________

“GRIEVOUSLY MOURNED BY LOVING PARENTS, SISTERS, BROTHERS AND RELATIVES.”

Rosen, Michael, Lance Bombardier, 1544792
Royal Artillery, 71st Anti-Tank Regiment
Mr. and Mrs. Morris and Leah Rosen (parents), Sheffield, England
Born 1920
Hanover War Cemetery, Germany – 7,F,12
We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Volume I 148

This image of Lance Bombardier Rosen’s matzeva is by FindAGrave researcher pfo.  Akin to the photo of Warrant Officer II Class Gamble’s tombstone, this image reveals the powerfully simple standardized design of tombstones in Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries, where commemorative inscriptions always appear below the religious symbol engraved in the stone’s center.  

France

Bouaziz, Isaac, at Meknes, Morocco
France (Maroc), Armée de Terre, 16eme GA FTA Alger
From Fez, Morocco
Born 10/21/21
Died of illness (Maladie)

Golberg, Salomon, at Baden-Baden, Germany
France, Armée de Terre, 19eme Bataillon de Chasseurs à Pied
From Paris, France
Born 2/16/24
Died of wounds (Des suites des Blessures)

Perez, Moise, at Kehl [sic], Germany
France (Maroc), 101eme Genie
Born Marrakech, Morocco, 1919
Killed in combat (Tue au combat)

Poland

(Operation Bautzen-Elba, and, Operation Brand-Berlin)

Fajfer, Leon, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Karlshof (Operation Brand-Berlin))
Polish People’s Army, 7th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Daniel Fajfer (father)
Born 1919
JMCPAWW2 I – 19

Frenkiel, Maksymilian, Pvt. (Germany, Altreetz (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 5th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Baruch Frenkiel (father)
Born Kuchary, Poland, 1918
JMCPAWW2 I – 22

Gondowicz, Henryk, Pvt. (Operation Pomeranian Wall)
Polish People’s Army
JMCPAWW2 I – 25

Grynblat, Jakub, Sergeant Major (Germany, Altreetz (Operation Brand Berlin))
Polish People’s Army, 5th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Chaim Grynblat (father)
Born Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland; 1917
JMCPAWW2 I – 26

Klugman, Oskar, Pvt. (Poland-Germany, Oder River (Operation Brand Berlin))
Polish People’s Army, 2nd Light Artillery Regiment
Mr. Henryk Klugman (father)
Born Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland; 1917
JMCPAWW2 I – 37

Kniazanski
, Maks, First Sergeant (Germany, Altwriezen (Operation Brand Berlin))

Polish People’s Army
Born 1925
JMCPAWW2 I – 37

Lampert, Leon, Lance Corporal, 27094 (Rhede, Germany; Canadian Hospital No. 6 at Ootmarsum, Netherlands)
1 Polska Dywizja Pancerna, 10 Pulk Dragonow
Poland, Polish Army West
Born Czernin d. Pieszew, Poland; 2/4/19
Jonkerbos War Cemetery, Gelderland, Netherlands – Plot V, Row A, Grave 3; Initially buried in Cemetery “Kuiperberg”, Ootmarsum, Netherlands
JMCPAWW2 II – 118

Landau, Antoni, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Neurüdnitz (Operation Brand Berlin))
Polish People’s Army, 6th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Natan Landau (father)
Born Tyczyn, Podkarpackie, Poland, 1905
JMCPAWW2 I – 43

Majner, Tadeusz, Cpl. (Germany, Brandenburg, Bad Freienwalde (Operation Brand Berlin))
Polish People’s Army, 4th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Leon Majner (father)
Born Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland; 1912
JMCPAWW2 I – 47

Nadryczny, Beniamin, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Bad Freienwalde (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 4th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Shlomo Nadryczny (father)
Born Tulicze (d. Kobryn), Poland, 1920
JMCPAWW2 I – 51

Panas, Wladyslaw, Pvt. (German-Polish border, Niesse (Operation Bautzen Elba))
Polish People’s Army, 37th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Daniel Panas (father)
Born 1908
JMCPAWW2 I – 53

Perelberg, Izaak, Cpl. (Germany, Brandenburg, Bad Freienwalde (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 1st Howitzer Regiment
Mr. Ben-Zion Perelberg (father)
Gorn Hrubieszow, Lubelskie, Poland; 1922
JMCPAWW2 I – 53

Rajchel, Jozef, Cpl. (Germany, Brandenburg, Neuwustrow (Operation Brand Berlin))
Lithuania, Polish People’s Army, 5th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Izrael Rajchel (father)
Born Braslaw (d. Vilna), Lithuania; 1915
JMCPAWW2 I – 56

Roza, Izrael, WO (Germany, Konigsreetz (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 4th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Icek Roza (father)
Born Lochow (d. Wegrow) [Mazowieckie?], Poland, 1916
JMCPAWW2 I – 59

Rozenbaum, Chaim, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Lodenau (Operation Bautzen Elba))
Polish People’s Army, 33rd Infantry Regiment
Mr. Izrael Rozenbaum (father)
Born 1924
JMCPAWW2 I – 58

Szafran, Chil, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Lodenau (Operation Bautzen Elba))
Polish People’s Army, 33rd Infantry Regiment
Mr. Mojzesz Szafran (father)
Born 1903
JMCPAWW2 I – 65

Szwarc, Roman, Cpl. (Germany, Klemzow (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 13th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Jozef Szwarc (father)
Born Wygnanka (d. Lublin), Poland, 1916
JMCPAWW2 I – 69

Trostenman, Zelik, Pvt. (Germany, Altreetz (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army, 5th Infantry Regiment
Mr. Lejb Trostenman (father)
Born Wolomin, Mazowieckie, Poland, 1908
JMCPAWW2 I – 71

Prisoners of War

United States Army

Glassoff, Isadore, Pvt., 31028697, Field Artillery, Purple Heart
6th Armored Division, 212th Field Artillery Battalion, Service Battery
Born in Massachusetts, 9/14/14; Died 2/21/78
Prisoner of War; POW camp (if any…) unknown
Mr. and Mrs. Hyman and Ida Glassoff (parents), Joseph (brother), 143 Cottage St., Everett, Ma.
Casualty List (Liberated POW) 6/21/45
American Jews in World War II – 160

____________________

United States Army Air Force

8th Air Force
78th Fighter Group
82nd Fighter Squadron

While a number of my prior posts have either focused on, profiled, or mentioned in passing Jewish aviators who served as fighter pilots in the WW I United States Army Air Service (like Jacques M. Swaab), United States Army Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and Royal Air Force, the 17th of April in 1945 was somewhat unusual in this respect.  That day, two Jewish fighter pilots – assigned to the same Air Force – the England-based 8th Air Force; members of the same Fighter Group – the 78th; members of the same Fighter Squadron – the 82nd; flying the same type of aircraft – the P-51D Mustang; were lost during a bomber escort and strafing mission to the Dresden area.  The Parallels continue.  Both were immediately captured (one was injured) and both survived the war’s closing weeks (well, the war obviously continued in the Pacific Theater!) to eventually return to the United States.

On another, more abstract level, documentation about these two pilots has its own curious parallel:  The Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) covering their loss in combat were filed sequentially, and their portraits can be found in the same official Army Air Force Photograph, image 72440AC (A12409).  

Who were they?  Second Lieutenant Alvin Mordecai Rosenberg (MACR 13940) and First Lieutenant Allen Abraham Rosenblum (MACR 13939).  

____________________

Lt. Rosenberg, 0-830084, parachuted from his P-51D 44-72357 (the probably un-nicknamed MX * D) at a point southwest of Adorf and north-northeast of Selb, Germany, due to an engine fire (and possible coolant leak) of unknown origin.  Though nothing is known about his experiences as a POW, he would eventually return to his home state of New York.  Born on January 6, 1924, he was the son of Raphael and Estelle, the family living at 2261 64th Street, in Brooklyn.  He received the Air Medal, three Oak Leaf Clusters, and Purple Heart, though it’s not known if the latter award was specifically granted for the April 17 mission.  His name appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle on July 25, 1941 (yes, 1941, not 1944), and in a War Department Casualty List of May 18, 1945.  And, his name also appears on page 416 of American Jews in World War II.  

Here’s a very high resolution scan of his portrait, from Army Air Force Photo 72440AC (A12409)…

…and, here’s a transcript of the Missing Aircrew Report pertaining to his loss:

S T A T E M E N T

I was flying Surtax Yellow leader when Surtax leader went down on an airdrome to destroy a jet that had just landed.  My wingman couldn’t get his left combat tank off, so I didn’t take my flight down.  Surtax spare, Lt. Rosenberg, was flying #5 in Yellow flight.  He called that something had popped out the right side of his cowling.  He had not been hit by flak.  I told him to open his coolant and oil shutters wide, which he did, and to pick up a heading of 270 degrees, which he failed to do.  He kept steering about 180 degrees and called in about 3 minutes later that he had returned his shutters to automatic because the plane seemed to be OK.  I told him again to steer about 280 or 290 degrees, which he did, and told him to open his shutters again, which he did.  By this time, I was flying fairly close formation with him, so I could observe the right side of his plane.  A thin steady stream of white smoke was coming out of the exhaust stacks, which became increasingly worse after about 4 or 5 minutes.  He said it was going to quit and wanted to know if we were in friendly territory.  I told him to prime like mad, and the smoke stopped temporarily.  I told him to try to keep it going for at least 7 minutes, because we were still in enemy territory.  Every time the smoke started, I would yell at him to prime, and the smoke would stop.  About 3 minutes from the time it got bad, however, the engine quit altogether and flames emanated from around the exhaust stacks.  He immediately released the canopy and bailed successfully.  The plane crashed and exploded, and he landed about 100 yards from a house.  Two people came out to him, and he seemed to be OK, for he stood and waved to us.  Lt. Childs, my element leader, buzzed them a couple of times, so his description of the people with Lt. Rosenberg follows.  Lt. Rosenberg’s exact position is not known, but his approximate position is in the vicinity of Adorf, just south of Plauen.

IVAN H. KEATLEY 0-665815
Captain, Air Corps.

I was flying Surtax Yellow 3.  After Lt. Rosenberg bailed out, I saw him land safely in an open field and saw him met by two German men.  One appeared to have on an olive drab uniform, the other was wearing civilian clothes.  As I passed over, he waved that he was OK.  The second time I passed over he was standing in a small village, which I believe was Adorf.

JOHN C. CHILDS 0-2005853
1st Lt., Air Corps

I certify I have interrogated every pilot in the vicinity of Adorf, where Lt. Rosenberg became MIA, and that all available information is incorporated in the statements above.

ERWIN C. BOETTCHER
Captain, Air Corps
Intelligence Officer

Here’s by the map accompanying the MACR.  Not too precise, but it does the job.  

I’ve been unable to trace information about Lt. Rosenberg further.  

____________________

The day was rather more eventful for Lieutenant Rosenblum.  During a strafing attack against the Kralupy Airdrome, north-northwest of Prague and just east of the Vltava River, where his formation position was that of “Surtax Red Leader”, his left drop tank (which he couldn’t jettison) and propeller struck the ground, even as his Mustang (P-51D 44-72367, the probably un-nicknamed “MX * C”) became the focus of German antiaircraft fire.  After a brief farewell radio message, he attempted to belly-land his plane, but the aircraft tumbled, and – as anti-aircraft fire continued – it cartwheeled, tearing off the right wing.  Though no sign of life was seen by an observing pilot (Lt. Klassen) once the hurtling Mustang stopped moving, Lt. Rosenblum emerged from the wreck quite alive, his only injury a broken arm.  As revealed in an Atlanta Constitution article of October 30, 1945 (see below), he was interned at Stalag 18C, in Markt Pongau, Austria, and like Lt. Rosenberg, in time returned to the United States.  

Serial number 0-678943, he completed 56 missions, and received the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters, at least based on information in American Jews in World War II, where his name appears on page 89.  Given his injury and total number of missions flown, it seems that he should have received the Purple Heart and eleven Oak Leaf Clusters…  

Lt. Rosenblum’s parents were Nathan (Nuchum) Beryl and Freda (Bain) Rosenblum, of 127 Peachtree Street, in Anderson, South Carolina, while his sister Sarah was married to Sergeant David D. Danneman (himself a POW, as described below), from 771 Washington Street, in Atlanta.  Born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on April 26, 1923, he passed away on October 12, 1986, and is buried at  Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery, in Lilburn, Georgia.  Along with American Jews in World War II, his name appeared in an official Casualty List on May 17, 1945, the Southern Israelite on November 2, 1945, and the Atlanta Constitution on March 9, 1945.  This latter article follows below…  

Lt. Allen Rosenblum In Air Convoy to Berlin

Lt. Allen A. Rosenblum, whose sister, Mrs. David Danneman, lives at 771 Washington Street, S.W., was one of 900 fighter pilots convoying 1,000 Eighth Air Force Fortresses in a recent devastating attack on the heart of Berlin.

Flying a P-51 Mustang, Lt. Rosenblum was in the air more than five and a half hours on the Berlin mission.  His group, which went down to strafe an airfield at Luneburg and trains in other parts of western Germany, left 15 Nazi planes burning on the field and damaged 11 others, in addition to several locomotives and oil cars which were destroyed.

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Here’s a very high resolution scan of Lt. Rosenblum’s portrait, from Army Air Force Photo 72440AC (A12409)…

…and, here’s a transcript of the Missing Aircrew Report pertaining to his loss:

STATEMENTS OF EYEWITNESSES

We were flying in Surtax Red flight, led by Lt. Rosenblum, on a bomber escort to Dresden.  After the target, we flew south into Czechoslovakia and hit the deck to strafe an airdrome north of Prague.  Surtax Red leader tried to drop his tanks, but his left one would not come off.  One the run toward the field, while on the deck, Lt. Schneider called him, but he never did get it off.  As we neared the field, on the deck, flak began to come at us.  I saw it was being concentrated on Red leader.  We were line abreast and I saw Rosenblum’s prop and tank hit the ground before reaching the field as he was hugging the ground to get under the flak.  We believe he also hit his prop again on the field.  He then said, “I’ve got to belly in here, so long fellows.”  We passed him just as he was bellying in and did not get another look at the aircraft. 

EDWIN O. SCHNEIDER  0-713584
1st Lt., Air Corps.

HARRY L. ROE JR 0-830318
2nd Lt., Air Corps.

__________

I was Cargo (83rd Fighter Squadron) Yellow leader on bomber escort In the Dresden area when Nuthouse reported jets in the area.  I took my Section south of target to investigate some Bogies which turned out to be Surtax White and Red flights.  They were positioning themselves to strafe an airdrome, so I circled to observe results.  As Surtax Red Flight went over the drome, I saw one aircraft lagging behind and going very slow, and at that time Surtax Red leader called and said, “I’ve got to belly in here, so long fellows.”  He cleared the west edge of the airfield, but hit something with his left wing just as he bellied in, which spun the aircraft around and tore off his right wing as he cart-wheeled.  From the time he reached the edge of the field until after the aircraft came to a stop, I observed hits on and all around his aircraft from small caliber arms.  The aircraft did not burn, and no one got out as I circled. 

PETER W. KLASSEN 0-708695
1st Lt., Air Corps

I certify that I have interrogated every pilot in the area of Kralupy Airdrome at the time Lt. Rosenblum became MIA.  All available information is Incorporated in the statements of the above. 

ERRIN C. BOETTCHER
Captain, Air Corps
Intelligence Officer.

Here’s by the map accompanying the MACR.  Like that for Lt. Rosenberg, not too detailed, but close enough, considering the conditions (combat conditions, that is!) under which observations were made. 

Given the nearly eight decades that have transpired since the events in question, I thought it would be interesting to identify the actual location and current appearance of the Krapuly Airfield.  This was not difficult, for the website Vrtulníky v Česku (Helicopters in the Czech Republic) has substantial information (at “Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralup“) chronologically arranged, about the airfield’s history from 1913 through 1955, of course in Czech.  This includes the statement;

“16.4.1945 nálet stíhačů od 78th FG a 339th FG, 8th USAAF z Velké Británie.

Jako první byly zničeny čtyři stroje He 177.  Pozoroval jsem vzdušný kolotoč z výšiny nad Minicemi, nad kterými dokončovaly některé stroje otáčky a vracely se zpět ke kralupskému letišti.  V krátké době zůstaly z pýchy německého letectva na zemi jen hořící trosky.  Po osmi průletech spojeneckých stíhačů byl celý prostor letiště zničen.  Proti útočícím Mustangům nezasáhli Němci ani ze země, ani ze vzduchu. Zdroj.

Přímý účastník útoku na kralupské letiště Leutenant J.W. Gokey od 503rd FS, 339th FG, 8th USAAF z Velké Británie vzpomíná: “V oblasti, kam jsem směřoval, jsem spatřil několik letadel 78th FG, útočících na letiště u Kralup.  Zapojili jsme se také krátce do boje.  Plocha byla špatně přístupná a již na ni hořelo 30 nebo 35 transportních Ju 52.  Zaměřili jsme se na vybavení letiště a zničili několik baráků na severu hlavní dráhy. Pro nedostatek paliva jsme prostor brzy opustili.  Ze země nešla žádná palba, ale viděl jsem dva palposty flaku, které pravděpodobně zničila již 78th FG ..”

Approximate translation?

On April 16, 1945 raid [by] fighters from the 78th FG and 339th FG, 8th USAAF from Great Britain.

The He 177 aircraft were the first to be destroyed.  In a short time, out of the pride of the German Air Force, only burning debris remained on the ground.  After eight flights by Allied fighters, the entire area of the airport was destroyed.  The Germans did not intervene against the attacking Mustangs either from the ground or from the air.

A direct participant in the attack on Kralupy Airport, Lieutenant J.W. Gokey from the 503rd FS, 339th FG, 8th USAAF from Great Britain recalls: “In the area where I was heading, I saw several 78th FG aircraft attacking the airport near Kralupy.  We also participated briefly.  The area was difficult to access and 30 or 35 Ju-52 transports [had] already burned.  We focused on airport equipment and destroyed several barracks in the north of the main runway.  Two flak outposts were probably destroyed by the 78th FG.”

Interestingly, given that Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralup has no information about an attack against the Kralupy Airfield on April 17 – and I don’t think the 78th Fighter Group would have conducted a strafing attack against the same distant enemy airfield on two consecutive days – I wonder if the above statement about a mission on April 16, actually refers to the 78th’s mission of April 17.  (I think it may!)  In any event, here are three images of an April strafing attack against the Kralupy airfield from the same web page.  (The source of the photos is not listed.)

In the image below, a P-51 is visible banking to the left, in the upper right corner.  

But, what about the airfield’s specific location?  Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralup displays air photos of the area, taken in 1946 and 1953, which show the field in relation to nearby geographic features, as well as the wreckage of Luftwaffe aircraft (I think Siebel 204s) that after the war were dumped in nearby quarries, or, pushed into wooded areas bordering the field.  This photo, taken in 1953, shows the locations of four of these aeronautical junk piles – denoted by red ovals – at the periphery of the field.  

Using this information and these photos in conjunction with the map in MACR 13939, I’ve created the following series of Oogle maps which – as you move “down” this page – reveal, at successively larger scales and therefore in greater detail, contemporary views of the airfield’s location.  In each case, the airfield site is denoted by a red circle.    

First, the airfield in relation to the city of Prague:  A teeny-tiny red circle on this small-scale map.

Oogling on in, the airfield in relation to Veltrusy, and, Karlupy nad Vltavou (“Kralupy on the Vltava River”).  

Oogling even closer…

Here’s a 2021 Landsat view of the area above.  You can see that much of the terrain once occupied by the airfield is now taken up by buildings.  

A map view again, but closer…

…followed by another Landsat image at the same scale as above.  Note that probably more than half of the area once occupied by the airfield is now taken up by industrial development.  

Finally, in this 3-D Oogle image of the airfield site (looking west-northwest) the extent of postwar construction is very clear.  Also noticeable at the lower center right is one of the forested areas that existed back in 1945.  Perhaps some aircraft wrecks – even including the remnants of P-51D 44-72367? – still lie there, deeply buried, awaiting discovery?

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But, what of the two lost Mustangs?  The fate of the P-51s is clearly described in the MACRs:  Lieutenant Rosenberg’s plane crashed and exploded not far from where he landed by parachute, while Lieutenant Rosenblum’s aircraft broke apart when he crash-landed on the airfield.  Given the time-frame of the planes’ losses, there are no Luftgaukommando Reports pertaining to them.  End of that story.    

As for the markings of the two aircraft, information comes from Garry Fry’s Eagles of Duxford, which lists the squadron codes assigned to the planes as MX * C for Lt. Rosenblum’s, and MX * D for Lt. Rosenberg’s.  Though Eagles does not indicate if the planes carried nicknames or nose art, this possibility is not entirely precluded, for – given the fact that the pertinent MACRs don’t even record the P-51’s squadron codes in the first place! – if the planes had been nicknamed, this information may simply have never been preserved.

Regardless, the following two images, from Peter Randall’s Little Friends website, give a very good representation of the presumable appearance of the two fighters: Natural metal finish, red rudders, “swept” black and white checkerboard nose trimmed in red surrounding the front half of the aircraft’s nose, and squadron codes painted in black (or, insignia blue?) trimmed with red. 

First, P-51D 44-63246:  This particular image was, “Taken in Duxford, England by Maj. Atlee G. (Pappy) Manthos while operations officer with the 78th Fighter Group following the end of hostilities in Europe.  The pilot of this 82nd FS P-51D was Lt. John C. Childs of Hot Springs, Arkansas.”

Second, P-51D 44-15745: “Lt. Walter E Bourque.  Detroit, Mi.  82nd Fighter Squadron.  P-51D 44-15745 MX-T.”  This photo also appears as image UPL26433 via the American Air Museum in England.

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But then, there’s this…  Lt. Rosenblum, seated in the cockpit of unidentified P-51D Rosey THE Riveter.  Unfortunately (!), specific identification of this plane is impossible, since the plane’s individual aircraft code letter – painted on the aft fuselage – does not appear in the image.  Otherwise, the shade of the Rosey THE Riveter logo and MX squadron code letters – both dark, with lighter outline – appear to be identical.  Interestingly, rather than a K-14 gyroscopic gunsight, the plane is equipped with a (N-9?) reflector gunsight

Unfortunately, the source of this image – the very title of the book in which I discovered it – escapes me for the moment (!), but I think the picture appeared in a book about the history of the Jews in the South.  In any event, the image is credited to Raymond and Sandra Lee Rosenblum.  [Update 8/14/21: The image is from the 2002 book A Portion of the People – Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life, and is from the collection of Raymond and Sandra Lee Rosenblum.]  

__________

But, there’s more, and even earlier, to Lt. Rosenblum’s story.  April 17, 1945 was not the only day on which he did not – immediately – return to his base. 

On September 18, 1944, he bellied in east of Brussels in P-47D 43-25300 (“MX * I”, nickname: B Hope).  As described by Garry Fry in a letter to Rudy Kenis of De Panne, Belgium, of October 31, 1986,

Dear Rudy,

This P-47 43-25300 was successfully belly-landed on Sept. 18, 44…  The pilot was 1 Lt. Allen A. Rosenblum, 82 F.S., who was not hurt and he returned to England and resumed his duties.  The reason for the crash is that he ran out of gasoline on the way home. 

Photographs of the wreck of MX * I can be viewed here, while a summary of the day’s events, from the 82nd Fighter Squadron History, follows:  

2 October 1944

September 18.  17 Planes on fighter bomber mission of Flak positions in Holland.  In Rotterdam 1530 hrs.  Out Amsterdam 1709 hrs.  Take off 1435 hrs.  Down at 1740 hrs.  Bombing poor to good results on flak positions and barges.  30 Plus trucks in convoy strafed on highway between Brest and Vianen, 18 destroyed and 11 damaged.  Heavy accurate light and heavy flak from Rotterdam and flak barges west of the city.  2 Cat. AC and 1 Cat. A flak damage.  Lt. R.C. Snyder MIA, hit by flak and bellied in SW of Rotterdam and heard to say he was O.K. after landing.  [P-47D 42-75551, MX * M, MACR 9001] Pilots were Capt. May, Lts. Lamb, Bolgert, Coss, Shope, Rosenblum, Mattern, Nelson, Brown, Snyder, Boeckman, Croy, Sharp, Miller, Bosworth, Eggleston, and Keatley. 

Finally and perhaps most importantly, some comments about Allen A. Rosenblum as a “person”, from letters to Rudy Kenis in late 2012 by Allen’s son Michael.   

28 October 2012

Hi, Rudy – I have a picture of my dad in a plane with the MX * I marking, but not certain that was his plane.  I also have a photo of dad in a plane marked “Rosey the Riveter”.  He was shot down twice, but I only have information on his second crash in Poland (see attached).  It is possible that his first crash was in Belgium – he was able to make it back to Allied lines safely.  After his second crash, he was a POW until the end of the war (2-3 weeks) – fortunate.  Please let me know if you find out anything about the Belgium crash.  Dad never spoke much about his war efforts – doing so gave him nightmares for weeks afterwards.  I recently learned some of these details through contacts on the P-47 pilot website.

Many thanks

__________

4 November 2012

Hi, Rudy – Many thanks for the email.  I think Dad’s earlier crash because of low fuel matches what I know of his war efforts.  Here is a picture of Dad in his Rosey the Riveter (MX) aircraft.  [See above.]  Hope this helps.

……….

Forgot to mention that you words about my father are very kind.  He would have been very pleased to have heard them.  Dad almost never spoke about his time in the war.  Doing so would cause him to have nightmares for weeks afterward.  We would have called it PTSD.  It is amazing to me to find that there are efforts of others honoring efforts of pilots like Dad.  Many thanks.

____________________

Lieutenant Rosenblum’s brother-in-law, Sergeant David Daniel Danneman (34261537) served as a togglier in the 547th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group.  His plane, B-17F 42-29870 (JD * U, otherwise known as BIG MOOSE)  piloted by 1 Lt. Giles F. Kauffman, was shot down on October 14, 1943.  Its loss is covered in MACR 1038 and Luftgaukommando Report KU 296 (which, being a very early “low numbered” Luftgaukommando Report, is missing from NARA Records Group 242), the entire crew of ten surviving.  

Born on August 1, 1918 in Anderson County, South Carolina, he was the son of Aaron and Jenny (Jacobovitz) Danneman.  His wife Sarah resided at 771 Washington Street in Atlanta, Georgia.    

David Danneman passed away at the young age of 49 on December 25, 1967.  His name appeared in a Casualty List released on June 15, 1945, and on page 87 of American Jews in World War II, where he is recorded as having received the Purple Heart.  His commemorative page at the National World War II Memorial can be found here.  

As mentioned above, on October 30, 1945, The Atlanta Constitution published a lengthy article (by Katherine Barnwell) about the experiences of Lt. Rosenblum and Sergeant Danneman, in the context of a postwar reunion of the two men.  Like many newspaper articles of the era, the account, which includes an excellent photo of the brothers-in-law and Sergeant Danneman’s wife Sarah, is particularly valuable in presenting information unavailable in military records.  A transcript follows:

Brothers-in-Law Meet Here; Held as POW 50 Miles Apart
STORY-BOOK-ENDING

It was a joyous reunion at 771 Washington street yesterday for two Atlanta brothers-in-law who met here for the first time in many months after being prisoners of war – 50 miles apart – in Germany.

It was an equally happy occasion for Mrs. Sarah Danneman, who was present at the meeting between her brother, Lt. Allen A. Rosenblum, and her husband, S/Sgt, David D. Danneman.  Both men served in the Eighth Air Force in England, and both were shot down in missions over Nazi territory.

It was, in fact, a story-book ending for all concerned, as the smiles which all three wore yesterday amply proved.  Danneman received his discharge about a week ago, and Rosenblum expects to become a civilian again around the first of December.

Danneman spent the longer period in a German prison – 19 months, though “it seemed much longer.”  He was sent overseas in April, 1942, and received his training at an RAF school in Kirkham, England.

NOSE GUNNER ON “FORT”

A nose gunner on a Flying Fortress, he was shot down on his third mission, over Schweinfurt, Germany, Oct. 14, 1943.  His plane was hit by antiaircraft flak, and he parachuted 28,000 feet to safety.

“That mission,” Danneman explained proudly, “caused the war to end six months earlier than it would have otherwise.  Although we lost 60 bombers, we destroyed the largest ball bearing factory in Germany.”

Danneman was taken to Krems, Austria, where he was imprisoned at Stalag 17B.  He remained there until April of this year when all prisoners there were forced marched to Braunau, Austria, Hitler’s birthplace.  He was liberated by the Third Army last May 2.

Like other American prisoners in Germany, he received little food except “wormy soup, a few potatoes, and some black bread.”  He himself received only one beating from guards, but he witnessed the torture of hundreds of Jewish prisoners who were “more dead than alive.”

HOMEMADE RADIOS

“We had hundreds of ‘bugs’ (homemade radios) in the camp,” Danneman said.  “We would swap cigarettes sent us by the Red Cross to French workers for radio parts, so that we could keep up with the progress of the war.”

But Danneman did not know that his wife’s husband, Lt. Allen Rosenblum was overseas, much less that he was a prisoner only 50 miles away later in the war.

Rosenblum went overseas in July, 1944, and completed 56 missions before being shot down.  He was attached to the 78th Fighter Group of the Eight Air Force and he was credited with destroying four German planes and damaging two others.

It was in April 1945, when he was strafing an air field in the Sudetenland that his plane was hit by antiaircraft fire.  He made a crash landing in a clump of trees, and suffered head wounds and a broken arm.

Taken prisoner immediately, he was sent to Stalag 18-C in Austria.  Although he was in prison only about three weeks before he was liberated, he lost 30 pounds during that time.

“BETTER OFF THAN MOST”

“But I was better off than most,” he admitted.  “I saw guys by the road so hungry that they were eating leaves from the trees – and grass too.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Danneman here in Atlanta did mot merely wait idly for the return of her husband and brother.  Besides holding down a full-time job, she worked three nights a week as a nurse’s aid, and most other nights as a USO hostess.  She amassed more than 2,000 hours in USO work.

Both Danneman and Rosenblum were much-decorated for their Army service.  Rosenblum wears the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, wight eight oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, Good Conduct medal, and the presidential unit citation.  Danneman received the Purple Heart last Friday, and the Air Medal and Good Conduct medal are on the way.

“Good conduct was sort of forced on me,” Danneman laughed, “since German guards were watching me for nearly two years.”

Wounded in Action

United States Army (Ground Forces)

Abramson, Harry, Pvt., 33939323, Purple Heart (Italy, Bologna)
Born 1919
Mrs. Eva Abramson (mother), 707 S. 4th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
The Jewish Exponent 5/18/45
Philadelphia Record 5/10/45
American Jews in World War II – 508

Cooper, Sidney, Sgt., 13077767, Purple Heart (at Ie Shima, Okinawa)
Born Philadelphia, Pa., 1/31/20
Mrs. Anne Cooper (wife); Gail Eileen and Marsha Sharon (daughters), 2500 N. Marston St. / 523 Snyder Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin and Florence Cooperman (parents), 2711 South 9th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
The Jewish Exponent 6/8/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 5/29/45
American Jews in World War II – 516

Kaitz, Aaron A., Pvt., 33815875, Purple Heart (Germany)
Born 1926
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham H. and Anna C. Kaitz (parents), 1316 South Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Jewish Exponent 5/18/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 5/9/45
American Jews in World War II – 530

United States Marine Corps

Polotnick, Harry, Sgt., 810771, Purple Heart
6th Marine Division, 29th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion, G Company
Born 10/4/23; Died 3/27/91
Saint Louis, Mo. (next of kin unknown)
American Jews in World War II – 215

Other Incidents…

…United States Army Air Force

Rescued with fellow crew members after ditching in the Pacific…

Greenfogel, Maurice “Mo” (Moshe Bar Mordechay HaCohen), Sgt., 32874753, Passenger
5th Air Force, 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron
No Missing Air Crew Report, Aircraft C-47B 43-47995, Pilot 1 Lt. Robert L. Rohlfing, 12 crew and passengersall personnel survived; Rescued 4/18/45 at 2130 by Hospital Ship USS Maetsuycker
Born 10/23/24, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Died 6/4/17
Mr. and Mrs. Max and Gussie Greenfogel (parents), Albert and Evelyn (brother and sister), Brooklyn, N.Y.
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

The pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress, who witnessed the loss of another B-17…

Rabinowitz, Eugene, 1 Lt., 0-831796 (Bomber Pilot)
8th Air Force, 305th Bomb Group, 366th Bomb Squadron
In MACR 14172, witness to loss of B-17G 43-38085 (“KY * L”, “Towering Titan”), pilot by 2 Lt. Brainerd E. Harris, 8 crew – no survivors
Probably from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Opelika-Auburn News – 9/15/20
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Soviet Air Force
Military Air Forces – VVS (Военно-воздушные cилы России – ВВС)

Missing during combat mission on April 17 – 18, 1945.  Actual fate unknown.  

Shapiro, Mikhail Solomonovich – Junior Sergeant [Шапиро, Михаил Соломонович – Младший Сержант]
1st Guards Aviation Corps, 16th Guards Bombardment Aviation Regiment (By June of 1945, at Military Post 15539 “V”)
Aerial Gunner – Radio Operator [Воздушный Стрелок-Радист]
Aircraft: Probably… Il-4 [Ил-4]
Born 1926; city of Kiev
Mr. Galina Mikhaylovna (Moiseevna?) Shapiro (mother), Labzik Street, Uichi Building, Block 36, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

References

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Freeman, Roger A., The Mighty Eighth – A History of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1970

Freeman, Roger A., Camouflage & Markings – United States Army Air Force, 1937-1945 [“North American P-51 & F-6 Mustang U.S.A.A.F., E.T.O. & M.T.O., 1942-1945”], Ducimus Books Limited, London, England, 1974

Fry, Garry L., Eagles of Duxford: The 78th Fighter Group in World War II, Phalanx Publishers, St. Paul, Mn., 1992

Lifshitz, Jacob (יעקב, ליפשיץ), The Book of the Jewish Brigade: The History of the Jewish Brigade Fighting and Rescuing [in] the Diaspora (Sefer ha-Brigadah ha-Yehudit: ḳorot ha-ḥaṭivah ha-Yehudit ha-loḥemet ṿeha-matsilah et hagolah ((גולהה קורות החטיבה היהודית הלוחמת והמצילה אתספר הבריגדה היהודית)), Shim’oni (שמעוני), Tel-Aviv, 1950

Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume I [Surnames beginning with А (A), Б (B), В (V), Г (G), Д (D), Е (E), Ж (Zh), З (Z), И (I)], Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1994

Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume III [Surnames beginning with О (O), П (P), Р (R), С (S)], Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1996

Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume VIII [Surnames beginning with all letters of the alphabet], Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 2005

Meirtchak, Benjamin, Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II: I – Jewish Soldiers and Officers of the Polish People’s Army Killed and Missing in Action 1943-1945 [“JMCPAWW2 I”], World Federation of Jewish Fighters Partisans and Camp Inmates: Association of Jewish War Veterans of the Polish Armies in Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1994

Meirtchak, Benjamin, Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II: II – Jewish Military Casualties in September 1939 Campaign – Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armed Forces in Exile Soldiers and Officers of the Polish People’s Army Killed and Missing in Action 1943-1945 [“JMCPAWW2 II”], World Federation of Jewish Fighters Partisans and Camp Inmates: Association of Jewish War Veterans of the Polish Armies in Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1995

Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Volume I, Brassey’s, United Kingdom, London, 1989

Rosengarten, Theodore and Rosengarten, Dale, A Portion of the People – Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C., 2002

No Author

Duxford Diary, 1942-1945, W. Heffer & Sons (printer), Cambridge, England, 1945

The Jewish Brigade: The Wounded

The past leads to destinations unexpected.

While searching for information concerning fallen soldiers of the Jewish Brigade – via the website of the National Library of Israel – I was startled to find records not heretofore published – well, that I’d previously known of! – whether as pixels or in print: Lists of names of the Jewish Brigade soldiers who were wounded in action, but survived the war. 

The names of these men appear in four of five Casualty Lists (I suppose issued by the British War Office and covering Jewish Brigade casualties) and published in The Palestine Post, Haaretz, and other Yishuv newspapers on April 13, and 27, and May 6 and 15, of 1945, the “first” list covering Jewish Brigade casualties having been published in the first week of April.  The lists are simple in content: They comprise a soldier’s surname, the initial of his first name, rank, and serial number, albeit the latter without any “PAL/” prefix commonly associated with Commonwealth soldiers from the Yishuv. 

As published in The Palestine Post, the lists by definition appear in English.  And so, here’s an example: The fifth Brigade casualty list, as it appeared in the Post on May 15, 1945:


In Haaertz, Haboker, and other Hebrew newspapers, the lists of course appear in Hebrew, and it’s lists published on May 4 and May 15 that are of particular historical value, for these two papers arranged the names therein by the specific calendar dates on which the soldiers were casualties, with – linguistic “curveball” here – the month published as Hebraicized English, not Hebrew.  For example, in Haaretz on May 15, we have the date of April 6 given as “bayom 6 v’aprele 1945”, rather than the Hebrew equivalent of 23 Nisan 5705.  I have to give Haaretz and Haboker historical “credit” here, for The Palestine Post did not publish this information!  

Here’s the fifth Brigade casualty list, as it appeared in Haaretz on May 15, 1945…

…and in Haboker on the same date.  This newspaper even took the step of arranging casualty information by date headings:

In this manner, of the total of 77 Jewish Brigade soldiers who were wounded in action and survived the war, the specific day when this occurred – April 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13 – is known for 39 men. 
     
So, fortunately, the lists exist.

So, unfortunately, an enigma, albeit an enigma unrelated to the editorial policies of The Palestine Post, Haaretz, Haboker, and other Yishuv newspapers, which I assume were working in conformance with information released and rules mandated by the British War Office:  The lists include absolutely no other information about these soldiers:  No next of kin; no country of origin (if from outside the Yishuv); city, town, village, moshav, or kibbutz of residence; no residential address are listed.  Though I’m not directly familiar with British policies regarding the release of information pertaining to Commonwealth military casualties in WW II – in terms of content and timing – perhaps the limited nature of these lists was simply reflective of the information released by the War Office?  

____________________

Digressing, this stands in interesting contrast with the information in Casualty Lists released to the American (print) news media by the United States War Department.  Examples of two such lists are shown below.

This is the Casualty List of October 2, 1945, as published in The New York Times on October 3.

…and the Casualty List of April 20, 1946, as published in the same newspaper on April 21:

Note that American Casualty Lists obviously lists a serviceman’s name and rank, they also include names of next of kin, residential addresses, and the general military theater where a soldier was killed, wounded, missing in action.  The same holds true for liberated prisoners of war, though the specific theater in which they were captured and liberated – Europe or the Pacific – isn’t listed.  

For every man’s name there is a story, and for every story there is a name.  One of the names appearing in both of these lists is that of 1 Lt. Philip Schlamberg.  A pilot in the 78th Fighter Squadron, 15th Fighter Group, 7th Air Force.  Last seen near Futagawa, Japan on August 15, 1945, he was probably shot down by anti-aircraft fire.  A little over a half-hour later, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender.  (Perhaps the subject of a future post.)  

____________________

So, returning to the topic at hand, the names of the 77 wounded Jewish Brigade soldiers are presented below. 

Those records where the date is prefixed by a squiggle (“ ~ ”) indicate that neither Haaretz nor Haboker published the date on which the soldier was wounded, so the date is my approximation, consistent with (and certainly not before!) the Brigade’s start of combat operations. 

Six of these soldiers (Pvt. L. Bermanes / Bermanis, Pvt. Y. Bulka, Sgt. A. Kaplanskis, Pvt. Aharon Ben Kimchi / Kimchy, Pvt. Moshe Silberberg, and Sgt. B. Zarhi) received military awards, as indicated in articles published in The Palestine Post in June of 1946, and, The Jewish Chronicle

Finally, a bit of a caveat:  The wartime residence – literally, the street address – of one of these men was revealed in The Palestine Post on June 13, 1945: Pvt. Aharon Ben Kimchi / Kimchy lived at 4 Rehov Rabbi Akiva in Bnei Brak.  An Oogle Street View (vintage 2015) image of this building appears below.

 ________________________________________

Abramovski, H., Pvt., PAL/17851
Wounded in Action 4/6/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Adelmai, A., Pvt., PAL/60150
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Ahavov, D., Pvt., PAL/17117
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Botzhaim”, M., Pvt., PAL/17044
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Bahbut, M., Pvt., PAL/17026
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Becker, R., Sapper, PAL/46382
Wounded in Action 4/13/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Ben-Arie, M., Cpl., PAL/17487
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Ben-Dror, Shmuel, Sgt., PAL/16632
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Peta Tikva, Israel
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Ben-Moshe, Z., Pvt., PAL/7082
Wounded in Action 4/6/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Ben-Yaakov, J., Pvt., PAL/12946
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Berlan, S., Pvt., PAL/38302
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Bermanes / Bermanis, L., Pvt., PAL/17738, Mentioned in Despatches
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45, 6/10/46

Blau, Y., Pvt., PAL/38350
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Brinker, J., Cpl., PAL/16746
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Bulka, Y., Pvt., PAL/16832, Mentioned in Despatches
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45, 6/10/46

Bunim, S., Cpl., PAL/16108
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Cohen, D., Pvt., PAL/17012
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Danouch, H., Pvt., PAL/15365
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Efrat, S., Pvt., PAL/16745
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Ehrlich, J., L/Cpl., PAL/2662
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Ellendmann-Pompann, O., Pvt., PAL/17573
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Engel, H.H., Pvt., PAL/15996
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Etinger, G., Driver, PAL/33106
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Forst, H., Cpl., PAL/15145
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Frank, R., Pvt., PAL/38544
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Gluz, E., Pvt., PAL/17296
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Goldfarb, E., Pvt., PAL/17781
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Goolasa, S., Pvt., PAL/15028
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Greenhoot, A., Pvt., PAL/17158
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Grinberg, A., Sgt., PAL/17888
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

“Haages”, I., Cpl., PAL/16791
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Hazi, O., Cpl., PAL/15130
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Hecht, P., Pvt., PAL/32731
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45, 4/27/45

Imbrik, J., L/Cpl., PAL/17706
Wounded in Action 4/6/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Jackont, A., L/Cpl., PAL/15183
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

____________________

Kaplanskis, Abraham “Avremele”, Sgt., PAL/12220, Silver Star (United States) citation: “There was fierce combat near the Senio River and the enemy was dug in very strongly.  Despite being gravely injured, Sergeant Kaplanski showed bravery and steadfastness, which encouraged his people to advance in spite of unceasing gunfire that rained on them from enemy machine guns, and in spite of danger on the road, which was heavily mined.  During all that action, Kaplanski didn’t attend to his wounds, and he walked at the head of his group until he fell from loss of blood.  By his brave behaviour, Sergeant Kaplanski was a source of encouragement to his people, and in spite of the fact that his small group suffered losses, it succeeded in advancing to the enemy outposts and forced them to retreat.” (From JewishGen.Org – Yizkor – Skuodas)
Date of action: 4/11/45
3rd Battalion
Born 8/9/19, Shkud (Skuodas), Lithuania
Mr. and Mrs. Yaakov and Tovah Kaplanskis (parents)
Made Aliyah in 1938
Fell in defense of Eretz Israel, during battle for Jenin, on June 3, 1949
Buried in collective grave at foot of Mount Herzl, on August 3, 1950
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Jewish Chronicle 3/20/41; Supplement to the London Gazette 3/20/47; We Will Remember Them II – 83

____________________

Kimchi / Kimchy, Aharon Ben, Pvt., PAL/38518, Mentioned in Dispatches, Military Medal
1st Battalion
From 4 Rehov Rabbi Akiva, Bnei Brak, Israel
Seriously wounded in action 3/31/45
We Will Remember Them II – 58; Haaretz 4/27/45; Jewish Chronicle 6/22/45 (as “Aharon Ber Kimche”); Palestine Post 4/27/45, 6/13/45

2015 Oogle Street view of 4 Rehov Rabbi Akiva

This address shows up at 00:23 to 00:44 in this video by Relaxing Walker, entitled “BNEI BRAK – Rabbi Akiva Street, Israel“.

____________________

Koltun, N., L/Cpl., PAL/17416
Wounded in Action 4/8/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Kopstik, S., Pvt., PAL/17677
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Kornitzer, A., Pvt., PAL/15138
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Krausz, E., Cpl., PAL/38144
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Kugler, B., Pvt., PAL/16725
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Liberman, E., Pvt., PAL/16699
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Lifshitz, Z., Pvt., PAL/17258
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Lunz, B., Pvt., PAL/38243
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Manusevics, V., Gunner, PAL/8460
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Matatiah, Y.Y., Pvt., PAL/15023
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Meiri, S., Gunner, PAL/9095
Wounded in Action 4/6/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Mugrabi, M., Driver, PAL/16868
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Neufeld, Reuven, Pvt., PAL/16698
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Peta Tikva, Israel
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Pakal, D., Cpl., PAL/17486
Wounded in Action 4/8/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Pranski, M., Pvt., PAL/16586
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Rabinovici, S., Pvt., PAL/38238
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Rapaport, N., L/Sgt., PAL/16760
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Redlich, J., Pvt., PAL/16244
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Redlich, J., L/Cpl., PAL/17304
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Rivlin, D., Pvt., PAL/38471
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Rosenkranz, I., Pvt., PAL/16642
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Rosental, H., Pvt., PAL/17301
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Roth, S., Pvt., PAL/15119
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45      
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Rubinstein, E., Pvt., PAL/38276
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Schembeck, G., L/Cpl., PAL/17137
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Schetzer, E., L/Cpl., PAL/16497
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Schongut, S., L/Cpl., PAL/16687
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

“Shahory”, J., Pvt., PAL/38367
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Shaoul, D., Pvt., PAL/38489
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Shtoper, Y., Pvt., PAL/38709
Wounded in Action 4/11/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Silberberg, Moshe, Pvt., PAL/17548, Military Medal
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
We Will Remember Them II – 102; Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45; Jewish Chronicle 6/22/45

Sukiennik, M., Cpl., PAL/17378
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Sznitkies, B., L/Cpl., PAL/17914
Wounded in Action 4/6/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Tanai, L., Pvt., PAL/17900
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45

Torczin, I., Pvt., PAL/38569
Wounded in Action 4/12/45
Haaretz 5/15/45, Palestine Post 5/15/45

Tsukerman, I., Pvt., PAL/17488
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45 (lists surname as “Cukerman”)

Vishnievsky, Y., L/Cpl., PAL/38111
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Walner, F., Pvt., PAL/38344
Wounded in Action ~ 3/30/45
Haaretz 4/13/45, Palestine Post 4/13/45

Weil, C., Pvt., PAL/17376
Wounded in Action ~ 4/1/45
Haaretz 4/27/45, Palestine Post 4/27/45

Zarhi, B., Sgt., PAL/16716, Mentioned in Despatches
Wounded in Action 4/7/45
Haaretz 5/4/45, Palestine Post 5/6/45, 6/10/46

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References

“Gelber 1984” – Gelber, Yoav, Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army During the Second World War – Volume IV – Jewish Volunteers in British Forces, World War II, Yav Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, Jerusalem, Israel, 1984

Lifshitz, Jacob (יעקב, ליפשיץ), The Book of the Jewish Brigade: The History of the Jewish Brigade Fighting and Rescuing [in] the Diaspora (Sefer ha-Brigadah ha-Yehudit: ḳorot ha-ḥaṭivah ha-Yehudit ha-loḥemet ṿeha-matsilah et hagolah ((גולהה קורות החטיבה היהודית הלוחמת והמצילה אתספר הבריגדה היהודית)), Shim’oni (שמעוני), Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1950

“We Will Remember Them I” – Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, London, England, 1989

“We Will Remember Them II” – Morris, Henry, Edited by Hilary Halter, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945 – An Addendum, AJEX, London, England, 1994

Prisoners of War – Armies and Other Land Forces of The British Empire, 1939-1945 (“All Lists Corrected Generally Up to 30th March 1945), J.B. Hayward & Son, in Association with The Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books, Polstead, Suffolk, England, 1990 (First published in 1945 by His Majesty’s Stationary Office)

The Jewish Brigade: The Fallen

There are stories, and then, memories within stories, and finally, names within memories.

Several of my recent posts have presented brief accounts of the history of the  Jewish Brigade – during battle, and, shortly after the war’s end – as published in the German Exile Newspaper Aufbau (for example, here, here, and here), The Palestine Post, and earlier, in the British military newspaper Parade.  (More, I hope, to follow!)  While these accounts are windows upon the military history of the Brigade, and shed moving light on encounters of Jewish soldiers from the Yishuv with survivors of the Shoah, European civilians, and German prisoners of war, by nature such stories largely render the identities of soldiers as abstractions, only giving brief glimpses of their thoughts and life stories, yet very rarely touching upon their individual identities – at best.  Well, such is often the nature of history.    

So, to more fully honor and commemorate the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, this post presents the names of the thirty-seven Brigade soldiers who fell in battle, based on information in a variety of print and digital sources.  Such as…

The Book of The Jewish Brigade: The History of the Jewish Brigade Fighting and Rescuing [in] the Diaspora (גולהה קורות החטיבה היהודית הלוחמת והמצילה אתספר הבריגדה היהודית), by Jacob Lifshitz.  This 1950 hardcover book largely comprises brief biographies and photographs of fallen Brigade soldiers.  To the best of my knowledge, this book, neither a history of the Brigade in terms of its ideological and political origins, nor a chronicle of its military engagements, I think remains untranslated, and probably the main, if not only, monograph about these men in terms of their life histories as individuals.

We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, published in 1989, with a second supplementary volume released in 1994.  A magnificent and invaluable effort by Henry Morris, the organization of these two books somewhat parallels the design of the 1947 publication American Jews in World War Two, being a comprehensive list of servicemen’s names alphabetically arranged (under branch of service), with entries comprising each man’s rank, major branch of service, military awards, place of residence, and date of death.    

Otherwise, I know of no other single English-language work – whether monograph or journal article – in which the names of and biographical information about these men can be found. 

So, I hope the list of names below – comprising nominal biographical and bibliographical information about these fallen soldiers – contributes to the historical record about the Brigade.

As such, this list represents a composite of information derived from the website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Henry Morris’ two above-mentioned books, and issues (digital issues, of course!) of Haaretz, The Palestine Post, and other Yishuv newspapers, the latter available via the National Library of Israel, and to a very limited extent (for this post), the The Commemoration Site of Fallen Defense and Security Forces of Israel.  Some information also derives from The Jewish Chronicle, which was accessed – amidst the “world” that existed before the COVID Coup of 2020 – via 35mm microfilm at the New York Public Library. 

Lifshitz’s book containing a wealth of biographical information about all the fallen of the Brigade, I’ve thus far translated four of the profiles within it (for Gamble, Goldring, Koslovitz / Kozlowicz, and Zilberger) so I’m only including – for reference – the page numbers where relevant biographies and photos for each soldier can be found within that book. 
 
“Stepping back”, how did I put this list together? 

I searched the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) database – using Henry Morris’ two books as primary references – for records for every man listed in his chapter “The Palestinian Volunteers”.  Then, I searched the CWGC database using the search string “Palestine Regiment”.  The names and records obtained thus covered soldiers who fell in combat during the Brigade’s military operations in Italy, from March of 1945 through the war’s end, let alone many, many other men (and several women) from the Yishuv (and beyond) whose names don’t appear in this post. 

Being that all (I think all?) CWGC records for military personnel include soldier’s serial numbers – in the case of soldiers from the Yishuv, the serial number typically comprising the prefix “PAL/” followed by a string of digits (e.g. “PAL/16323”) – the next step involved searching the National Library of Israel’s website to find relevant wartime issues of Yishuv newspapers in which the soldier’s name appeared: In English in the Palestine Post, and, in Hebrew in Haaretz and other newspapers. 

So.  Biographical records of varied depth appear below, the record for each man following a format I established in prior posts at this blog.  As such: 

Soldier’s surname, first name, rank, and serial number
Military awards.  (Two of the fallen Brigade soldiers – Eliyahu Herschkovits / Hershkovitz, and, Moshek Josif Zilberberg – received military awards.)
Specific battalion within the Jewish Brigade (if known)
Date on which the soldier was killed in action.  (Mattathiahu Koslovitz / Kozlowicz was wounded on 4/12/45 and passed awayon May 22 of the same year.)
Soldier’s date and place of birth
Soldier’s next of kin, and their place of residence
Soldier’s place of burial
Sources of information about the soldier, with name and date of relevant newspaper, followed by page number in Henry Morris’ books.
(Finally, comments about variations in spelling of a man’s name.) 
 
Note that for a number of the records, no English-language information is available concerning the soldier’s year of birth, next of kin, or place of residence.  This information might … I think … in some cases … maybe … perhaps? … be in The Book of The Jewish Brigade.  

Of the thirty-seven names below, five appeared in The Jewish Chronicle:  WO 2C / Company Sergeant Major Eliyahu Herschkovits / Hershkovitz; Cpl. Chaim Kurtzrock; Pvt. Baruch Lewin; Sgt. Yitzchak Rizhi; and Pvt. Aryeh Shechter.  Though Lieutenant David Anthony Van Gelder was not specifically a member of the Brigade, appearing in the CWGC database under “The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)”, Lifshitz’s book does include his portrait and biography, while he is listed under “The Palestinian Volunteers” in Henry Morris’ book, and, he was killed while serving with the Brigade.  Likewise, the name of WO 2C John Alan Gamble, a Christian soldier serving with the Brigade, appears in both Lifschitz’s and Morris’ books, and will figure in – I hope! – a future blog post covering Jewish military casualties of the 17th of April, 1945.  (“Stay tuned.”)  In addition, information about Corporal Yoseph Lieberman is absent from Lifshitz’s book.  

And so, the names.

Oh, I almost forgot: First, a poem by Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky.  

Every Man Has a Name

זלדה שניאורסון-מישקובסקי
Зельда Шнеерсон-Мишковски

Every man has a name
Given him by God
And given by his father and his mother
Every man has a name
Given him by his stature and his way of smiling,
And given him by his clothes.
Every man has a name
Given him by the mountains
And given him by his walls
Every man has a name
Given him by the planets
And given him by his neighbors
Every man has a name
Given him by his sins
And given him by his longing
Every man has a name given him by those who hate him
And given him by his love
Every man has a name
Given him by his holidays
And given him by his handiwork
Every man has a name
Given him by the seasons of the year
And given him by his blindness
Every man has a name
Given him by the sea
And given him
By his death.

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –

________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________

Botnik, Yaakov (יעקב בוטניק), Pvt., 38562
2nd Battalion
3/20/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,5
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 244-245; We Will Remember Them I – 68, 239
(CWGC as “Butnik, Yaacov”; Palestine Post as “Botnik, Jacob”; We Will Remember Them as “Botnik, Yaakov”)

Brodt, C. (חיים ברודט), L/Cpl. 38528
3rd Battalion
3/20/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,3
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 246-247; We Will Remember Them I – 66
(Palestine Post as “Brod, Chaim”)

____________________

“FROST, WITH A GESTURE STAYS THE WAVES THAT DANCE.”

Gamble, John Alan (ג’ון-אלן גמבל), WO 2C (Battery Sergeant Major), 938393, Royal Artillery
200th Field Regiment
4/17/45
Born 1918
Mrs. Joan Gamble (wife), Kingsbury, Middlesex, England
Mr. and Mrs. Graham and Caroline Susan Gamble (parents)
Forli War Cemetery, Vecchiazzano, Forli, Italy – VI,C,23
Lifshitz – 249-250; We Will Remember Them I – 244
(We Will Remember Them lists name as “Gambel, John Alan”)

(Photo from The Book of the Jewish Brigade, p. 249)

(Photo by FindAGrave researcher bbmir)

John Alan Gamble (ג’ון-אלן גמבל) 938393

(See also this…)

(This is transcribed and translated text from The Book of The Jewish Brigade…)

סרגינט מיגיור גאמבל ג’ון אלאן ז”ל.

נפצע ומת מפצעיו ביום 17 באפריל 1945 בתאונת-דרכים באיטליה.

סוללת התותחנים שלו נסעה לחזית ,וג’ון ,שרכב על אופנוע ,שימש כמפקח-התנועה.  מכוניות השיירה העלו גלי אבק גדולים לאורך הדרך ,שסינוורו את העינים והאופנוע שלו התנגש עם מכונית-משא גדולה והוא נפצע קשה בברכיו ובשוקיו ומת מפצעיו .נקבר בבית-הקברות הצבאי (Forli)  בעיר פורלי.

בן כ”ז במותו  .נוצרי יליד אנגליה  .נתחנד בבית-ספר ברונט שבמאנספילד  .ספורטאי נלהב ,ייצג את בית-ספרו בתחרויות קרירט וכדור רגל והיה חבר פעיל במשד כמה בקלוב חובבי הקריקמ בוודהאוז ;שחייו וצולל מובהק  .עסק לפני התגייסותו בהנהלת-חשבונות  .גשוי  .התגייס לצבא עם פרוץ המלחמה וצורף לחיל התותחנים  .עד שנת 1943 שימש כמדריך בשיעורי-תותחנות בדרום וולס ובאירלנד ,אחר כך נשלח לצפון-אפריקה ושירת במחנה השמיני  .אתר עבר לאיטליה והצמיין באומץ-לב בפעולות בפיזה וזבה על בך באות-ההצטיינות “עלי אשל” ביום 24 באוגוסט 1944  .ושוב הצטיין באומץ-לב זוכה להיוכר בהודעה צבאית ביום 11 בינואר 1945  .כשהחי”ל נכנס לחזית ,צורף אלאן לחיל התותחנים שבחי”ל.

Sergeant Major John Allan Gamble of blessed memory.

He was injured in a car accident in Italy on April 17, 1945 and died of his injuries.

His artillery battery drove to the front, and John, riding a motorcycle, served as traffic inspector.  The convoy cars raised large waves of dust along the road, which dazzled his eyes and his motorcycle collided with a large truck and he was badly injured in his knees and calves and died of his wounds.  He was buried in the military cemetery in the town of Forli.

He was 27 years old at the time of his death.  A Christian born in England.  He became an enthusiastic athlete at the Brunt School in Mansfield. He joined the army when the war broke out and joined the artillery.  Until 1943 he served as an artillery instructor in South Wales and Ireland, then was sent to North Africa and served in the camp “Ali Eshel” on August 24, 1944.  And again he excelled in courage.  He was recognized in a military announcement on January 11, 1945.

____________________

Gilinskas, Gershon Y. (יצחק-גרשון גילינסקי), Pvt., PAL/38500
1st Battalion
Died of wounds 4/13/45
Forli War Cemetery, Vecchiazzano, Forli, Italy – VI,C,19
Haaretz 5/4/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45; Lifshitz – 256-257; We Will Remember Them I – 244; Gelber, 1984 – 320
(CWGC as “Gilinskas, I.G.”; Palestine Post as “Gilinskas, I.”; We Will Remember Them as “Gilinks, Gershon Y”)

Goldbov, Yehuda (משה גולומב גולוב), Pvt., PAL/38690
4/11/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,C,8
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 250-251; We Will Remember Them I – 245
(CWGC as “Golobov, Yehuda”; Palestine Post as “Golobov, Y.”; We Will Remember Them as “Goldbov, Yehuda”)

____________________

Goldring, Uszer (אשר גולדרינג), Pvt., PAL/16323
Missing in Action 3/31/45; Presumably captured; Body never recovered; (Murdered while prisoner of war?)
Born 1910
Mrs. Chana Goldring (wife), Raanana, Israel
Mr. and Mrs. David and Sara Goldring (parents)            
Cassino Memorial, Cassino, Frosinone, Italy – Panel 13
Haaretz 4/27/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45, 4/27/45; Lifshitz – 253-254; We Will Remember Them I – 244
(Palestine Post as “Goldyring, U.”; We Will Remember Them I – 244, as “Goldring, Asher”)

(Photo from The Book of the Jewish Brigade, p. 253)

Uszer Goldring (אשר גולדרינג) PAL/16323

(See also this…)

נעדר בליל יז’ בניסן תש”ה, 31 במארס 1945

משמר בן 12 חיילים מפלוגתו (פלוגה א’ גדוד א’), בפיקוד הסרג’נט לייזר ז”ל, התקיף באותו ערב בית-עמדה אחד בשם “דמפסי” על-יד פוגאנאנא בעמק הסנין.  מטר-אש קטלני מ”שמייסר” ומספר גדול של רימוני-יד ניתכו עליהם ממרחק קטן, ואחד הרימונים פגע בלייזר.  הוא צעק: “נפצעתי, הגישו עזרה ראשונה”.  וגולדרינג הושיטה לו מיד.  לייזר פקד לסגת וממלא מקומו מילא את פקודתו.  אך גולדרינג לא רצה להיפרד מלייזר ועמד לעורתו עד הרגע האחרון.  דבר זה נתגלה בשעה שהמשמר נתרחק מן הבית בתשעים מטר.  החיילים לחזור ולהביאם, אבל מחמת ריבוי הפצועים לא היו מוכשרים להליכה וחזרו לעמדתם.  כעבור זמן-מה יצא משמר לוחם בן 15 אנשים בפיקודו של קצין לחפש את שני הנעדרים ולהביאם אתם.  אבל אלה תעו בדרך והיו מוכרחים לחזור.  עם אור הבוקר הוציאו נושאי אלונקות את לייזר מת, ואילו גולדרינג לא נמצא ועקבותיו לא נודעו עד היום.  אולי בידי הגרמנים והם לקחוהר אתם?  אנו קיווינו שנשבה ונשאר בחיים, אבל עד עתה לא נתקבלה כל ידיעה עליו. 

בן 31 אב לשני ילדים.  לא היה חייב גיוס לפי צו המוסדות.  אבל מצפונו הניעו להתנדב בין הראשונים.  השקיע מרץ רב בעסקנות הצבורית שבין החיילים.  חיוד תמיד בפניו, שקט בתנועותיו וקסם באישיותו.  כשפגע פגז באנשי מחלקתו בתוך הקווים, הגיש הוא את העזרה הראשונה והרגיע את הפצועים.  ביחוד הצטיין ביחסו החברי בשעת פעולות של פאטרול.  אז כל חיוך וכל מלה טובה מרגיעים והוא היה איש ההומור העדין והאופי החזק כאחד. 

__________

He was missing on the night of 17 Nissan [Saturday], March 31, 1945.

A 12-man guard from his company (Company A, 1st Battalion), under the command of the late Sergeant Leiser [Sgt. Shuli Leiser, PAL/17637], attacked a post office “Dempsey” that evening called near Fuganana in the Senin Valley.  A deadly barrage of fire from “Schmeisers” [MP-40 submachine guns] and a large number of hand grenades were fired at them from a short distance, and one of the grenades hit Leiser.  He shouted: “I’ve been injured; first aid.”  And Goldring gave it to him at once.  Leiser ordered a retreat and his deputy fulfilled his order.  But Goldring did not want to part with Leiser and stood alongside him until the last minute.  This was discovered as the guard moved ninety feet away from the house.  The soldiers returned to fetch them, but due to the large number of wounded, they were not able to walk and returned to their position.  Some time later, a 15-man combat guard under the command of an officer set out to search for the two missing and return with them.  But they got lost along the way and had to go back.  At dawn the stretcher-bearers removed the dead Leiser, while Goldring was not found and his traces are not known to this day.  Maybe [he was] in the hands of the Germans and they took him with them?  We had hoped him to have [him] been captured and left alive, but so far no information has been received about him.

A 31 year old father of two children.  Did not have to be recruited by order of the institutions.  But his conscience motivated him to be among the first to volunteer.  He invested a great deal of energy in public activity among the soldiers.  A sharpness always in his face; quiet in his movements and charm in his personality.  When a shell hit members of his platoon inside the lines, he rendered first aid and reassured the wounded.  He especially excelled in his friendly attitude during patrol operations.  So his every smile and every good word was soothing and he was a man of gentle humor and strong character alike.

For further information and speculation about Uszer Goldring’s fate, see this.

____________________

Gorfein, Itzchak (יצחק גורפיין), Cpl., 17583
3rd Battalion
4/12/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,3
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 255-256; We Will Remember Them I – 96, 245
(CWGC as “Gorfain, Itzchak”; Palestine Post as “Gorfajn, I.”; We Will Remember Them as “Gorfein, I”)

____________________

Gustin, Yosef (יוסף (יוסקה) גוסטין גורטין), Cpl., 15149
1st Battalion
3/29/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,2
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Lifshitz – 254-255; We Will Remember Them – 98, 245
(Palestine Post as “Gustin, Y.”)

(Photo via FindAGrave contributor Zvi Ben Moshe)

Yosef Gustin (יוסף (יוסקה) גוסטין גורטין) PAL/15149

(See also this…)

____________________

Herschkovits / Hershkovitz, Eliyahu (אליהו הרשקוביץ), Company Sergeant Major (WO 2C), PAL/38333
Military Medal for Awarded for “Extreme determination and courage in ousting the enemy from a succession of positions on Mount Ghabbeo feature on April 11, 1945.”
4/24/45 (mine explosion in front lines)
Born Ekron, Israel, 1911
Lived at Givat Brenner, Israel
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,7
Al Ha-Mishmar 5/20/45; Davar 5/21/45; HaMashkif 5/20/45; Jewish Chronicle 5/11/45, 6/2/45; Palestine Post 6/13/46; Lifshitz – 257-258; We Will Remember Them I – 102, 246; We Will Remember Them II – 80

(Photo via FindAGrave contributor Zvi Ben Moshe)

Eliyahu Hershkovits / Hershkovitz (אליהו הרשקוביץ) PAL/38333

(See also this…)

____________________

Hirshfeld, Tzvi (צבי הירשפלד), Pvt., 17140
3rd Battalion
4/23/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,6
Lifshitz – 259; We Will Remember Them I – 104, 246
(CWGC as “Hirschfeld, H.”; We Will Remember Them as “Hirshfeld, Tzvi”)

Kahn, J. (יוסף כהן), Cpl., 16706
1st Battalion
Died of wounds 4/7/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,C,5
Haaretz 5/4/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45; Lifshitz – 271-272; We Will Remember Them I – 110
(Palestine Post as “Kahn, J.”)

Kalter, Zalman (זלמן קלטר), Pvt., PAL/38462
3rd Battalion
3/20/45
Coriano Ridge War Cemetery, Riccione, Italy – III,G,10
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 293; We Will Remember Them I – 247
(Palestine Post as “Kaltair, Zalman”)

____________________

Koslovitz / Kozlowicz, Mattathiahu (מתתיהו קוזלוביץ), Cpl., PAL/17467
1st Battalion
Wounded 4/12/45 during crossing of Senio River; Died of wounds 5/22/45
Caserta War Cemetery, Italy – V,B,14
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 292; We Will Remember Them I – 249
(CWGC as “Kozlowicz, M.”; We Will Remember Them as “Koslovitz, Mattathiahu”)

(Photo from The Book of the Jewish Brigade, p. 292)

Mattathiahu Koslovitz / Kozlowicz (מתתיהו קוזלוביץ) PAL/17467

(See also this…)

Died on 6th of Sivan 22.5.1945

He was hit in the chest by a shell as his regiment (the First Regiment) passed the Senio River.  His wound seemed slight: he was moved from one military hospital to another, recovered, and managed to walk.  But when he underwent surgery on 22.5.1945, he died suddenly during the operation.

He came to Israel as a child.  He went to elementary school and later to the “Max Fine” professional school and was also occupied in youth jobs.  He enlisted into the No. 20 infantry unit and like thousands of his comrades, tolerated inaction and guard duty.  When the Jewish Brigade was formed, and especially during the training period in Fuji [sic] he was happy and proud of himself.  He would say: “we have a real army”.  He was promoted to the rank of Corporal at the front line for his dedication and diligence.

Even as a child he was diligent and loved working, and was also loyal and dedicated to his friends and ideals.  He was loved by his friends in his platoon for his kindness, good spirit, cheerfulness, friendly attitude and willingness to help.  At the front line he demonstrated courage and willingness to do any job.  In the many letters he sent to his friends from the hospitals he was in, he expressed his desire to go back to the front lines.

____________________

Kurtzrock, Chaim (חיים קורצרוק), Cpl., 17526    
1st Battalion
3/29/45
Born 1914
Arrived in Eretz Israel in 1933; enlisted 1942

Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,7
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Jewish Chronicle 5/11/45; Lifshitz – 294; We Will Remember Them I – 114, 249
(CWGC as “Kurzrock, Chaim Heinrich”; Palestine Post as “Kurzrock, C.”; We Will Remember Them as “Kurtzrock, Chaim”)

____________________

Leizer, Shuli (שולי לייזר), Sgt., 17637
1st Battalion
3/31/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,8
Haaretz 4/27/45 (as “47637”); Palestine Post 4/27/45, 6/13/46; Lifshitz – 277-278; We Will Remember Them I – 118, 250
(CWGC as “Leiser, S.”; Palestine Post as “Leiser, S.”; We Will Remember Them as “Leizer, Shuli”)

(Photo from The Book of the Jewish Brigade, p. 277)

(Photo by FindAGrave researcher bbmir)

Shuli Leizer (שולי לייזר) PAL/17637

(See also this…)

____________________

Levy, Martin (מיכאל (מרטין) לוי), Sgt., 15160
1st Battalion
3/31/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,4
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Lifshitz – 282-283; We Will Remember Them I – 120, 250
(CWGC as “Levy, M.”; Palestine Post as “Levy, M.”; We Will Remember Them as “Levy, Michael (Martin)”)

Lewin, Baruch (ברוך (בורקה) לוין), Pvt., 38067
1st Battalion
3/30/45
Born 1914
Mr. D. Levin (father), Tel Aviv, Israel
Student at Hebrew University; enlisted 1942
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,6
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Jewish Chronicle 5/11/45; Lifshitz – 280-281; We Will Remember Them I – 122
(Palestine Post as “Levin, B.”)

Lieberman, Yoseph (יוסף ליברמן), Cpl., 38456
3rd Battalion
4/11/45
Born 1921
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,C,7
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; We Will Remember Them I – 122, 250
(CWGC as “Liberman, J.”; Palestine Post as “Liberman, J.”; We Will Remember Them as “Lieberman, Yoseph”)

Mandel, David (דוד מנדל), Pvt., 16641
3rd Battalion
4/12/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,2
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 284-285; We Will Remember Them I – 126, 251
(Palestine Post as “Mandel, D.”)

Mehlman, Moshe (משה מלמן), Sgt., 38412
3rd Battalion
Died of wounds 4/6/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,C,4
Haaretz 5/4/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45; Lifshitz – 281-282; We Will Remember Them I – 130, 252
(CWGC as “Mehlman, M.”; Palestine Post as “Mehlman, N.”; We Will Remember Them as “Melman, Moshe”)

Rabinovitz, Tanchum (תנחום רבינוביץ), Pvt., 17351
3rd Battalion
3/21/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,6
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 298; We Will Remember Them I – 142, 255
(CWGC as “Rabinowicz, Tanchum”; Palestine Post as “Rabinovitch, Tanhum”; We Will Remember Them as “Rabinovitz, Tanchum”)

Rizhi, Yitzchak (יצחק ריז’י), Sgt., 15142
1st Battalion
Died of wounds 3/29/45
Born 1910
From Ayelet Hashachar, Israel
Arrived in Eretz Israel from Poland in 1924; one of the founders of Hanita
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,1
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Jewish Chronicle 5/11/45; Lifshitz – 296-297; We Will Remember Them I – 152, 255; We Will Remember Them II – NL
(CWGC as “Ryzy, Isaac”; Palestine Post as “Ryzy, I.”; We Will Remember Them as “Ryzy, Isaac” and “Rizhi, Yitzchak”)

Rusak, Zeev (זאב (וולף) רוסק), Pvt., 17757
3rd Battalion
3/19/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,1
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 299; We Will Remember Them I – 152, 256
(CWGC as “Russak, Wolf”; Palestine Post as “Russak, Wolf”; We Will Remember Them as “Rusak, Zeev (Wolf)”)

Schleifstein, Asher (אשר שלייפשטיין), Pvt., PAL/15091
1st Battalion
4/7/45
Faenza War Cemetery, Faenza, Italy – VII,A,12
Haaretz 5/4/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45; Lifshitz – 303-304; We Will Remember Them I – 256
(CWGC as “Schleifstein, U.”; Palestine Post as “Schleinstein, U.”; We Will Remember Them as “Schleifstein, Asher”)

Schreer, Schlomo (שלמה שרייער), Pvt., 16727
1st Battalion
4/2/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,C,2
Haaretz 4/27/45; Palestine Post 4/27/45; Lifshitz – 300-301; We Will Remember Them I – 156, 257
(CWGC as “Schreer, S.”; Palestine Post as “Schreer, S.”; We Will Remember Them as “Shrier (Shrir), Shlomo” and “Screer, S”)

Shechter, Aryeh (אריה (ליונה) שכטר), Pvt., 17225
1st Battalion
3/31/45
Kibbutz Shamir, Israel
Born 1920
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,7
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Jewish Chronicle 5/11/45; Lifshitz – 306-307; We Will Remember Them I – 158
(Palestine Post as “Shechter, A.”)

____________________

Shiefer, Moshe (משה שיפר), Pvt., 38478
3rd Battalion
4/6/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – Collective Grave IV,D,5
Haaretz 5/4/45, 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45 (Missing Believed Killed); Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 307-308; We Will Remember Them I – 258; We Will Remember Them II – Not Listed
(CWGC as “Schipper, M.”; Palestine Post as “Shipper, M.”; We Will Remember Them as “Shiefer, Moshe”)

Sima, Yitzchak (יצחק סימא), Pvt., 38081
3rd Battalion
4/6/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – Collective Grave IV,D,5
Haaretz 5/4/45, 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45 (Missing Believed Killed); Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 286-287; We Will Remember Them I – 258
(Palestine Post as “Sima, I.”)

The collective grave of Privates Moshe Shiefer, Yitzhak Sima, and Moshe Ernest Wadel, and, Lieutenant David Anthony Van Gelder, from The Book of the Jewish Brigade (p. 262).  According to biographies of the four men at The Commemoration Site of Fallen Defense and Security Forces of Israel, they were killed when their “improved position”, on the bank of the Senio River, was bombed (?) by the Germans and set on fire.

__________

 

As can be seen in this image from FindAGrave, Moshe and Yitzhak are buried together… (Photo by FindAGrave researcher bbmir)

Moshe Shiefer (משה שיפר) 38478

(See also this…)

…and…

Yitzhak Sima (יצחק סימא) 38081

(See also this…)

____________________

Van Gelder, David Anthony (דוד-אנטוני ואן-גלדר), Lieutenant, 293265
The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
4/6/45
Born 1924
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Leonard and Rebecca Van Gelder (parents), Caterham, Surrey, England
242 Finchley Road, London, NW3, England
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – Collective Grave IV,D,5
The Jewish Chronicle 5/4/45; Lifshitz –263-264; We Will Remember Them I – 170, 260
(We Will Remember Them as “Van-Gelder, David A”; CWGC as “Van Gelder, Anthony David”.  Not listed as member of Palestine Regiment or Jewish Brigade, but in Lifschitz’s book.)

Wadel, Moshe Ernest (משה-ארנסט ואדל), Pvt., 38479
3rd Battalion
4/6/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – Collective Grave IV,D,5
Haaretz 5/4/45; Palestine Post 5/6/45 (Missing Believed Killed); Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 261; We Will Remember Them I – 172, 261; FindAGrave
(CWGC as “Wadel, Moshe”; Palestine Post as “Wadel, I.”; We Will Remember Them as “Wadel, M.” and “Wedel, Moshe”)

_____

…while David Anthony and Moshe Ernest share the same resting place.  (Photo by FindAGrave researcher bbmir)

David Anthony Van Gelder (דוד-אנטוני ואן-גלדר) 293265

(See also this…)

…and…

Moshe Ernest Wadel (משה-ארנסט ואדל) 38479

(See also this…)

____________________

Sulgaser, T.Y. (יעקב שולגסר), Pvt., 17809
3rd Battalion
3/20/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,4
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 304-305; We Will Remember Them I – 168
(Palestine Post as “Sulgash, Jacob”)

Sznejer, J.C.H. (יוסף-חיים שניאור), Cpl., 16789
1st Battalion
3/31/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,8
Haaretz 4/27/45; Palestine Post 4/27/45; Lifshitz – 301-302; We Will Remember Them I – 168
(CWGC as “Sznejer, J.C.H.”; Palestine Post as “Sznejer, J.”; We Will Remember Them as “Sznejer, J.C.H.”)

Tankelis, Zelig (זליג טנקל), Pvt., 16160
2nd Battalion
Died of wounds 4/13/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,4
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 269-270; We Will Remember Them I – 168, 259
(CWGC as “Tankelis, Z.”; Palestine Post as “Tankelis, Z.”; We Will Remember Them as “Tenkel, Zelig”)

____________________

Weksler, Eliyahu (אליהו וקסלר), Cpl., 38621
3rd Battalion
4/11/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,D,1
Haaretz 5/15/45; Palestine Post 5/15/45; Lifshitz – 264-265; We Will Remember Them I – 174, 261
(CWGC gives name as “Weksler, E.”; Palestine Post as “Weksler, E.”; We Will Remember Them gives name as “Weksler, E.” (p. 174) and “Wechsler, Eliyahu” (p. 261))

Wieshbinski, M. (מיכאל ויז’בייסקי איזביצקי), Pvt., 17427
1st Battalion
3/29/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,3
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Lifshitz – 243-244; We Will Remember Them I – 174
(Palestine Post as “Wieshbinski, M.”)

Yaacoby, Nachum (מנחם יעקבי ברגר), Pvt., 14103
1st Battalion
Died of wounds 3/30/45
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,B,5
Haaretz 4/13/45; Palestine Post 4/13/45; Lifshitz – 272; We Will Remember Them I – 106, 262
(CWGC as “Jaacovi, Nachum”; Palestine Post as “Yaacovi, N.”; We Will Remember Them as “Yaacoby, Nachum”)

____________________

Zilberberg, Moshek Josif (משה זילברברג), Pvt., PAL/15435, Stretcher-Bearer, Military Medal
2nd Battalion
3/20/45 (“…he was shot dead by a sniper as he went into no-man’s land with a Red Cross flag in his hand to bring back a wounded man.”)
Ravenna War Cemetery, Piangipane, Ravenna, Italy – IV,A,2
Haaretz 4/1/45, 4/5/45, 4/13/45, 6/13/46; Palestine Post 4/2/45; Lifshitz – 266-267; We Will Remember Them I – 178, 263
(Palestine Post as “Silberberg, Moshe”)

_____

(Photo from The Book of the Jewish Brigade, p. 266)

(Photo by FindAGrave researcher bbmir)

Moshek Josif Zilberberg (משה זילברברג) PAL/15435 

(See also this…)

נפל ביום ו’ בניסן תש”ה, 20 במארס 1945

Friday, April 20, 1945 / Yom Shishi, 7th Iyar, 5705

ביום 19 במארס 1945, ה’ בניסן תש”ה ערכה פלוגתו (פלוגה ג’ של הגדוד השני) התקפה גלויה על האויב במטרה להגיע עד התעלה, שמאחוריה נתבצרו הגרמנים.  משה הוציא באלונקות את חבריו הפצועים משדה הקרב, פעם אחר פעם, מתוך סיכון-נפש תחת מטר כדורים והפצצות.  עם תום המערכה נשאר מרצונו הטוב בשדה וחיכה לאחרוני השבים כדי להראות להם את המעבר הנוח והבטוח ביותר לשוב בו.  באותו ערב אמר לחבר: ,,כנראה שאני מחוסן בפני כדירים, כי יצאתי היום שלם ממטר כדורים,,.  המיגיור האנגלי, מפקד פלוגתו, הביע באותו ערב הערכה לאומץ-לבו של משה והמליץ להעניק לו אות-הצטיינות.  למחרת היום, ב-20 במארס, כשחידשה פלוגתו את ההתקפה על האויב, חידש גם הוא את מעשי גבורתו ורץ גלוי לעיני האויב מפצוע לפצוע, כשדגל צלב האדום בידו.  אחד החיילים נפצע ונאנק, ו על אף אזהרות חבריו שלא להסתכן, יצא להגיש לו עזרה.  בו ברגע פגע בו כדור אויב והרגו במקום, ודגל הצלב האדום בידו.  אחרי מותו נתכבד באות ההצטיינות הצבאי

נולד בשנת , עם פרוץ מלחמת-העולם הראשונה, בפלונסק שבפולניה להורים דתיים, קיבל חינוך דתי ולמד בישיבה, ויחד עם זה מעורה היה בתנועת-נוער ציונות מימי ילדותו.  בגיל 18 היה בין מייסדי פלוגות ההכשרה בנאדבורנה (גליציה).  בשנת 1935 עלה לארץ ועבד כפועל.  כשפרצו המאורעות בארץ בשנת 1936 היה פעיל בשורות הבטחון.  בשנים 1938-1939 עבד כנוטר.  פעם בעמדו על משמרתו ביער להגן על אחת הנקודות עם עוד חבר מחברין, הותקפו על-ידי כנופיה ערבית והחבר נפל מת ומשה שנפצע קשה המשיך לירות עד שהדף את המתקיפים ואחר כך הרכיב את חברו על כתפיו והביאו אל המושבה.  אותו פצע כמעט הטרידו מן העולם והרופאים אמרו נואש לחיין ,אך הוא חפץ חיים היה ובשארית כוחותיו נלחם במוות ויוכל לו.  כאשר החלים ציינו כולם את הדבר כנס ופלא.  לאחר שהבריא חזר לנוטרות.  כשקמה תנועת הגיוס ל,,באפס,, התגייס ואמר לאשתו: ,,נולדתי בתקופת מלחמה ואני מוכרח להילחם,,.  באוקטוכר 1944 עבר יחד עם גדודו לחי”ל. 

ספר וחזן ונושא-אלונקות היה בחטיבה, ובכל המקצועות האלה נצטיין הן מבחינת הידיעה והן מבחינת המסירות.  כספר היה חביב על כל החיילים והקצינים.  בהיותו בעל קול ערב ומוכשר, היה עובר לפני התיבה כחזן קבוע בבית-הכנסת של הגדוד השני והיה מנעים את התפילות לפני קהל החיילים.  כל אנשי הגדוד השני זטכרים לו לטוכה את התפילות, שעוך בימים הנוראים ובמועדיה לפי המנגינות המסורתיות.  ביחוד נחקקה בזכרונם תפילת ,,כל נדרי,, בליל הכיפורים תש”ה במדבר המערבי בין בנגזי לדרנה תחת כיפת השמים, בשעת מסעם מתחותם הישנה אל-עבייר ליד בנגזי לבורג-אל-ערב, מקום רכוז החטיבה (לעיל פרק’ סעיף ב’).  במשך שירותו בצבא שמר על קשרים עם המסורת ועם החיילים הדתיים.  עם אירגונו של הגרעין הדתי להתישבות נצטרף אליו.  כנושא-אלונקות בז היה לפגזי האויב וצעד בגלוי לחבוש פצועים נקובי-כדורים, זבידם ומחוסרי-הכרה, לחוקם ולעודדם.  ולא חלילה מפני שמאס בחיים התנהג כך, להיפך, חפץ חיים היה, כאמור, אלא לנקום רצה מידי הגרמנום אם דם משפחתו ודם בית ישראל, שנשפך בפולנוה, כדכריו במכתבו לביתו מיום 10 במארס 1945: ,,ביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה נלך קדימה עד נצחוננו הגמור על אויבינו,,.  והיות והוא עצמו לא היה לוחם, רצה להציל לוחמום, שיוכלו הם להרוג ולהשמיד את צוררי היהודים, גם טוב-לבו הביאהו להקרבת עצמו. 

לבו ניבא לו את מותו.  בשעת ביקורו האחרון בביתו אמר לרעיתו: ,,הקריירה שלי כבר נגמרה,,. כן הביע את חרדתו לגורלו במכתביו האחרונים מקווי החזית.  נזכרהו כאחד מבני-העם האלמונים והצנועים, שקידש במותו את גבורת ישראל. 

__________

He fell on Friday, March 20, 1945

On March 19, 1945, the fifth of Nisan 5705, his company (Company C of the Second Battalion) made an open attack on the enemy in order to reach the canal (Fosso Vetro), behind which the Germans were fortified.  Moshe retrieved his wounded comrades from the battlefield on stretchers, time and time again, under mental danger beneath a barrage of bullets and bombs.  At the end of the campaign he remained of his own free will in the field and waited for the last of the returnees, to show them the easiest and safe passage to return.  That evening he said to a friend: “Apparently I am vaccinated against bullets, because I remained out of the “rain” for a whole day.”  The English major, the commander of his company, that evening expressed appreciation for Moshe’s courage and recommended that he be awarded the Medal of Excellence.  The next day, on March 20, when his company resumed its attack on the enemy, he also resumed his heroic deeds and ran openly in front of the enemy from wounded to wounded, with the Red Cross flag in his hand.  One of the soldiers was wounded and groaned, and despite warnings from his comrades not to take the risk, went out to help him.  At that moment an enemy bullet hit him and killed on the spot, with the Red Cross flag in his hand.  After his death we will be honored with the Medal of Merit [Military Medal; M.M.].

Born in the same year, with the outbreak of World War I, in Płońsk, Poland, to religious parents, he received a religious education and studied in a yeshiva, and at the same time he was involved in the Zionist youth movement from his childhood.  At the age of 18 he was one of the founders of the training companies in Nadborna (Galicia).  In 1935 he immigrated to Israel and worked as a laborer.  When the events in the country broke out in 1936, he was active in the security ranks.  In the years 1938-1939 he worked as a notary.  Once standing on his guard in the woods to defend one of the points with another friend of theirs, they were attacked by an Arab gang and the friend fell dead, and Moshe who was badly wounded continued to shoot until he repelled the attackers and then mounted his friend on his shoulders and brought him to the colony.  The same wound was almost took him from the world and the doctors said his life was desperate, but he wanted to live and with the rest of his strength he fought death.  When he recovered, everyone mentioned the conversation with wonder.  After recovering he returned to Notre Dame.  When the recruitment movement for “Buffs” arose, he enlisted and said to his wife: “I was born in a time of war and I have to fight.”  In October 1944, he moved with his battalion to the army.

Sefer and Hazan and a member of stretcher-bearers in the division, and in all these professions he would excel both in terms of knowledge and dedication.  As a sefer he was a favorite of all the soldiers and officers.  Having a deep voice and being talented, he would pass in front of the ark as a regular cantor in the synagogue of the Second Battalion and would recite the prayers in front of the soldiers.  All the members of the second battalion remember the prayers for him, which are sung during the days of awe and times according to the traditional melodies.  In particular, the prayer “Kol Nidre” was engraved in their memory on the night of Yom Kippur 5755 in the western desert between Benghazi and Darna in the open air, during their journey from their old stretch of al-Abiyar near Benghazi to Burg-al-Arab.  During his service in the army he maintained ties with tradition and with religious soldiers. With the organization of the religious nucleus for settlement, he will join it.  As the subject of stretcher-bearers he was to the enemy shells and openly marched to carry the bullet-ridden and unconscious wounded; to arm and encourage them.  And, not God forbid, because he was tired of life behaving like this, on the contrary, Hefetz Chaim was, as mentioned, but seeking revenge from the Germans for the blood of his family and the blood of Beit Yisrael, spilled in Poland, as he wrote in his letter to his home dated March 10, 1945: “On our enemies …”  And since he himself was not a warrior, he wanted to save warriors, so that they could kill and destroy the oppressors of the Jews; even his kindness led him to sacrifice himself.

His heart foretold his death.  During his last visit to his home, he told his wife: “My career is over”.  He also expressed his anxiety about his fate in his recent letters from the front lines.  He is remembered as one of the anonymous and humble people who consecrated the heroism of Israel in his death.

________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________

References

“Gelber 1984” – Gelber, Yoav, Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army During the Second World War – Volume IV – Jewish Volunteers in British Forces, World War II, Yav Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, Jerusalem, Israel, 1984

Lifshitz, Jacob (יעקב, ליפשיץ), The Book of the Jewish Brigade: The History of the Jewish Brigade Fighting and Rescuing [in] the Diaspora (Sefer ha-Brigadah ha-Yehudit: ḳorot ha-ḥaṭivah ha-Yehudit ha-loḥemet ṿeha-matsilah et hagolah ((גולהה קורות החטיבה היהודית הלוחמת והמצילה אתספר הבריגדה היהודית)), Shim’oni (שמעוני), Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1950

“We Will Remember Them I” – Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, London, England, 1989

“We Will Remember Them II” – Morris, Henry, Edited by Hilary Halter, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945 – An Addendum, AJEX, London, England, 1994

Prisoners of War – Armies and Other Land Forces of The British Empire, 1939-1945 (“All Lists Corrected Generally Up to 30th March 1945), J.B. Hayward & Son, in Association with The Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books, Polstead, Suffolk, England, 1990 (First published in 1945 by His Majesty’s Stationary Office)

The Reconstruction of Memory: Soldiers of Aufbau – Views of the Past

And, yet more news from Aufbau.

Or, should I say more “views” from Aufbau?

Following the theme of my prior posts concerning the World War Two German exile newspaper Aufbau (“Construction”), such as this and this, here – based on my review of the on-line version of the periodical – is a list of the 252 new items published from December of 1939 through March of 1946 that were accompanied by, or much more often solely comprised of, photographs.  The original German text accompanying each image appears as boldface, and is followed by my English-language translation (which was not – ! – published in Aufbau).

As an example, one of the photographs listed below is captioned “Eine Fliegende Festung kehrt beschadigt zuruck (Harris Goldberg) (“A Flying Fortress Returns Damaged – (Harris Goldberg)”).  The man referred to was Sergeant Harris Benjamin Goldberg (10601005) of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, who served as a Wellington air gunner in Number 70 Squadron Royal Air Force (in which he completed 42 missions), and subsequently in the 8th Air Force of the United States Army Air Force, as a B-17 Flying Fortress tail gunner in the 306th and 482nd Bomb Groups (in which he completed a combined total of 21 missions), and finally 384th Bomb Group (in which he flew six missions).

Sergeant Goldberg appears in the image below, published in the September 8, 1944 issue of Aufbau.  Typical of newspaper photographs, the image was printed as a halftone photo.  Thus, it’s kind of fuzzy. 

____________________

Here’s a vastly better version of the same photo, as published in The First of the Many in 1944.    

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Another picture of Sergeant Goldberg and the damaged B-17 is Army Air Force photo B25804AC (A5514).  Though the caption lists the date of the image as July 15, 1943, this damage actually occurred during the 306th Bomb Group’s mission to the Villacoublay Aircraft Repair Depot at Paris, France, on July 14, 1943, the aircraft having been B-17F 42-29959 (the un-nicknamed GY * M) of the 367th Bomb Squadron, piloted by 1 Lt. W.W. Thomas.  As recorded in the crew’s Interrogation Form, “Our dorsal fin (vertical stabilizer) blown half away by 20mm from 190 a few seconds before secondary [target].”  Though the aircraft was also struck by flak in the radio room, fortunately, there were no injuries to any of the bomber’s crew. 

____________________

And so, the list of photos.  A story and more could be written about every one.  

Date Title
12/39 Auf Der Wacht (“On The Watch”)
4/40 Training in Palästina (“Training in Palestine”)
5/40 Für Palästina und England! (“For Palestine and England!”)
5/40 Unbesiegte polnische Fahnen (“Undefeated Polish Flags”)
6/40 Massenmeeting Jabotinsky-Patterson
8/40 Der Segen des Rabbi – Die judischen Soldaten der französischen Armee trafen sich vor ihrer Demobilisierung noch einmal bei einem Gottesdienst und beteten für Frankreich  (“The blessing of the rabbi – The Jewish soldiers of the French army met before their demobilization once again during a service and prayed for France (“The Blessing of the Rabbi”)”)
11/40 Den Nazis mitten ins Herz (“The Nazis in the middle of the heart”)
12/40 Jüdische Scharfschutzen werden in Palästina ausgebildet (“Jewish Snipers are Trained in Palestine”)
12/40 Ahasverus 1940
12/40 Der Rabbiner von Harlem – Rabbi Matthews, der die jüdische Negersynagoge in Harlem leitet und über dessen Predigten wir des öfteren berichtet haben.  (“The Rabbi of Harlem – Rabbi Matthews, who directs the Jewish Negro synagogue in Harlem and whose sermons we have often reported.”)
2/41 In der jüdischen Fliegerschule in New Jersey (“In the Jewish Flying School in New Jersey”)
3/41 Wir reiten…  Wir reiten…  (“We Ride… We Ride…”)
5/41 Wacht am Jordan (“Watch on the Jordan [River]”)
7/41 Zum kampf für Unabhängigkeit und Freiheit – Jüdische Soldaten der palästinenischen Armee auf einem Uebungsmarsch (“On the struggle for Independence and Freedom – Jewish Soldiers of the Palestinian Army on a Practice March”)
8/41 Palästinas Jüden in Waffen (“Palestinian Jews at Arms”)
8/41 Der Geist Von 5701 Wird Der Geist Von 5702 Sein (Photo used in Pierre Van Paassen’s “The Fighting Jew“) (“The Spirit of 5701 Will be The Spirit of 5702”) 
12/41 Jüdische Soldaten marschieren – Wahrend der in Palästina Mitte Oktober abgehaltenen Rekrutierungswoche haben judische Soldaten im Atadion von Tel-Aviv eine Parade abgehalten (“Jewish soldiers marching – During the recruitment week held in Palestine in mid-October, Jewish soldiers held a parade in the Atadion of Tel-Aviv”)
12/41 Colonel M.J. Mendelsohn
12/41 Eine jüdische Sanitats-Kolonne (“A Jewish Medical Column”)
12/41 Sie verteidigen ihre Heimet (“They Defended Their Home”)
12/41 Frauen in Uniform (“Women in Uniform”)
3/42 Jüdische Rekrutinnen des Auxiliary Territorial Service (“Jewish recruits of the Auxiliary Territorial Service”)
5/42 Ein amerikanischer Volksheld – Meyer Levin (“An American National Hero – Meyer Levin”)
5/42 Frauen Im Krieg (“Woman at War”)
5/41 Wacht am Jordan  (“Watch on the Jordan”)
6/42 Aufbruch zur Front: Taglich rucken neue judische Einheiten ins Feld (“On the Way to the Front: New Jewish units Jostle in the Field”)
6/42 Unter der weiss-blauen Fahne auf der Wacht an der palästinenischen Küste – Neun Schiffe der jungen jüdischen Handelsflotte sind im Dienst der britischen Marine (“Under the White-Blue Flag on Guard on the Palestinian Coast – Nine Ships of the young Jewish Merchant Fleet are serving the British Navy”)
6/42 Vor dem Rekrutierugnsburo der Jewish Agency (“Before the Recruiting Bureau of the Jewish Agency”)
6/42 Die Ernte (“The Harvest”)
7/42 Private Louis Schleifer
8/42 Die WAACS in Erez Israel heissen PATS (“The WAACS [Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps] in the Land of Israel are called PATS” [Palestine Auxiliary Territorial Service])
8/42 Helden unserer Zeit – Es bekamen die hochsten amerikanirshen Orden (Caplan, Friedman, Frumkin, Isquith, Kramer, Levin, Mark, Schleifer, York) (“Heroes of Our Time – They Received the Highest American Medals”)
8/42 Im Schatten des Migdal David – Judsiche Soldaten des palästinenischen Buffs-Regiment trainieren zum Kampf gegen Rommel.  Von 584,000 Juden in Palästina dienen 47,000 Männer und Frauen in der Landesverteidigung.  (“In the shadow of the Tower of David – Jewish soldiers of the Palestinian Buffs Regiment train to fight Rommel.  Of 584,000 Jews in Palestine, 47,000 men and women serve in the defense of the country.”)
9/42 Jüdisch-palästinensische Soldaten in New York (Bonah, Leichter, Puttermilk, Schwarz) (“Jewish-Palestinian Soldiers in New York”)
11/42 Zwei Momente vom “Meyer Levin Day” in Brooklyn (“Two Moments From “Meyer Levin Day” in Brooklyn”)
11/42 Flugabwehr-Geschutz im Kampf (“Anti-Aircraft Defense in Combat”)
11/42 Jüdische Freiwillige vom Buff-Regiment im Angriff (“Jewish Volunteers from the Buff Regiment in the Attack”)
11/42 Jüdische Soldaten aller Nationen in der alten Synagoge von Jerusalem vor dem Gottesdienst (“Jewish Soldiers of all Nations in the Old Synagogue of Jerusalem before Worship”)
11/42 Palästinensische Schützen: Blaue Bohnen für Rommel (“Palestinian Gunners: Blue Beans [?] for Rommel”)
11/42 So wurde für den Kampf trainiert: Ueberwindung von Hindernissen in voller Marschausrüstung (“Thus was Trained for the Battle: Overcoming Obstacles in Full March Equipment”)
11/42 Er sol die Hungrigen speisen (“He Should Feed the Hungry”)
12/42 Ehrung eines judischen Helden (Samuel B. Frankel) (“Tribute to a Jewish Hero”)
12/42 First Lieutenant Roy Bright
12/42 Ein Freund des judischen Volkes (Pierre von Paassen) (“A Friend of the Jewish People (Pierre von Paassen)”)
12/42 Refugee unterrichtet “Judo” (“Refugees Teach “Judo””)
1/43 Die jüdische Frau marschiert – Mitglieder der PATS bei einer Demonstration durch die Strassen Tel Avivs (“The Jewish Woman Marches – Members of the PATS during a Demonstration through the Streets of Tel Aviv”)
2/43 Sprechende Mauern – “WE ASK FOR A JEWISH ARMY” (“Talking Walls – “We Ask for a Jewish Army””)
2/43 Corp. Peter O. Binswanger
2/43 98 Stars – 98 Immigrant Soldiers
3/43 P-40 “Loyalty” (“P-40 [Warhawk Fighter Plane] “Loyalty””)
3/43 P-40 “Loyalty” (“P-40 [Warhawk Fighter Plane] “Loyalty””)
3/43 In Hoc Signo Vinces – P-40 “Loyalty” (“In This Sign You Will Conquer – P-40 [Warhawk Fighter Plane] “Loyalty””)
4/43 Russland ehrt einen judischen General (Lev Dovator postal stamp) (“Russia Honors a Jewish General”)
4/43 Der fruhere osterreichische Boxmeister Bobby Spuner bei den Pionieren (“The Former Austrian Boxing Champion Bobby Spuner Among the Pioneers”)
4/43 Erstes Training am Maschinengewehr (“First Training on the Machine-Gun”)
5/43 A Girl in the Army (Della Lorig)
5/43 An Artist in the Army (Eric Rosenblith)
5/43 Twins in the Army (Heinz and Erich Vorsanger)
5/43 Ein Oelgemalde des judischen Helden Meyer Levin (“An Oil Painting of the Jewish Hero Meyer Levin”)
6/43 Ein Jüdischer Indianertempel – Unter dem hölzernen Magen David dieses Temples in Mexico: der Rabbiner dieser Indianer jüdischen Glaubens und (links) E.E. Kisch, der ihn “entdeckt” hat  (“A Jewish Indian temple – Under the wooden Star of David of this temple in Mexico: The rabbi of these Indians of Jewish faith and (left) E.E. Kish, who “discovered” it”)
6/43 Hakenkreuz und Palme sind die Insignia des Afrikakorps (Herman Noschkes) (“Swastika and Palm are the Insignia of the Afrika Corps (Herman Noschkes)”)
6/43 Im Gefecht verwundet (“Wounded in Battle”)
7/43 Petty Officer Harry Heyman und seine Frau Martha (“Petty Officer Harry Heyman and his wife Martha”)
8/43 Private John Goetz
8/43 Jüdischer Matrosen-Gottesdienst – “Irgendwo in den Vereinigten Staaten” wohnen Matrosen der U.S. Navy einem jüdischen Gottesdienst bei.  Jedem der Dienstweige der amerikanischen Wermacht sind jüdische, katholische und protestantische Geistliche zugeteilt, die für die religiösen Bedürfnisse der Soldaten sorgen.  (“Jewish Seamans’ Service – “Somewhere in the United States” seamen of the U.S. Navy at a Jewish service. To each of the servants of the American power are assigned Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant clerics who care for the religious needs of the soldiers.”)
8/43 Im Dienst des Landes – Theodore Katz (“In the Service of the Country – Theodore Katz”)
9/43 Goldstrom, Hirschmann, Leib, Leiser, Loven, Pfifferling, Wollenberg
9/43 Palästinensische Matrosen, die als Freiwillige in der englischen Navy dienen, tanzen in ihrer Freizeit eine Horrah (Photo via National Labor Committee for Palestine) (“Palestinian Sailors, who serve as Volunteers in the English Navy, dance a hora in Their Spare Time
10/43 Dein Blut hilft ihnen! (“Your Blood Helps Them”)
11/43 Rosch Hoschanah-Feld-Gottesdienst im sudlichen Pazifik (Signal Corps Photo) (“Rosh Hashanah Field Religious Service in the Southern Pacific”)
11/43 Der Tod für die Freiheit (Pvt. Ernest Lilienstein) (“Death for Freedom (Pvt. Ernest Lilienstein)”)
12/43 Loyalty in Action
12/43 Der letzte Brief des Private Herz (“The Last Letter of Private Herz”)
12/43 Wie George Wolf fiel – Leben und Ende eines deutschjüdischen Kriegsfreiwilligen, der für die Freiheit starb (“As George Wolf Fell – The life and End of a German-Jewish War Volunteer who Died for Freedom”)
12/43 Die jüdische Frau kämpft mit – In einer Minenfabrik in Palästina helfen die Frauen bei der Herstellung und Füllung von Landminen (“The Jewish Woman Fights With – In a Mine Factory in Palestine, Women Help with the Production and Filling of Land-Mines”)
12/43 2,500 jüdische Matrosen der U.S. Navy feierten Chanukka in der Naval Training Station, Sampson, N.Y. (“2,500 Jewish Sailors of the U.S. Navy celebrated Hanukkah in the Naval Training Station, Sampson, N.Y.”)
1/44 Werner Cahn gefallen (“Werner Cahn, Fallen”)
1/44 Jüdische WAAF in Palästina – Ein Mitglied der WAAF mit der hebräischen Achselklappe “Erez Israel” (Photo: British Combine) (“Jewish WAAF in Palestine – A member of the WAAF with the Hebrew Epaulet “Erez Israel” (Photo: British Combine)”)
1/44 Sein letzter Urlaub – Ludwig Lesser in treuer Pflichterfüllung im Camp gestorben (“His Last Leave – Ludwig Lesser Died in a Loyal Service at Camp”)
2/44 Richard Fromm
2/44 In Italien gefallen – Otto W. Steinberg (“Fallen in Italy – Otto W. Steinberg”)
2/44 Vor Cassino verwundet (Peter Rosenberg) (“Wounded Before Cassino”)
3/44 Pvt. Henry Heymann
3/44 Alle Vier Sohne in der Armee (Fred, Gunther, Henry, and Kurt Marcus) (“All Four Sons in the Army”)
3/44 Der 69jahrige RAF-Wing Commander, Lionel Cohen (“The 69-year-old RAF Wing Commander, Lionel Cohen”)
3/44 Die 19j. jugoslawische Guerillakämpferin Vera Krizman (aus Laibach gehört zu den Streitkräften den Generals Tito, die am Isonzo gegen die Nazis kämpfen. – Vera Krizman hat 19 Nazi-Soldaten abgeschossen.) (Photo: Signal Corps Photo from OWI [Office of War Information])  (“The 19 year old Yugoslav guerrilla warrior Vera Krizman from Ljubljana belongs to the armed forces of General Tito, who are fighting against the Nazis on the Isonzo – Vera Krizman shot down 19 Nazi soldiers.)  (Photo: Signal Corps Photo from OWI [Office of War Information])”)
4/44 Sgt. Ernest Leopold Palm
5/4 Zweimal Sgt. Richard Stern – in der kaiserlichen deutschen Armee in Ersten Weltkrieg und als amerikanischer Soldat in Zweiten Weltkrieg  (“Sgt. Richard Stern Twice – In the Imperial German Army in the First World War and as an American Soldier in World War II”)
5/44 In Burma gefallen – Pvt. Heinz A. Sander (“Fallen in Burma – Pvt. Heinz A. Sander”)
5/44 Corp. Harold Monash
5/44 Pvt. Eric M. Heilbronn
5/44 Pvt. Ernest Strauss
5/44 Die erste RAF-Synagoge (“The First R.A.F. Synagogue”)
5/44 Einer von Vielen – Guenther L. Schleimer – Held von Anzio Beachhead (“One of Many – Guenther L. Schleimer – Hero of the Anzio Beachhead”)
6/44 Lt. Abraham Condiotti
6/44 Der Konig und die Konigin von England (Martin Engel) (“The King and Queen of England”)
6/44 Pvt. Eric Hirschmann
7/44 Ein Sohn des judisches Volkes (Ivan D. Chernyakhovsky) (“A Son of the Jewish People”)
7/44 Für ihre neue Heimat gefallen (Bruno Loeb; William B. Flesch) (“Fallen for Their New Home”)
7/44 Ein Nazi aus meiner Wohnung! – Breslauer U.S. Soldat trifft Breslauer Nazi Soldaten (Howard Fischer) (“A Nazi from My Apartment! – Breslauer U.S. Soldier meets Breslauer Nazi Soldiers (Howard Fischer)”)
7/44 Mit dem Purple Heart ausgezeichnet (Kurt Abraham; Julius Dukas) (“Excellent with the Purple Heart”)
8/44 Der Gruss an das Land der Freiheit – Die Flüchtlinge sehen Amerika  (“The Greeting to the Land of Freedom – The Refugees see America”)
8/44 Cpl Robert Maerz der am D-Day in Frankreich gefallen ist (“Cpl. Robert Maerz, who died on D-Day in France”)
8/44 Fur die neue Heimat gefallen (PFC Martin Muller) (“Fallen for the New Homeland”)
8/44 Fur die neue Heimat gefallen (Pvt. Harry Gunther) (“Fallen for the New Homeland”)
8/44 Pvt. Renate Benisch
8/44 PFC Peter Rosenberg, der am Rapido Fluss bei Cassino verwundet wurde (“PFC Peter Rosenberg, who was wounded at the Rapido River near Cassino”)
8/44 Kurt Lesser, Technician 3rd Grade
8/44 Ernst Mandowsky
8/44 Master Sergeant Charles Stoll und Corporal Liebenstein, die gemeinsam mit ihren Lieutenant 32 Nazis gefangen genommen haben (“Master Sergeant Charles Stoll and Corporal Liebenstein, who Captured 32 Nazis together with Their Lieutenant”)
8/44 Pvt. Emanuel Reder
8/44 Von Cassino heimgekehrt (Hermann Rosenberg) (“Coming Home from Cassino (Herman Rosenberg)”)
9/44 Der Kriegstod Egon Bruenells (“The Military Death of Egon Bruenell”)
9/44 Edward J. Frosh
9/44 Pvt. Arthur Ullendorf
9/44 Fliegeroffizier Arthur I Goldman (“Flying Officer Arthur I. Goldman”)
9/44 PFC Ernest Pessel
9/8/44 Eine Fliegende Festung kehrt beschadigt zuruck (Harris Goldberg) (“A Flying Fortress Returns Damaged – (Harris Goldberg)”)
9/44 Rosch Haschonah an der alliierten Schlachtfront (“Rosh Hashanah on the Allied Battlefront”)
9/44 Heniz Thannhauser
9/44 Pvt. Josef E. Kahn
9/44 Pvt. Kurt Reinheimer
9/44 Captain I. Fissanovich
9/44 U.S. Fliegerleutnant Jakob Gotthold (“U.S. Flight Lieutenant Jakob Gotthold”)
10/44 PFC Alfred Hirsch
10/44 Nachrichten von unseren Boys (Driver Walter Bingham, Bill Leib, Cpl. Walter Fleischmann (“News From Our Boys”)
10/44 Corporal Joseph Catton
10/44 Die American Legion bietet den JWV für den Kampf gegen intoleranz ihre Hilfe an  (“The American Legion offers the JWV their help in the Fight against Intolerance”)
10/44 Pro Libertate – Pvt. Bertold Adler (“For Freedom – Pvt. Bertold Adler”)
10/44 Pro Libertate – Pvt. Gerhard Buehler (“For Freedom – Pvt. Gergard Buehler”)
10/44 PFC Julius Jonas
11/44 PFC Henry L. Hanauer
11/44 Pvt. Paul H. Hertz
11/44 Die Jüdische Brigade Marschiert – Die erste, innerhalb der britischen Armee gebildete jüdische Brigade, bei einer Parade (Photo: British Combine)  (“The Jewish Brigade Marches – The First Jewish Brigade formed within the British Army, at a Parade (Photo: British Combine)”)
12/44 Cpl. Eric Nathan
12/44 S/Sgt. Kurt Popper
12/44 Anneliese Ostrogorski
12/44 Pvt. Fred M. Harlam – Als 4-F fur die Freiheit gefallen (“Private Fred M. Harlam – A 4-F Fallen for Freedom”)
1/45 Sgt. Paul Mayer
1/45 Zwei Refugee-Soldaten helfen bei der Eroberung von Metz (Strauss, Tillinger) (“Two Refugee Soldiers Assist in the Conquest of Metz”) (Strauss, Tillinger)
1/45 PFC Henry Menkes
1/45 S/Sgt. Bernard Gaertner
1/45 Sgt. Alfred Nightingale
2/45 Corp. T/5 John Weill
2/45 PFC Alfred Behr
2/45 Pvt. Freddie Linton
2/45 T/Sgt. John Loewenthal
2/45 PFC Ferdinand Epstein
2/45 PFC Gerhard Heymann
2/45 S/Sgt. Alfred Rosenthal
2/45 Gen. Ivan D. Chernyakovsky
2/45 Sgt. Alexander H. Hirsch
2/45 Die beiden nordlichsten Leser des “Aufbau” (Goldschmidt, Altschul, Choret (Zimak)) (“The two Northernmost Readers of “Aufbau””)
2/45 Sgt. Eric Reilinger
3/45 First Sgt. Alfred Eisenmann
3/45 PFC Arthur Heinz Gottschalk
3/45 PFC Richard L. Norman
3/45 PFC Steve L. Schoenwalter
3/45 Pvt. Hans Meissner
3/45 Brigadier Ernest Frank Benjamin inspiziert eine neue Einheit der alljüdischen Brigade (“Brigadier Ernest Frank Benjamin inspected a New Unit of the all-Jewish Brigade”)
3/45 Drei Freunde in Palastina – Herz, Popper, Salm (“Three Friends in Palestine”)
3/45 99 Nazis gefangen genommen (PFC Alphonse Jacobs) (“99 Nazis Captured”)
3/45 Refugeesoldaten werden ausgezeichnet (Pvt. Walter S. Beckhard, Sgt. Hans Levi) (“Refugees are Awarded”)
3/45 Sie lebten drei jahre untergrund (Leo Keller – Josef and Johanna Keller) (“They Lived Three Years Underground”)
3/45 Wiedersehen in Rom (Henry B. Nussbaum) (“Sightseeing in Rome”)
3/45 2nd Lt. Alfred Kupferschmidt
3/45 PFC Frank Kurzinger
3/45 Pvt. Ernest Schiffres
3/45 Die erste fahrbare Synagogen-Ambulanz an der Westfront  (“The First Mobile Synagogue Ambulance on the Western Front”)
3/45 Sgt. Eric Goldsmith
4/45 Ein Aufruf, der alle angeht: 10,000 Jungens brauchen uns – ‘Aufbau’ und ‘Our Boys Club’ starten eine Sonder-Aktion für die ‘Jüdische Brigade’  (“A call to Everyone: 10,000 boys need us – ‘Aufbau’ and ‘Our Boys Club’ are starting a special action for the ‘Jewish Brigade'”)
4/45 Gestern Sklaven der Nazis (“Yesterday Slaves of the Nazis”)
4/45 Heute Soldaten der Freiheit (“Today Soldiers of Freedom”)
4/45 Sie warten auf Dich – Ein paar von den Jungens der Jüdischen brigade, die sich freuen werden, Pakete aus Amerika zu bekommen und zu wissen, dass man an sie und ihre Kameraden denkt, die zum ersten Mal seit den Tagen der Makkabäer wieder seblständig unter dem Davidstern kämpfen.  (“They are waiting for you – A couple of the boys of the Jewish brigade who will be happy to get packages from America and to know that they and their comrades are being thought of, who for the first time since the days of the Maccabees, fight under the Star of David.”)
4/45 Eisenstaedt, Lubow, Mosback
4/45 Sergeant Rudi Graf (New York)
4/45 Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose verleiht dem M/Sgt. Sidney Lee (Levi aus Koln) den Bronze Star (“Major General Maurice Rose gives Master Sergeant Sidney Lee (Levi from Koln) the Bronze Star”)
4/45 Die Kämpfe des Flugzeuges “Loyalty” – 57 Kampfmissionen in drei Monaten  (“The battles of the [fighter] plane “Loyalty” – 57 combat missions in three months”)
4/45 Jüdische Brigade im Kampf (“Jewish Brigade at War”)
4/45 Gerald (Jerry) Beigel
5/45 PFC Harry Kaufman
5/45 Pvt. Fred Finsterwald
5/45 Norman Lourie – der offizielle britische Kriegskorespondent bei der Jüdischen Brigade in Italien (“Norman Lourie – The Official British Military Correspondent of the Jewish Brigade in Italy”)
5/45 Der Held von Okinawa (Leo Rosskamm) (“The Hero of Okinawa”)
5/45 PFC Curtis Field
5/45 PFC Eric Wertheim
5/45 PFC Leo Kent (Kendziora)
5/45 S/Sgt. Erich I. Goldschmidt
5/45 S/Sgt. Stephen Sigmund Mosbacher
5/45 2nd Lt. Philip Zinner (New York) wurde von dem kürzlich gefallenen Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose mit den Bronze Star ausgezeichnet  (“2nd Lt. Philip Zinner (New York), chosen by the recently fallen Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, was awarded the Bronze Star”)
5/45 They Died Together – Why Can’t They Live Together?
5/45 Pvt. Adolf Rosenzweig
5/45 Pvt. Arnold A. Masse
5/45 Friedmann, Loewenstein
6/45 S/Sgt. Martin H. Neuhaus
6/45 Pilot Perry and Loyalty – Kampf und Ende des von der Immigration gestifteten Warhawk P-40 (“Pilot Perry and Loyalty – Battle and end of the Immigration-Donated P-40 Warhawk”)
6/45 Manfred Selig
6/45 PFC Arthur Einstein
6/45 Erster in Oslo (Sgt. Eric Stern) (“First in Oslo (Sgt. Eric Stern)”)
6/45 Einladung an alle Leser des “Aufbau” (notice) – Die Abenteuer der Loyalty  (“Invitation to all readers of “Aufbau” (notice) – The Adventures of Loyalty”)
6/45 Begegnung mit dem Kinderarzt (PFC Ernest Kirchheimer) (“Encounter with a Pediatrician”)
6/45 Cpl. Luwig Elsas (with Sapper Martin Elsas, brother)
6/45 PFC Fred Winterfeld
7/45 PFC Gerhard Samuel
7/45 Eine mobile Synagoge (“A Mobile Synagogue”)
7/45 PFC Simon Landman und Paul Baruch in Nurnberg
7/45 Der Held der “Loyalty” wird gefeiert – “Loyalty und sein Pilot” – Captain Henry B. Perry stellt sich vor  (“The hero of “Loyalty” is celebrated – “Loyalty and its Pilot” – Captain Henry B. Perry introduces himself”)
7/45 Die neue Synagogue von Nauheim (“The New Synagogue of Nauheim”)
7/45 Rolf Baumgarten
7/45 Our Girls in British Auxiliary Territorial Service (Bensch, Cohn, Dobson, Lorig, Rosenbaum, Taylor)
7/45 Ein historiches Photo (Wolf Wartenberg) (“A Historic Photo (Wolf Wartenberg)”)
7/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (bottom – Baer, Bernheim, Cohn, Landauer, Lewy, Slade [Schlesinger], Sliesser)  (“The Bronze Star Brigade”)
7/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (middle – Heimbach, Roth, Stein)  (“The Bronze Star Brigade”)
7/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (top – Feldman, Krieger, Winter)  (“The Bronze Star Brigade”)
7/45 Ein Blick in eine Kantine fur judische Soldaten (“A Look at the Canteen for Jewish Soldiers”)
7/45 John Wolpe
7/45 Mit dem Silver Star ausgezeichnet – Sgt. Werner J. Heumann (Marine Corps) une sein Bruder Leopold (Navy) (“Awarded the Silver Star – Sgt. Werner J. Heumann (Marine Corps) and his brother Leopold (Navy)”)
7/45 Col. Homer P. Ford heftet Capt. Gerald Brotman den Bronze Star an (“Colonel Homer P. Ford attaches the Bronze Star to Capt. Gerald Brotman”)
7/45 Sergeant Kurt Weiss
7/45 Lt. Raymond Zussman
8/45 Er Finger Herrn Ley (PFC Peter Rosenfelder)  (“He Fingers Ley”)
8/45 Drei Bronze Star-Träger (Groeger, Hirsch, Rosenthal)  (“Three Bronze-Star Holders”)
8/45 Zehn Glückliche, die Auschwitz entronnen sind (PFC Herbert Saalfeld)  (“Ten happy ones, who have escaped from Auschwitz”)
8/45 Pvt. Henry Lonner
8/45 PFC Gilbert Wolff
8/45 Mit dem Silver Star ausgezeichnet (First Lieutenant Oscar Drake)  (“Awarded the Silver Star”)
8/45 Heirat in Italien – T/4 Julius Weissman und Rosa Augusta Kampler (“Marriage in Italy – T/4 Julius Weissman and Rosa Augusta Kampler”)
8/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (middle) – Katz
8/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (top) – Haberman, Jacobs, Lindauer, Maier
9/45 Now It Can Be Told (Peter Schweifert)
9/45 Der Ansager vom Münchener Rundfunk (Norbert Gruenfeld)  (“The Announcer of Munich Radio”)
9/45 In Berlin angekommen (S/Sgt. Lew Sonn)  (“Arrived in Berlin”)
9/45 Odyssee einer Thorarolle (Cpl. Bernard Price)  (“Odyssey of a Thorarolle”)
9/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (middle – Katz)  (“The Bronze Star Brigade”)
9/45 Die Bronz Star Brigade (top – Haberman, Jacobs, Lindauer, Maier)  (“The Bronze Star Brigade”)
9/45 PFC George E. Rosing
9/45 Naziwaffen als Lehrgegenstand (Hans O. Mauksch)  (“Nazi weapons as a subject of instruction”)
10/45 Als Spion in Tirol – Die Abenteuer des Sgt. Alfred Mayer (“As a Spy in Tirol – The Adventures of Sgt. Alfred Mayer”)
10/45 T/3 Hugo A. Schaefer
10/45 Mit dem Silver Star ausgezeichnet – S/Sgt. Arthur H. Rosenfeld (“Awarded the Silver Star – S/Sgt. Arthur H. Rosenfeld”)
10/45 Abenteuer in Paris (S/Sgt. Walter D. Marx) (“Adventure in Paris”)
10/45 Begrussung in Chicago (“Welcome to Chicago”)
10/45 Unser Mitarbeiter Pvt. Hans Lichtwitz von der Jüdischen Brigade – Das Bild zeigt Pvt. Lichtwitz bei einem Besuch im Displaced Persons-Lager in Obergammerau [Foto: Sgt. I.W. Eaton]  (“Our employee Pvt. Hans Lichtwitz from the Jewish Brigade – The picture shows Pvt. Lichtwitz during a visit to the Displaced Persons Camp in Obergammerau”)
11/45 PFC Manfred Butler
11/45 Prv. Ernst Rosenstein
11/45 Sgt. Julius Cohn
11/45 Der Ortsgruppenleiter von Haigerloch fährt Jeep  (“The Ortsgruppenleiter of Haigerloch is driven on a Jeep”)
11/45 Gericht in Berlin (Cpl. Albert Gompertz)  (“Court in Berlin”)
11/45 Zum 1st Lieutenant befördert  (Frederick Herman)  (“Promoted to 1st Lieutenant”)
11/45 Zwei Bruder in der Armee (1 Lt. Gerhard Czerner, T/5 Alfred Czerner) (“Two Brothers in the Army”)
12/45 Fur sie hat die Stunde der Heimkehr geschlagen (“The Hour of Homecoming Has Struck For Them”)
3/46 Jahrestags-Gedenkfeier am Grabs des von den Deutschen hinterlistig erschossenen Major-General Maurice Rose (“Anniversary Commemoration at the Grave of Major General Maurice Rose, who was Treacherously Shot by the Germans”)

 

The Reconstruction of Memory: Soldiers of Aufbau – Jewish Military Casualties in WW II

More history, from Aufbau.

In previous posts, I listed articles and other items published during WW II in the New York-based German Exile newspaper Aufbau, pertaining to the struggle for the creation of an independent Jewish military force, and, the wartime experiences of Jewish soldiers from – prior to Israel’s re-establishment in May of 1948 – the Yishuv.  This post follows the same theme:  It’s a list of the 132-odd items published in Aufbau pertaining to Jewish soldiers killed in action or on active service, encompassing the time-frame from the war’s commencement in September of 1939, through March of 1946.  The tabulation of these news items being based on my own evaluation, text in boldface represents the article title as it actually appeared in Aufbau, these items including an English-language translation which didn’t (!) appear in the newspaper.

The list commences with an article about Pilot Officer Harold Rosofsky (40022) from Guateng, Johannesburg, South Africa, a Wellington bomber pilot of No. 9 Squadron Royal Air Force killed in a training mission on September 8, 1939 (specifically, in Wellington I L4320 WS * ZB), and ends with (in historical retrospect, somewhat ironically) mention of Major General Maurice Rose, killed in action on March 30, 1945. 

Overall, I do have information about the majority of the men listed below – for example, Justin Seitenbach, Ernest L. Palm (Yehuda Bar Naftali HaLevi), Werner Katz, Eric G. Newhouse, Peter Schweifert, and others, while I already have a post (currently under revision) about William Hays Davidow, and this “up-and-running” post which mentions Heinz Thannhauserbut …  

This list will suffice, for now.  

Date Title
10/1/39 Roll of Honor – Pilot Rosofsky tot (“Roll of Honor – Pilot Rosofsky dead”)
10/1/39 Roll of Honor – Polens einziger judischer General gefallen (“Roll of Honor – Poland’s only Jewish general fallen”)
10/24/41 Die erste Verlustliste – The First Casualty List (“The first loss list – The first casualty list”)
7/10/42 Private Louis Schleifer
2/5/43 Eine Ehrenliste
2/5/43 In Memoriam – Peter Binswanger
2/26/43 Pollitz, Refugee From Nazis, Dies in Pacific Action
2/26/43 Meyer Levin – Amerikaner – Jüde – Kämpfer – Ein Besuch bei den Eltern des gefallenen Helden (“Meyer Levin – American – Jew – Fighter – A visit with the fallen hero’s parents”)
4/23/43 Brigadier Frederick H. Kisch gefallen – Der Chefingenieur der 8 britischen Armee (“Brigadier Frederick H. Kisch – The Chief Engineer of the 8th British Army”)
6/4/43 Ein Immigrant starb fur Amerika – Justin Seitenbach von seinem letzten Flug nicht zuruckgekehrt – Ein goldener Stern fur Washington Heights (“An immigrant died for America – Justin Seitenbach did not return from his last flight – A golden star for Washington Heights”)
6/11/43 Jews in Uniform – Obituary (Davidow, William H., Capt.)
8/20/43 Der Untergang der 138 (“The sinking of the 138”)
8/27/43 H.E. Bauer (Bauernfreund)
8/27/43 Im Dienst des Landes – Theodore Katz (“In the service of the country – Theodore Katz”)
9/17/43 Der Heldentod der 138 – Jüdische Kriegsveteranen im Mittelmeer ertrunken (“The heroic death of 138 – Jewish war veterans drowned in the Mediterranean”)
11/12/43 Der Tod fur die Freiheit (“Death for freedom”) [Ernest Lilienstein]
12/10/43 Der letzte Brief des Private Herz (“The last letter of Private Herz”)
1/7/44 Werner Cahn gefallen (“Werner Cahn is fallen”)
2/11/44 In Italien gefallen – Otto W. Steinberg (“Fallen in Italy – Otto W. Steinberg”)
2/18/44 Vor Cassino verwundet (“Wounded at Cassino”) [Peter Rosenberg]
3/10/44 Corp. Werner Katz, der Held von Burma – Der letzte Brief des Gefallenen – Unsere Boys kampfen in der vordersten Linien (“Corp. Werner Katz, the Hero of Burma – The Last Letter of the Fallen – Our boys fight in the front lines”)
3/17/44 Corp. Werner Katz lebt (“Cpl. Werner Katz is alive”)
3/24/44 Lt. Charles D. Pack gestorben (“Lt. Charles D. Pack has died”)
3/24/44 Sgt. Palm todlich verungluck (“Sgt. Palm fatally injured”)
4/21/44 Zum zweiten Male Verwundet (“Wounded for the second time”) [Ralph Beigel]
4/28/44 44 judische-Schriftsteller gefallen oder vermisst (“44 Jewish writers fallen or missing”)
4/28/44 Sgt. Ernest Leopold Palm
5/5/44 In Burma gefallen (“Fallen in Burma”) [Pvt. Heinz A. Sander]
5/12/44 Die Toten ehren die Lebenden (“The dead honor the living”) [Wolfgang Rosenberg]
5/12/44 Pvt. Eric M. Heilbronn
5/12/44 Pvt. Ernest Strauss
5/26/44 Einer von Vielen – Guenther L. Schleimer – Held von Anzio Beachhead (“One of the many – Guenther L. Schleimer – Hero of the Anzio Beachhead”)
6/30/44 Pvt. Eric Hirschmann
7/21/44 Fur ihre neue Heimat gefallen (“Fallen for their new home”)  [Bruno Loeb; William B. Flesch]
7/28/44 In Memoriam – Cpl. Robert Maerz
7/28/44 Mit dem Purple Heart ausgezeichnet (“Awarded the Purple Heart”) [Kurt Abraham; Julius Dukas]
8/11/44 Cpl. Robert Maerz der am D-Day in Frankreich gefallen ist (“Cpl. Robert Maerz who died on D-Day in France”)
8/18/44 Fur die neue Heimat gefallen (“Fallen for the new homeland” [PFC Martin Muller]
8/18/44 Fur die neue Heimat gefallen  (“Fallen for the new homeland”) [Pvt. Harry Gunther]
8/25/44 Paul Holos gefallen  (“Paul Holos is Fallen]
8/25/44 PFC Peter Rosenberg, der am Rapido Fluss bei Cassino verwundet wurde (“PFC Peter Rosenberg, wounded at the Rapido River near Cassino”)
8/25/44 Kurt Lesser, Technician 3rd Grade
9/1/44 Der Kriegstod Egon Bruenells (“The war death of Egon Bruenell”)
9/1/44 Edward J. Frosh
9/1/44 Pvt. Arthur Ullendorf
9/1/44 Auf Patrouille in Burma – Die Abenteuer eines Todgesagten von Staff Sergeant Werner Katz (“On Patrol in Burma – The Adventures of a Dead Man, by Staff Sergeant Werner Katz”)
9/8/44 PFC Ernest Pessel
9/15/44 F.H. Koretz gefallen (“F.H. Koretz fallen”)
9/15/44 Heniz Thannhauser
9/15/44 Pvt. Josef E. Kahn
9/15/44 Pvt. Kurt Reinheimer
9/15/44 The Story of Sgt. Eric G. Newhouse
10/6/44 PFC Alfred Hirsch
10/20/44 Pro Libertate – Pvt. Bertold Adler (“For freedom – Pvt. Bertold Adler”)
10/20/44 Pro Libertate – Pvt. Gerhard Buehler (“For freedom – Pvt. Gerhard Buehler”)
10/27/44 PFC Julius Jonas
10/27/44 Jochanan Tartakower
11/10/44 Ehrentafel fur unsere Gefallenen (“Table of honor for our fallen”)
11/17/44 PFC Henry L. Hanauer
11/17/44 Pvt. Paul H. Hertz
11/17/44 S/Sgt. Kurt Popper
11/24/44 Ehrentafel fur unsere Gefallenen (“Table of honor for our fallen”)
12/1/44 Cpl. Eric Nathan
12/1/44 S/Sgt. Kurt Popper
12/8/44 Anneliese Ostrogorski
12/22/44 They Died for Their Country – This is the first list of “Aufbau” readers who, having immigrated to this country since 1933, made the supreme sacrifice for their new homeland and liberty.
12/29/44 Pvt. Fred M.  Harlam – Als 4-F fur die Freiheit gefallen (“Pvt. Fred M. Harlam – As a 4-F fallen for freedom”)
1/12/45 Sgt. Paul Mayer
1/19/45 Pvt. Eric Ziegelstein
1/19/45 Ensign Samuel Marsh, Jr.
1/26/45 PFC Henry Menkes
1/26/45 Pvt. Gero Piper
1/26/45 Pvt. Joseph Rudas
1/26/45 S/Sgt. Bernard Gaertner
1/26/45 Sgt. Alfred Nightingale
2/2/45 Corp. T/5 John Weill
2/2/45 PFC Alfred Behr
2/2/45 Pvt. Freddie Linton
2/2/45 T/Sgt. John Loewenthal
2/2/45 PFC Ferdinand Epstein
2/9/45 PFC Gerhard Heymann
2/9/45 He Knew Why He Died (David and George – 12/7/44)
2/16/45 S/Sgt. Alfred Rosenthal
2/23/45 Gen. Ivan D. Chernyakovsky
2/23/45 Sgt. Alexander H. Hirsch
2/23/45 Beim Macquis gefallen (“Fallen as a Maquis”) [Egon Berlin]
2/23/45 Major Mirkin gefallen (“Major Mirkin has fallen”)
3/2/45 Beim Macquis gefallen (“Fallen as a Maquis”) [Erwin Brueckman]
3/2/45 Ebenfalls beim Macquis gefallen (“Also Fallen as Maquis”)  [Ernest Blaukopf, Paula Draxler, Dr. Alfred Eidinger, Albert Hirsch, Harry Fleischmann, Heinrich Fritz, Karl Glatzhofer, Jula Guesner, Felix Kreisler, Gustav Kurz, Josef Meisel, Dr. Georg Rosen, Hugo Schoenagl, Bruno Weingast]
3/9/45 First Sgt. Alfred Eisenmann
3/9/45 PFC Arthur Heinz Gottschalk
3/16/45 PFC Richard L. Norman
3/16/45 PFC Steve L. Schoenwalter
3/16/45 S/Sgt. Louis Leiter
3/30/45 2nd Lt. Alfred Kupferschmidt
3/30/45 PFC Frank Kurzinger
3/30/45 Pvt. Ernest Schiffres
4/6/45 Major General Maurice Rose
4/13/45 Eisenstaedt, Lubow, Mosback
4/27/45 Gerald (Jerry) Beigel
5/4/45 PFC Harry Kaufman
5/4/45 Pvt. Fred Finsterwald
5/11/45 Corp. Heinz Maas
5/11/45 Max Levy
5/11/45 PFC Curtis Field
5/11/45 T/5 Bernard Wattenberg
5/11/45 Aus deutscher Gefangenschaft befreit (“Freed from German captivity”) [PFC Herbert Frank]
5/11/45 Lichtwitz, Richard (death notice – mentions Hans Lichtwitz)
5/18/45 PFC Eric Wertheim
5/18/45 PFC Leo Kent (Kendziora)
5/18/45 S/Sgt. Erich I. Goldschmidt
5/18/45 S/Sgt. Stephen Sigmund Mosbacher
5/25/45 Pvt. Adolf Rosenzweig
5/25/45 Pvt. Arnold A. Masse
6/1/45 S/Sgt. Martin H. Neuhaus
6/15/45 Manfred Selig
6/15/45 PFC Arthur Einstein
6/29/45 Cpl. Luwig Elsas (with Sapper Martin Elsas, brother)
6/29/45 PFC Fred Winterfeld
7/6/45 PFC Gerhard Samuel
7/13/45 Rolf Baumgarten
8/10/45 Pvt. Henry Lonner
8/24/45 PFC Gilbert Wolff
9/7/45 Now It Can Be Told (Peter Schweifert)
9/21/45 PFC George E. Rosing
10/19/45 T/3 Hugo A. Schaefer
11/9/45 PFC Manfred Butler
11/9/45 Prv. Ernst Rosenstein
11/9/45 Sgt. Julius Cohn
11/9/45 Im Dienst des Maquis gefallen (“Fallen in the service of the Maquis”) [Max Kahn]
1/25/46 Verlustziffer der amerikanischen Juden in diesem Kriege (“Loss figure of the American Jews in this war”)
3/29/46 Jahrestags-Gedenkfeier am Grabe des von den Deutschen hinterlistig erschossenen Major-General Maurice Rose (“Anniversary commemoration ceremony at the grave of Major-General Maurice Rose, who was treacherously shot by the Germans”)

Chernyakhovskiy

A Missing Man: Major Milton Joel, Fighter Pilot, 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force: XII – The Names of Others: Jewish Military Casualties on November 29, 1943

The Names of Others…

Having focused so closely on Monday, November 29, 1943 – in terms of the loss of Major Milton Joel during the encounter of the 38th Fighter Squadron (55th Fighter Group), with the Luftwaffe over the Netherlands – “this” post is a follow-up to the events of that day:  Here – paralleling much the same “template” as my ongoing series of posts (about 30, thus far) focusing on Jewish soldiers in The New York Times – are brief accounts about some other Jewish airmen and soldiers lost or involved in combat on that Monday in November.  

________________________________________

But first, “something completely different”.  Well, somewhat different.  Well, at least kind’a different…  An “artifact” direct from November of 1943: The cover of that month’s issue Astounding Science Fiction, featuring art by William Timmins, illustrating the story “Recoil” by George O. Smith.

You can view similar – let alone unsimilar – images, and many more at my brother blog, WordsEnvisioned.  

Now, back to the topic at hand…

________________________________________

Some other Jewish military casualties on Monday, November 29, 1943 (2 Kislev 5704) include…

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –

תהא
נפשו
צרורה
בצרור
החיים

United States Army (Ground Forces)

Bernstein, Samuel M., Cpl., 33034466 (in Ireland)
314th Ordnance Maintenance Company
Mr. William Bernstein (father), 807 Carson St., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Born Pittsburgh, Pa., 10/29/16
Jewish Criterion (Pittsburgh) 9/7/45
Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England – Plot F, Row 5, Grave 4
American Jews in World War II – 511

Fine, Benjamin, Pvt., 33100225, Purple Heart (at Venefro, Italy)

179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Mr. and Mrs. Abe and Goldy Fine (parents), 705 Washington Blvd., Williamsport, Pa.
Born Grodek Molodetzna, Russia, 8/30/13
Place of Burial unknown

American Jews in World War II – 520

Horwich, Irving I., 2 Lt., 0-1307017, Purple Heart (at Mount Pantano, Italy)

A Company, 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division
Graduate of University of Notre Dame
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip and Anna Horwich (parents) ((or, Mrs. David Goldstein (mother?)), 805 West Marion St., Elkhart, In.
Mrs. Adeline Levine (sister), Elkhart, In.
Born 6/12/13
Hebrew Orthodox Cemetery, Mishawaka, In.
Jewish Post (Indianapolis) 12/31/43
The American Hebrew 3/10/44
American Jews in World War II – 123

United States Army Air Force
8th Air Force

Gladstone, Stanley, 2 Lt., 0-750137, Bombardier, Air Medal, Purple Heart
338th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group
B-17G 42-37811, Pilot: 2 Lt. Herbert O. Meuli, 10 crewmen – no survivors
MACR 1391
Mrs. Yetta Gladstone (mother), 3822 Surf Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Aviation Cadet Jasin J. Gladstone (brother)
Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England
Casualty List 1/1/44
Brooklyn Eagle 12/31/43
American Jews in World War II – 321

____________________

“I would love to go over seas again just for the purpose of finding those graves.  I will do all I can to help.  Thanking you for having interested in my crew.  I still worship the lot of them and I would to God that their bodies are found.” – Edgar E. Schooley, summer, 1945

Gorn, Lion A., S/Sgt., 32411565, Gunner (Right Waist), Air Medal, Purple Heart, 4 missions
525th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bomb Group
B-17F 42-29787, “FR * E”, “”Wilder Nell” II”, Pilot: 2 Lt. Charles H. LeFevre, 10 crewmen – one survivor: S/Sgt. Edgar E. Schooley, Jr, Tail Gunner
MACR 1332
Mrs. Janice L. Gorn (wife), 255 East 176th St., New York, N.Y.
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan [?-10/50] and Fannie Rebecca (Widoff) [8/29/92-10/64] Gorn (parents)
Mildred E. Gorn (sister)
Name commemorated at Tablets of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Holland
Casualty Lists 1/1/44, 12/24/45
P.M. (…the newspaper P.M., that is…) 11/2/46
American Jews in World War II – 331

Based on comments by Fold3 contributor patootie63, the image below, Army Air Force photo A-71044AC (A-11535) captioned, “A crew of the 379th Bomb Group poses beside B-17 Flying Fortress “Wilder Nell II” at an 8th Air Force base in England, 11 November 1943,” presumably shows Lt. LeFevre’s crew posed before the nose of their simply nicknamed bomber. 

Though (except in one case – see below!) names cannot be attached to faces on an individual cases, assuming that this is the LeFevre crew, then the men would be:

Le Fevre, Charles H., 2 Lt. – Pilot (rear, far left)
Miller, John R., 2 Lt., Co-Pilot (rear, second from left)
Spurgiasz, Jan, T/Sgt. – Navigator
Valsecchi, Alfred, 2 Lt. – Bombardier (rear, third from left)
Mulligan, James C., T/Sgt. – Flight Engineer
Dixon, Leonard, T/Sgt. – Radio Operator
Hunter, Robert W., S/Sgt. – Gunner (Ball Turret)
Laird, Wesley W., S/Sgt. – Gunner (Right Waist)
Schooley, Edgar E.. S/Sgt. – Gunner (Tail) (probably front row, far left)
…and Sgt. Lion A. Gorn
…of whom the only survivor would be S/Sgt. Schooley.

S/Sgt. Schooley’s postwar account of the loss of the crew of Wilder Nell II, in the Individual Casualty Questionnaires in Missing Air Crew Report 1332, recounts that the aircraft was damaged by both flak and fighters, with Lt. LeFevre giving orders to ditch while the aircraft was still over land.  With the exception of Lieutenants LeFevre and Miller, the entire crew – standard for B-17 ditching procedure – was soon gathered in the aircraft’s radio room. 

A particularly poignant and haunting aspect of Sgt. Schooley’s account is his mention that Sergeants Schooley, Gorn and radio operator Hunter said “good-bye” to one another just before the the plane struck the sea, with Sgt. Dixon remaining in his seat (transmitting the plane’s position?) even as the plane struck the water.

When the plane impacted, the bottom of the radio room burst open, and “Everything happened so fast that nobody could think very much.  I was just tossed by some one.”  Sergeants Laird and Mulligan were probably pinned in the sinking plane, while Sgt. Gorn – who stood up just after the B-17 first struck the water (there were typically two impacts when an aircraft ditched, the first moderate in force and the second almost always far more severe) – was thrown forward, and did not survive the ditching.  Dixon, Miller, Spurgiasz, and Valsecchi managed to escape the sinking plane.  Sadly, though Lt. LeFevre survived the ditching, he became jammed in the co-pilot’s side (right side) window as he attempted to escape the sinking Wilder Nell II.  In Sergeant Schooley’s words, “I know he was stuck in the window because I tried to get to him to help, but the sea was too rough.  If you will look up the weather on that day, you will know better than I can write.”

Then, “Dixon, Valsecchi and Spurgiasz were hanging on an uninflated dinghy in the water.  About 100 ft behind me.  Dixon saw me and spoke my name.  Then an Me-109 came down and opened up his guns and then I passed out from the cold”.

 As described at ZZAirWar, Wilder Nell II ditched one mile off the Dutch coast, near Petten.

While Sgt. Schooley attributed the deaths of those men who had survived the ditching to a strafing Me-109, ZZAirWar suggests a different explanation: machine gun fire from a coastal gun emplacement:  “A German officer came running towards the machine gun nest and stopped the shooting [this was a heavy defended coast line, part of the anti-invasion Atlantic Wall].  “Schooley floated unconscious against a wave breaker and was dragged onto the beach.  Also Lefevre and Valsecchi washed ashore that day.”

“They were all three brought to the nearest hospital, which was the German Navy Hospital in village Heiloo (‘Hialo’ and ‘Halio’ writes Schooley).  This was the to us well known Dutch Mental Hospital ‘St. Willibrordus’, of which the Germans had confiscated a large part and made it their Kriegsmarine Lazeret.  Lefevre and Valsecchi were dead and later buried in Heiloo on the General Cemetery.  Schooley regained consciousness after 4 days.”

Finally (but there seems not to have been a “finally”…) the following is a transcript of a handwritten letter that Sgt. Schooley included along with his crewman’s completed Individual Casualty Questionnaires:

Dear Sir:

While in the German Hospital at Hialo [actually, Heiloo] Holland, the German people would not tell me any thing.

When I got well and was sent to Amsterdam they told me that they had a body or two.  Then they showed me the name of a man and it was Valsecchi 2nd Lt.  Then they told me that he was buried some where in Holland, and that Somebody else was there also but they couldn’t describe him to me and he had no identification.  That is all I know.

I would love to go over seas again just for the purpose of finding those graves.  I will do all I can to help.  Thanking you for having interested in my crew.  I still worship the lot of them and I would to God that their bodies are found.

Mr. Edgar E. Schooley, Jr.

Edgar Schooley died on March 12, 2015.  His obituary can be found at Legacy.com, where appears his portrait (below).  And so, in the above crew photo of Wilder Nell II, he appears to be in the front row, at far left.  


Lion Gorn’s wife Janice – Dr. Janice L. Gorn, affiliated with New York University – never remarried.  Born March 23, 1915, she died on December 18, 2002.  The Honoree Page for her husband can be found at the website of the National WW II Memorial: “Arrived in England in October.  Forty three bombing kills.  He and eight others on B-17 were killed on the way home over North Sea.  Tail gunner was rescued and imprisoned until end of war.  There were no fighter escorts at the time.”

____________________

Though Army Air Force navigator Second Lieutenant Ralph Victor Guinzberg, Jr. (0-797311), was killed in action on the 29th of November, as a member of the 334th Bomb Squadron of the 95th Bomb Group, he had participated in two particularly significant combat missions prior to that dat, during neither of which was he injured.  Born in 1916, he was a 1938 graduate of the University of Wisconsin.  His family resided at 485 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, while his uncle Frederick lived in Chappaqua, N.Y.

The photo below was published in The Daily Argus (Mount Vernon) on August 27, 1943 (via FultonHistory)

The “first” of the two incidents was a mission to Kassel, Germany, on July 30, 1943, during which his aircraft, B-17F 42-30192 “OE * Y“, “Jutzi“, was struck by flak while about 10 miles from Knocke, Holland, knocking out the hydraulic and oxygen systems, and disabling three engines.  Control of the bomber being temporarily lost, Lt. Jutzi ordered the crew to bail out.  The plane’s four gunners and radio operator did so, but the radio operator and tail gunner did not survive.  Realizing that the plane could be kept under control, Lt. Jutzi countermanded his bailout order, and ditched Jutzi six miles from Dover.  Injured by flak during the mission, Lt. Guinzberg saved the life of S/Sgt. Harold R. Knotts, after the latter had been knocked unconscious during the ditching.

Lt. Jutzi, his three fellow officers and the flight engineer were rescued.  Thus, a total of eight men eventually survived the mission, the incident being covered in MACR 217.

The crew roster for the mission comprised:   

Robert B. Jutzi, Pilot (POW 9/16/43 while piloting Terry and the Pirates, 42-30276)
Robert D. Patterson, Co-Pilot (Completed 25 missions)
Wilbur W. Collins, Navigator (POW 9/16/43 aboard Terry and the Pirates, 42-30276, with Lt. Jutzi)
Harold R. Knotts, Flight Engineer (POW 11/29/43 aboard Blondie III)

Parachuted:  

T/Sgt. Robert Randall, Radio Operator (KIA)
S/Sgt. Warren W. Wylie, Left Waist Gunner (POW)
S/Sgt. Philbert A. Comeau, Right Waist Gunner (POW)
S/Sgt. Leland M. Bernhardt, Ball Turret Gunner (POW)
S/Sgt. Harold W. Jordan, Tail Gunner (KIA)

The mission eventuated in Lt. Guinzberg’s receipt of a Commendation, the text of which appears below, in this article from the New Castle Tribune of August 27, 1943.

LT. GUINZBURG DECORATED FOR HEROIC ACTION

Lt. Ralph V. Guinzburg, Jr. Awarded Purple Heart and Air Medal

SAVED FELLOW FLYER

Although Wounded When His fortress Was Shot Down, He Rescued Engineer

Lt. Ralph Victor Guinzburg. Jr., 27, of New York City and Chappaqua has been awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal and has been recommended for the Silver Star for saving a fellow flyer although himself wounded when his B-17 was shot down over the British channel late in July.

According to word received by Lt. Guinzburg’s family, the Fortress was hit by anti-aircraft shells as it headed home from a mission over the continent.

The last entry in the plane’s log, which was kept by Lt. Guinzburg, navigator, was “Ack-ack inaccurate, low and to the left.”  A few minutes later the Fortress was struck three times, with Lt. Guinzburg receiving shrapnel wounds in the ankle.  Five of the crew bailed out as the B-17 began to lose altitude at the rate of 1000 feet a minute.  Lt. Guinzburg and three other officers remained in the plane, trying to get it back to the coast of England.

Seven miles from the British coast, the Fortress crashed into the sea.  One man was knocked unconscious and Lt. Guinzburg was thrown violently against the roof of the ship.  He suffered a deep cut on the forehead but remained conscious.  As the Fortress began to sink, he remained inside to push the unconscious man through the hatch, while the others helped from the outside.

The plane’s automatically inflated life-rafts were already floating on the water as the plane went down.  Carrying their unconscious comrade between them, the three men swam to the rafts and were shortly rescued.

Lt. Guinzburg attended the Fieldstone School in Westchester and is a graduate of Wisconsin University.  Before his overseas assignment, he was on anti-submarine patrol here.  He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Guinzburg.

Complete citation of Lt. Ralph Victor Guinzburg, Jr.

Through the Commanding Officer:

“1. As a result of enemy anti- aircraft fire on a mission over Germany on July 30. 1943, the airplane on which you were the navigator was seriously damaged.  Three engines, the oxygen system, and the hydraulic system were rendered unopperative.  After making a forced landing in the open sea, the plane began to sink rapidly.  Observing, when about to leave the aircraft, that the aerial engineer was missing you searched and found him in the radio room.  He was unconscious, his foot pinned by equipment.  You brought him through the plane safely into the dinghy.  For a few minutes you were securely in the dinghy when the stabilizer of the sinking aircraft brushed by causing another member of the crew to jump into the water.  Though physically weakened by injuries, you, with unfailing determination, paddled to him and helped him to climb into the boat.  You are commended for extraordinary courage.

“2. A copy of this commendation will be filed in your official file and made a part of your next efficiency report.”

ALFRED A. KESSLER. Jr.
Colonel Air Corps, Commanding.

“1. I desire to add my commendation to the above for your extreme coolness and courage in your action during the damaging of your airplane.

“You have been an inspiration to the entire command.”

JOHN K. GERHEART
Colonel Air Corps, Commanding.

“1. Your actions under duress reflect the spirit which we like to consider symbolic of Americanism.

“2. My heartiest congratulations.”

DAVID T. MACKNIGHT
Major Air Corps, Commanding.

Likewise, the story was reported upon in the New York City-based German refugee newspaper Aufbau, on September 24, 1943, in an unsigned article that oddly was in English, not German. (? – !)  

More Medals for Guinzberg

The navigator of a Flying Fortress returning home from a bombing mission over Europe made an entry in the plane’s log.  “Ack-ack inaccurate,” he wrote, “low and to the left.”  It was the last sentence in that log.  A few minutes later the Fortress was struck three times.  The navigator suffered a shrapnel wound in the ankle.  Five of the crew bailed out as the plane began to lose altitude at the rate of 1,000 feet a minute.  The navigator and three officers remained in the plane.  They tried to get the B-17 back to the English coast.

Seven miles from the coast of Britain the Fortress crashed.  It plunged into the sea, and in the rush of its downward flight one man was knocked unconscious and the navigator was hurled violently against the roof of the ship.  There was a deep cut on his forehead, but he was still conscious.

The Fortress was beginning to sink.  The navigator stayed inside.  He did not leave until he had helped push the unconscious man through the hatch, while the third man helped from the outside.

By this time the plane’s automatically inflated life-rafts were already floating on the water.  Carrying their unconscious comrade between them, the three men swam to the rafts and were shortly rescued.

The navigator who stayed in that sinking Fortress to save a fellow-officer is a 27-year old New Yorker named Lt. Ralph Victor Guinzberg.  He has been awarded the Purple Heart and was recommended for the Silver Star for his heroism on that mission.  The incident took place in July.

Lt. Guinzberg, who holds the Air Medal for an earlier exploit, is the nephew of Ralph Guinzberg of the Jewish Welfare Board’s Greater New York Committee.  He is the grandson of Mrs. Henrietta Kleinert Guinzberg, of Westchester, who founded the Red Cross Chapter of Westchester more than a quarter of a century ago.

Lt. Guinzberg attended the Fieldston School in Westchester and is a graduate of Wisconsin University.

__________

On September 7, 1943, Lt. Guinzberg was wounded in the leg by flak while flying aboard B-17F 42-30233 (“QW * X”, “Rhapsody in Flak”) with the 412th Bomb Squadron, during a mission to Watten, France.  (By definition there’s no MACR for this incident.)  The plane was piloted by Lt. Edmund L. Barraclough.  The image below, dated September 24, 1943 (coincidentally the same date as the above Aufbau article) shows his receipt of an award (I’m not sure which).  Note that he’s using a cane to support himself.  

__________

Lt. Guinzberg’s last mission:  The incident is covered in MACR 1560 (extremely poor reproduction by Fold3…) and recorded in the very “early” Luftgaukommando Report KU 462 (probably destroyed or lost, as it never became part of NARA’s holdings).  

He was killed during the Bremen mission while aboard B-17F 42-6039 (“BG * H“, “Blondie III“) piloted by 1 Lt. Leslie B. Palmer.  The bomber was last seen in the vicinity of Bremen, losing speed but under control, but there were no specific witnesses to Blondie III’s loss, or at least none whose names appeared in MACR 1560. 

Postwar Casualty Questionnaires revealed that shortly after Lt. Guinzberg informed the crew, via intercom, that their plane had entered Germany territory, it (and presumably, other 95th Bomb Group B-17s) was attacked by Me-109s.  Immediately after, Lt. Guinzberg was killed by enemy fire – the crew’s sole casualty – and the plane sustained such damage that they was forced to parachute.  All did so successfully, with the crew landing and being captured in the vicinity of Oldenburg.  According to David Osborne’s “B-17 Master Log”, the aircraft crashed at Aumhle Bosel, four miles southeast of Friesoythe.  Blondie III was the only 95th Bomb Group aircraft lost that day.     

Lt. Guinzberg received the Air Medal, 4 Oak Leaf Cluster, Soldier’s Medal, and Purple Heart.  He completed between 14 and 17 missions.  He is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery, at Neupre, Belgium.  (Plot B, Row 25, Grave 2)

Lt. Ralph Guiznberg’s name appears in the following sources:

War Department Casualty Lists 10/10/43, 1/1/44
The Daily Argus (Mount Vernon) 8/27/43, 2/9/44, 1/17/45
New Castle Tribune (N.Y.) 8/27/43
Aufbau 9/24/43
American Jews in World War II – 338

________________________________________

Weider, Norman L., 1 Lt., 0-795530, Co-Pilot, Air Medal, 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, 15 missions
548th Bomb Squadron, 385th Bomb Group
B-17G 42-37874, WHO DAT – DING BAT”, Pilot: 1 Lt. William Lawrence Swope, 10 crewmen – no survivors; MACR 1532
Born 12/24/19
Mrs. May Weider (mother), 107-55 123rd St., Richmond Hill, N.Y.
2 Lt. Arthur Weider (brother)
Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England
Casualty List 1/1/44
Brooklyn Eagle 12/31/43
Long Island Daily Press 1/16/43, 12/31/43
The Record (Richmond Hill) 11/4/43
American Jews in World War II– 466

According to The Record (Richmond Hill) 11/4/43, wounded by flak on Munster raid, in “week prior to 11/4/43” – probably 10/10/43

The photo below was published in the Long Island Daily Press on January, 16, 1943.  Caption?  “The war has brought these youths together at Moody Field, Tx.  The boys – on their way to commissions as second lieutenants in the Air Force – are, left to right, Gerard T. Soper of 152-50 129th Street, Ozone Park; Norman L. Weider of 107-55 123rd Street, Richmond Hill, and Henry L. Timmermans of 50-24 214th Street, Bayside.”  A review of various databases (WW II Memorial, NARA, Fold3, etc.) reveals that Soper and Timmerman – assuming they eventually served in combat – survived the war, and were never POWs.

A little over a month before the November 29 mission, Lt. Swope’s crew posed in front of B-17F 42-30094 “Belle of the Blue” at Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England, for a photo that would become Army Air Force image C-59116AC / A9135.  Caption?:  “1st Lt. W.L. Swope’s crew of the 548th Squadron of the 385th Bomb Group based in England, standing by their B-17 Flying Fortress.  22 October 1943.”  

The four officers in the front row have been identified by Fold3 researcher Patootie63 as:

Far Left: 2 Lt. Robert Charles H. Prolow, navigator
2nd from left: Lt. Weider
3rd from left: Lt. Swope
Far right: 2 Lt. Douglas H. Baker, bombardier

The six crew members in the rear, albeit without names correlated to faces, are probably:

T/Sgt. Stanley Robinson – Flight Engineer
S/Sgt. Richard E. Street – Radio Operator
S/Sgt. James W. Harbison – Gunner (Ball Turret)
S/Sgt. Francis J. Magner – Gunner (Tail)
S/Sgt. Earl R. Robinson – Gunner (Left Waist)
S/Sgt. Elmer J. Congdon – Gunner (Right Waist)

Nearly one month later, the December 31, 1943, issue of the Brooklyn Eagle, in its daily back page column “With Our Fighters”, reported that Norman and his brother Arthur spent Thanksgiving together at Great Ashfield.  The brief news item closes with Arthur’s hope that, “But he [Norman] was positive he’d get back home, and I’m pretty confident myself that he’s safe somewhere.”

Old Newspapers
Old Newspapers

BROTHER MET WEIDER BEFORE LAST FLIGHT

Second Lt. Arthur Weider, a navigator in the ferry command, delivered a B-17 to Scotland last November.  While there he visited his brother, 1st Lt. Norman L. Weider, a pilot and flight commander in the A.A.F. at an air base near London.

They spent the 24th and 25th together and then Arthur returned home.  On November 29 Norman went on his 15th mission and didn’t return.

“I phoned him long distance on the 27th,” Arthur said today – he’s home for a few days.  “At that time he was out on the Bremen raid.  The next day was a raid on Berlin and since that date he has been listed as missing.

“But he was positive he’d get back home, and I’m pretty confident myself that he’s safe somewhere.”

The 24-year-old pilot enlisted the day Germany declared war on the United States and has been in England since last August.

The Weiders live at 107-55 123rd St., Richmond Hill.

____________________

The below image of Lt. Weider, contributed by researcher “Anonymous“, is from his FindAGrave biographical profile.  The original source of the clipping is unknown, but given its halftone printing, it’s probably from a newspaper.  

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As reported in Missing Air Crew Report 1532, three witnesses reported seeing WHO DAT – DING BAT drop out of the 385th Bomb Group’s formation over the Zuider Zee, with Lt. Swope or S/Sgt. Street radioing that the aircraft had only 30 minutes of fuel remaining and they would try to reach England.  Last observed descending into clouds near “Tessel” (Texel) Island, Holland, the plane was never seen again. 

Sixteen days later, on December 15, police at Whit Stable, Kent County, England, discovered the bodies of two men on the Whit Stable Bay mud flats.  S/Sgt. Congdon, the plane’s right waist gunner, was found within one of the bomber’s two 5-man life-rafts, while 200 yards away was found the body of 2 Lt. Prolow, the plane’s navigator.  According to the Squadron Flight Surgeon, indirectly quoted in MACR 1532, both men had survived until approximately December 14.  

Lt. Prolow is buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Coton, England, while S/Sgt. Congdon is buried at Beaverdale Memorial Park, in New Haven, Ct.  Notably, the date on both men’s tombstones is actually November 29, the date when WHO DAT – DING BAT was actually lost, suggesting a discrepancy in records, or, an error in the account as presented in the Missing Air Crew Report.  

England

AC 2C Charles Goldberg and Gunner Abraham Yudkin

Died or Murdered While Prisoners of War

While researching records in Henry Morris’ We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, I came across the name of Gunner Abraham Yudkin, who served in the Royal Artillery and who the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records as having been killed on November 29, 1943.  Further research at the CWGC database for that calendar date yields a record for Aircraftman Second Class Charles Goldberg, whose name is absent from Morris’ book.  As well, neither man’s name ever appeared in any wartime issue of The Jewish Chronicle.  Biographical information about the men follows…  

Goldberg, Charles, AC 2C, 1061437, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Mrs. Shirley Goldberg (wife), Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Mr. and Mrs. Louis and Cissie Goldberg (parents)
Singapore Memorial, Singapore – Column 429
We Will Remember Them – Not Listed

Yudkin, Abraham, Gunner, 1819219, England, Royal Artillery
2nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 48th Battery
Born 1914
Mrs. Frances Yudkin (wife), Hackney, London, England
Mr. and Mrs. Sam and Anne Yudkin (parents)
Singapore Memorial, Singapore – Column 34
We Will Remember Them – An Addendum – 23

The date of “November 29, 1943” and commonality of the Singapore Memorial somehow seemed to link the two, and a web search (the mens’ serial numbers were the “key” here) revealed their story:  They were both prisoners of war of the Japanese, and among the 548 British and Dutch POWs aboard the Japanese army cargo ship SS Suez Maru.  I don’t know when they were captured, but given the place of their commemoration – the Singapore Memorial – perhaps they were taken captive on or about February 15, 1942, during the fall of Singapore. 

As for the Suez Maru?  On November 29, 1943, the Surabaya-bound ship was sunk by a torpedo attack from the submarine USS Bonefish, while 50 miles northeast of Kangean Island, north of Bali.  Whether Goldberg and Yudkin (let alone any of the other 547 POWs, on a specific name basis) survived the vessel’s immediate sinking, or not, will never be known among men.  But in any event, what transpired soon after has become known as the “Suez Maru Massacre”, and in some ways parallels and is representative of the horrors that befell American POWs aboard what are now known as the “Hell Ships” later in the war.   

As described by Jan Lettens at WreckSiteSuez Maru Massacre, “Unbeknown to the submariners [of the USS Bonefish], Suez Maru had on board 415 British and 133 Dutch POWs.  69 Japanese were killed in action.

“Escorting Japanese minesweeper W-12 rescued some 200 Japanese and Korean survivors.  Only after the war, the fate of the POWs was revealed: Kawano Usumu, commander of W-12 had instructed his gunners to kill all (200 – 250) survivors.

“At 14:15, the massacre began; the Japanese fired with their machine guns from a distance of 50 meters and continued until the sea around turned red with blood.  More than 2 hours later, at 16:30, the W-12 moved away from the scene, having carefully verified that all were killed.”

Notes (2/24/19):

1. The W-12 was torpedoed and sunk on April 6th, 1945 by submarine USS Besugo (SS-321).

2.  After the completion of the Japanese War Crimes Trials, no further action was taken to indict Kawano Usumu, Commander of Minesweeper W-12, for the killing of Allied Prisoners of War, neither Lt. Koshio for carrying out the orders on the Suez Maru.

Here’s a full list of the British and Dutch POWs aboard the Suez Maru.

__________

Lasky, Isaac, Pvt., 7368048, Royal Army Medical Corps
Born 1918
Mr. and Mrs. Abram and Lily Lasky (parents), Sheffield, England
Tel-el-Kebir War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt – 4,E,3
We Will Remember Them – 116

South Africa

Levin, Sam, Pvt., 187618, South African Medical Corps, Technical Service Corps
(wife), at 161 Jules St., Belgravia, Johannesburg, South Africa
Alamein Memorial, Egypt – Column 146
South African Jewish Times 1/15/43, 9/7/45
South African Jews in World War Two – xii
Previously MIA, @ 1/1/43 – Presumably escaped from captivity, or, evaded capture

From the Yishuv

Babahikian, Setrack Haji, Driver, PAL/31428, Royal Army Service Corps
Heliopolis War Cemetery, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt – 5,P,13
We Will Remember Them – An Addendum – 42

Prisoners of War

United States Army Air Force

8th Air Force

Breslau, Morton David, 2 Lt., 0-673470, Navigator
548th Bomb Squadron, 385th Bomb Group
POW, Stalag Luft I, North Compound I
B-17F 42-30204, “GX * H”, “Gremlin’s Buggy”, Pilot: 1 Lt. Richard Yoder, 10 crewmen – 5 survivors; MACR 1581, Luftgaukommando Report KU 465
Born July 22, 1916
Mrs. Bertha Breslau (mother), 2503 (2305?) University Ave., New York, N.Y.
Casualty Lists 1/7/44, 2/5/44
Returned POW List 6/16/45
Syracuse Herald-Journal 10/5/43
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed

________________________________________

While my prior series of posts, concerning Major Milton Joel, focused on P-38 Lightning losses incurred by the 8th Air Force on November 29, 1943, the 8th Air Force actually lost a total of 16 fighters (seven P-38Hs and nine P-47Ds) that day.  From this group of pilots there were seven survivors, among whom was Second Lieutenant Charles K. Hecht, Jr. (0-795955), a member of the 358th Fighter Squadron of the 355th Fighter Group.  Flying P-47D 42-8631 (the un-nicknamed “YF * U“), he crash-landed in Holland and was captured, spending the rest of the war in Stalag Luft I (Barth), specifically in the POW camp’s South Compound.  He was awarded the Air Medal and one Oak Leaf Cluster.  Born on September 20, 1918, he was the son of Charles K. Hecht, Sr., and Sadie (Berg) Hecht), and resided at 1202 Cedar Avenue, in Columbus Georgia.  He passed away on July 18, 2001.  

Some years ago – specifically, in 1994 – I had the good fortune of interviewing Mr. Hecht about his wartime experiences.  His words provide an interesting counterpoint to those of William S. Lyons, who served in the 357th Fighter Squadron of the 355th.  You can listen to Mr. Hecht’s recollections and comments below, a “breakdown” of the topics discussed being listed below the sound-bar. 

0:00 – 1:54: Entering the United States Army Air Force, from being an enlisted man in the Army ground forces. 
1:55 – 2:46: Pilot training.
2:46 – 3:50: Becoming a fighter pilot, and, being assigned to the 355th Fighter Group.

__________

3:51 – 5:18: The death of his brother, Major Morris Hecht, commander of 67th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group, 13th Air Force.  The two news items below, from November 5, 1943 about Major Hecht’s death, and, from January 28, 1944, about Charles’ MIA status, are from The Southern Israelite.  

Major Morris “Mike” Hecht , 0-427727
Killed August 19, 1943 in crash of P-39K 42-4373 (structural failure of wing) – No MACR
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines

__________

5:18 – 6:17: Service in the 358th Fighter Squadron; movement to England aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth.  (At 5:40: “A cabin for two, and fourteen of us in it.”)
6:17 – 6:57: Arrival and experiences in England.
6:57 – 7:25: Thoughts about implications of being captured and identified as a Jew.  (He didn’t think about it!)
7:25 – 8:30: Flying the P-47; flying combat missions. 
8:30 – 10:30: Mission of November 29, 1943; possibly having shot down an “Me-210” (9:36).  (Given the service history of the Me-210, the aircraft encountered was almost certainly an Me-410.)
10:30 – 11:40: Crash-landing in Holland.  His wingman was probably 2 Lt. Richard Peery in 42-22484 (“YF * L“), who also survived.  
11:40 – 12:23: Being captured.
12:23 – 13:05: During his interrogation, was there a focus upon his being a Jew? – (Answer: No.)
13:05 – 13:30: Arriving at Stalag Luft I (Barth).  Comments about Captain Mozart Kaufman (494th FS, 48th FG, 9th AF). 

__________

13:30 – 14:02: POWs remembered from Barth:

“Willie Yee” from Hawaii: 2 Lt. Wilbert Y.K. Yee, 0-735224, Bombardier, 546th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, B-17F, 42-24507, Pilot: 2 Lt. James E. Armstrong, “JD * B”, “Yankee Raider”,  MACR 772

“Wally Moses” (?) (Probably “Mo” Moses, from Vidalia, Ga.)

Other members of 358th Fighter Squadron remembered from Barth

“Kossack”Capt. Walter H. Kossack (POW 11/7/43, P-47D 42-8477, “YF * X”, MACR 1282)

“Roach”: (2 Lt. William E. Roach (POW 11/7/43, P-47D 42-22490, “YF * U”, “Beetle” (In Luftwaffe service as “7 + 9), MACR 1281)

“Carver”: 1 Lt. Harold I. Carver (POW 3/16/44, P-51B 43-6527, “YF * J”, “Indiana Clipper”, MACR 3391)

__________

14:02 – 14:35: Activities at Barth.
14:36 – 15:10: Segregation of Jewish POWs.
15:10 – 15:47: Liberation.
15:47 – 15:55: Did he keep a diary?
16:10 – 17:08: Return to United States and home at Columbus, Georgia.
17:10 – 17:26: Other aspects of his interrogation.
17:26 – 17:55: Memories of other Jewish aviators.
17:55 – 18:10: Service In Air Force Reserve.
18:11 – 18:40: Return visit to Steeple Morden in early 1990s.

__________

18:40 – 19:26: Other Jewish POWs remembered from Barth:

Capt. Leon Bernard Margolian, 0-420749, Fighter Pilot, 65th FS, 57th FG, 12th Air Force, POW 12/10/42, Shot down during dogfight with Me-109s at “Marble Arch” (near Ra’s Lanuf – a town on the Gulf of Sidra), Libya, while piloting P-40F (“Tiger Lil“, “5 * 4”?).  Wounded during the incident.  

The image below, a portrait of Captain Margolian from his POW diary, was sketched by “Smedley“.  A review of various databases and websites reveals that “Smedley” was in all probability Captain Arthur A. Smedley, Jr., of either the 96th Fighter Squadron or Headquarters Squadron of the 82nd Fighter Group.  He was captured on January 30, 1943.    

This image, also from Captain Margolian’s diary, shows a sketch of “Tiger Lil” – “5 * 4“.  The artwork is by “Llewellyn“, who was probably Captain Raymond A. Llewellyn, of the 66th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, captured on November 1, 1943.  

And, Captain Margolian’s POW “mug shot”…

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2 Lt. Milton Plattner, 0-736650, Navigator, 20th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, POW 12/19/43, B-17F 42-5427, Pilot: 2 Lt. John C. Williams, MACR 1530, 10 crew members – 8 survivors; Luftgaukommando Report ME 572

The video below, from Andy Kapeller’s YouTube channel Andrea ́s-living-history-hautnah, entitled “2017 Weerberg Nurpensalm“, shows the remnants of 42-5427 as they appeared four years ago (and probably still do today?).  The video description is:  “Wandern am Weerberg zur Alpe Obernurpens. Wrackteile an der Absturzstelle des amerikanischen Bombers B-17F Flying-Fortress (Nr. 42-5427) der 2nd Bomb Group, 20th Bomb Squadron der 15th USAAF aus Amendola (Italien) kommend, welche am 19.Dezember 1943 um ca. 12 Uhr dort zerschellte.”

Translation?  “Hiking on the Weerberg to the Alpe Obernurpens.  Wreckage at the crash site of the American B-17F Flying Fortress bomber (No. 42-5427) of the 2nd Bomb Group, 20th Bomb Squadron of the 15th USAAF, coming from Amendola (Italy), which crashed there on December 19, 1943 at around 12 noon.” 

Though most of the debris is unrecognizable, from 2:50 to 3:00, Mr. Kapeller’s camera focuses upon an intact remnant of the plane:  A cylindrical ring with protrusions.  This object is an exhaust manifold assembly from one of the bomber’s four Wright Cyclone engines.  A clearer view of the varied designs of exhaust manifolds for a B-17’s engines (notice that the design of the manifold differs depending upon the location – positions “one” through “four” – of the plane’s engines) appears in the illustration below, from the Illustrated Parts Breakdown for the B-17G (USAF TO 1B-17G-4).

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2 Lt. Arthur A. “Red” Carmel, 0-668893, Bombardier, 407th Bomb Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, 11/16/43, B-17F 42-29996, “PY * R“, “Flagship“, Pilot: 2 Lt. Joseph F. Thornton, MACR 1384, 10 crew members – all survived; Luftgaukommando Report KU 429

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2 Lt. Milton Julius Caplan, 0-683250, Navigator, 511th Bomb Squadron, 351st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, 1/30/44, B-17G 42-3509, “DS * Z“, “Crystal Ball“, Pilot: 1 Lt. Charles E. Robertson, “DS * Z”, “Crystal Ball”, MACR 2262, 10 crew members – 9 survivors; Luftgaukommando Report KU 771

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2 Lt. Isaac Sackman Marx, 0-735623, Bomber Pilot, 578th Bomb Squadron, 392nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, 11/13/43, B-24H 42-7483, “R-“, “Big Dog”, MACR 1553, 10 crew members – all survived; Luftgaukommando Report KU 414

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9th Air Force: A B-26 Returned – Two Crewmen Did Not

Among the over 16,000 Missing Air Crew Reports filed for WW II-era USAAF combat or operational losses at least 235 for aircraft which were not actually lost, and either returned to their own base of origin, or, returned to “other” air bases in England, Western Europe, the Mediterranean Theater, the Pacific, or Asia.  MACRs in such circumstances – all for multi-place aircraft, typically bombersand in one case each, a P-61 and C-47 – generally pertain to incidents during which one or more aviators parachuted from their aircraft due to their immediate (very immediate!) perception and belief that the plane was about to crash, battle damage, loss of control by pilots, (very) sudden mechanical failure or fire, severe injury or wounds, bad weather, or, some some combination of these factors.

One such incident is epitomized in MACR 16096, a high-numbered post-war “fill-in” MACR pertaining to an incident that occurred on November 29, 1943.  This involved to Martin B-26B Marauder 41-31679 – “Itsy Bitsy” / “FW * K” – of the 556th Bomb Squadron of the 387th Bomb Group, piloted by Major Walter J. Ives.  (The MACR lists two serials for the aircraft: 41-31679 and 41-31697, but the correct number is the former, as 41-31697 was “Duck Butt” / “TQ * R.)   Two of the plane’s crewmen, co-pilot 1 Lt. Jess A. Watson, and flight engineer S/Sgt. Curtis L. Christley bailed out over the English Channel (at 50-14 N, 00-40 E; a little over half-way between Eastbourne, England and Dieppe, France – see the Oogle map below) when the bomber’s controls became frozen by ice and the plane appeared to go out of control.  However, Major Ives managed to regain control of the plane, to land at an RAF Spitfire base with his four other crewmen.  After refueling, he flew back to the 387th’s base at Chipping Ongar.

Lt. Watson and S/Sgt. Christley were never seen again.

MACR 16096 covers the incident in detail, and includes statements by T/Sgt. Andrew Smerek, the radio operator, and S/Sgt. Martin S. Cohen, the bomber’s tail gunner.  These statements, both written nearly two years after the incident, convey the nature of the event in vivid and frightening clarity.

__________

Here’s S/Sgt. Cohen’s statement:

3831 Pennsgrove Street
Philadelphia 4, Pa.
September 5, 1945

N.W. Reed, Major, Air Corps
Chief, Notification Section
Personal Affairs Branch
AC/AS-1

Dear Major Reed:

This is in reply to your letter of August 31, AFPPA-8-JH, concerning Staff Sergeant Curtis L. Christley, 33154439.  As you had stated, I was the tail gunner of the air crew of which Sergeant Christley was engineer on November 29, 1943.  According to your request the following is a report to the best of my knowledge of the circumstances concerning the mission:

We were flying lead ship for the group piloted by Major Walter Ives.  The weather was very bad that day.  As I remember many of us remarked that it was much too bad for flying.  However, we took off, anyway.

We flew over a rather wide part of the Channel.  As it was later estimated, about twenty miles from the French coast we received a recall from Wing.  When we turned around I sat by the waist windows.  The pilot tried to climb through the overcast which was very thick.  When we reached approximately 16,000 feet (This was the approximate height at the time of the incident estimated upon our return.) the plane iced up and went out of control.  I did not have my head-set on, so I could not say what conversation followed.  However, I noticed the bomb-bay doors opening, and the bombs were salvoed.

My parachute was in back of me and upon seeing this I turned around to get it.  When I looked forward again someone was standing on the catwalk, whom I later found out to have been our navigator.  By this time we were about 10,000 feet, and the ship seemed to be under control.  We were under the overcast as I could see the Channel.

Between the time that we were given the word to return and the time of the incident, the remainder of the ships in our group had left us.  About a half hour later I went up front and found out that Lt. Watson, our acting co-pilot and Sgt. Christley, the engineer, had bailed out.  This was done while my back was turned looking for my parachute, so that I did not see them jump.

As we neared the English coast two Spitfires, which were flying around, motioned for us to follow them, and we landed at their base.  Major Ives called our field and reported the incident.  Then we gassed up and left for our home field.

I would appreciate your advising me of any information concerning Lt. Watson and Sgt. Christley.  I trust that this account will be of some help.

Sincerely,
Martin S. Cohen

__________

And, here’s T/Sgt. Smerek’s statement:

Sept. 9, 1945
In Regard to AFPPA-8-JH

Dear Sirs: –

A few days ago I received a letter in regard to a mission in which I participated on Nov 29, 1943, and asking me to give information about S/Sgt. Curtis L. Christley, who was engineer gunner on the same plane.  It’s been a long time and I don’t remember very clearly just what happened.  But here it is – as much as I remember.

We were flying lead ship in a formation of 18 planes.  Major Ives was the pilot and my regular pilot Lt. Jesse Watson was flying as co-pilot because they were breaking him in as flight leader.  Christley was the engineer and the other members of the crew were Lt. Neal bombardier; Lt. Arthur Newett navigator and Sgt. Martin Cohen as tail gunner.

We hit some bad weather over the Channel and it kept getting worse.  We kept on climbing to get over the bad stuff and then I got the message over the radio that we were recalled back to our base.  I called Maj Ives on interphone and he acknowledged.  He gave the message to the rest of the formation and we started back.  There was plenty of ice on the windows at this time and I noticed the altimeter as being over 15,000 ft.  Then Maj Ives yelled over the inter phone to bail out.  At that time I noticed the bomb bay doors opening and the bombs being salvoed.  Lt Watson pulled his co pilot seat back and all in the same motion went through the radio room and jumped out the bomb bay.  Sgt. Christley watched him go by and promptly put his chute on and followed him out.

I was busy sending out an S.O.S. and giving Lt. Neal a hand in fastening his individual dinghy to his ‘chute harness.  Lt Newett sat on the door between the radio room and the bomb bay and wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go or not.  At about that time Lt. Neal was motioned up front by the pilot and Maj Ives evidently had the plane under control again for no one else left the plane.  It all happened just that quickly.  When I noticed the altimeter again it read 700 feet.

I immediately contacted Air Sea Rescue and sent my message in the clear telling them that two men had bailed out and giving them the approximate position which I received from the navigator.  I kept in constant contact with them until we landed at some base – which incidentally they directed us to.

That’s just about all that happened.  I saw Christley and Watson go and I wasn’t too eager to go until I had to!  I was questioned about this same matter when I was in France last November.  I hope I have managed to help you in some small way.  I never did hear anything about either one of the men and was hoping to hear that they were prisoners of war.  I’d be glad to hear from you if you decide on anything definite.

Respectfully
Andy Smerek

 __________

The photo below (discovered via Pinterest, and then flickr) shows Captain Thomas H. Wakeman, Jr., and his crew standing before B-26B Marauder “Lil Grim Reaper” (or, “Underground Farmer“) / “KX * K” (42-31640) of the 387th Bomb Group’s 558th Bomb Squadron.  The plane was lost in an accident on June 8, 1944.

The men are:

Captain Wakeman  
2nd Lt. William N. Schreiber – Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Kenneth A. Omstead – Navigator / Bombardier
S/Sgt. Ferdinand P. Brabner, Jr. – Flight Engineer / Gunner
S/Sgt. Paul M. Tarrant – Radio Operator / Gunner
Martin S. Cohen – Tail Gunner (At the time, listed as a PFC)

Born on June 7, 1922, S/Sgt. Martin S. Cohen (13098524) survived the war.  He as awarded the Air Medal, 11 Oak Leaf Clusters (thus implying between fifty-five and sixty missions), and Purple Heart. 

The son of Harry T. Cohen, he was born on June 7, 1922, and lived 3831 Pennsgrove Street in Philadelphia.  During the war, his name appeared in both the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record, on November 18, 1943.  His name can also be found on page 516 of American Jews in World War II.  He passed away on February 4, 2006.  

References

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, United Kingdom, London, 1989

Morris, Henry, Edited by Hilary Halter, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945 – An Addendum, AJEX, United Kingdom, London, 1994

South African Jews in World War Two, Eagle Press, South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1950

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two: Captain Paul Kamen, PFC Donald R. Lindheim, and PFC Arthur N. Sloan (April 20, 1945)

 

This is the 37th post in an ongoing series of of accounts concerning Jewish WW II military casualties from the New York metropolitan area, whose stories were covered by The New York Times in 1944 and 1945.  Paralleling the format of the 36 “prior” posts – encompassing Navy Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Stuart Adler through most recently (in January of 2020; was it that long ago?!) Army PFC Warren W. Jacobs – included are accounts of other Jewish military personnel who were casualties (killed, wounded, or prisoners of war) or who had vastly less dire but still notable experiences on the same “calendar” day.

The date of “today’s” post?  Friday, the twentieth of April in the year 1945, when Captain Paul Kamen, PFC Donald R. Lindheim, and PFC Arthur N. Sloan, all of the United States Army ground forces, were killed in action in the European Theater of War. 

Though obituaries of these three men appeared in the Times – on May 25, May 15, and June 5, 1945, respectively – the commonality of the “timing” of their fate, as Jewish soldiers, naturally remained entirely unaddressed by that newspaper.  (In this, there is a parallel to the paper’s coverage of 2 Lt. Arthur M. Chasen and Sgt. Alfred R. Friedlander.)  This was not surprising, for this was entirely consistent with the Times’ ethos concerning the identity, survival, and historical fate of the Jewish people in the Second World War (the religion of the Times, if any, being the “religion” of the Enlightenment) echoes of this ideology having steadily animated the newspaper’s reporting and editorial opinion about the nation-state of Israel.  Yet…to be completely honest, in the particular context of the Second World Warthis perception (or more accurately, non-perception) of Jewish military service seems to have been prevalent in the American Jewish press as much as in the general press. 

____________________

But (but?!) …  Before proceeding further…here’s something completely different.  Well, kind of different.  Well, just plain different.    

Following the “example” (thus-far-only-one-example!) established by my blog post about HA1C Stuart E. Adler – pertaining to Jewish military casualties of March 15, 1945 – where is displayed the cover of the March, 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction – here’s parallel kind’a picture:  The cover of the April 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, featuring William Timmins’ illustration of a scene from Isaac Asimov’s story “Dead Hand”, which tale would in a few short years become part of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.  But, that’s the topic of another blog post…

After all, given that this post pertains to events in that very month and year, an actual physical artifact from that time – however topically unrelated – does lend a sort of temporal “atmosphere” to the names and stories appearing below.

After all, whether symbolically or in reality; whether as myth or legend; whether remembered or forgotten (and more often forgotten); the past still exists.   

And now, back to the central topic at hand…

____________________

As I climbed into the command car for the drive to my new CP, in Klein, I asked the inevitable question, “Who was it, Mike?”

“You won’t believe it, Colonel.  It’s your chess-playing buddy.”

“Not Kamen!”  I felt dizzy as the face of Dr. Paul Kamen, the battalion dentist, flashed before my eyes.  “How did our medics get involved in a shootout?”

_____

A Dental Officer in the Army’s 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, Captain Paul Kamen (0-519788) was killed when his Battalion, advancing through Germany, was strafed by Me-262 jet fighters on April 20, 1945. 

According to the Schlenoff-Kaminsky family tree at Ancestry.com, Paul Kamen and his twin brother Saul were born on January 24, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, to Dr. and Mrs. Max Abraham [12/15/89-12/4/55] and Devora “Vera” (Brovinsky) [7/16/83-9/25/74] Kaminsky.  Paul and his wife Anne were married on June 12, 1940 in Manhattan.    

His name appearing in a Casualty List published on May 16, 1945, Captain Kamen was the subject of news articles in the Times (May 25), the Long Island Daily Press (May 17), and the Long Island Star Journal (May 16 and November 29 of 1945, and November 17, 1948)  His name also appeared in the “In Memoriam” section of the Times on January 24 of both 1946 and 1947, in commemoration of the 30th and 31st anniversaries of his 1916 birth.  

Here is Capt. Kamen’s obituary as it appeared in the Times:

Dentist From Sunnyside Killed in Action in Reich

May 25, 1945

Capt. Paul Kamen of the Army, a dentist, formerly of Sunnyside, Queens, was killed in action in Germany on April 20, according to word received here.  He was 29 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, he received a B.A. degree from New York University in 1937 and a D.D.S. from Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery in 1941.

He entered the Army in May, 1943, as a first lieutenant, went to England in February, 1944, and landed in France in July with the medical detachment of the 291st Engineers Battalion.  He served his battalion as dental, public relations and orientation officer.  His unit helped hold the enemy back in the Malmedy sector during the Ardennes break-through, winning the Presidential Unit Citation.  It also threw one of the first bridges across the Rhine at Remagen.

Captain Kamen leaves a widow, Mrs. Anne Kamen; his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Max Kaminsky; a twin brother, Dr. Saul Kamen, and three sisters, Mrs. Anna Ratner, Mrs. Rebecca Jarmon and Mrs. Mina Gudeon.

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Here are two articles about Captain Kamen from the Long Island Star Journal. 

This first article coincided with the May 16 appearance of Captain Kamen’s name in the Office of War Information’s Casualty List, the Star Journal’s article curiously having been published a week before the Times’ May 25 article. 

Sunnyside Dentist Killed in Germany

May 16, 1945

Captain Paul Kamen, former Sunnyside dentist, was killed in action in Germany April 20, his twin brother, Dr. Saul Kamen of Forest Hills and Elmhurst, has been notified.

The 29-year-old officer, who practiced at 47-09 Skillman Avenue before joining the Army in May 1943, was a dentist with the 291st Combat Engineers, attached to the 1st Army.  He also performed the duties of public relations and orientation officer for his unit, and held a Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in Belgium during the enemy breakthrough in December.

Born and educated in Brooklyn, Captain Kamen received his degree in dentistry from Columbia University in 1941.  Formerly a member of the Queens District Dental Society, he entered the army as a first lieutenant and was promoted to captain three months after going overseas in February 1944.

In addition to Dr. Kamen, who lives at 118-16 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills, and has an office at 63-52 Woodhaven Boulevard, Elmhurst, the Captain leaves his wife, Mrs. Anne Kamen of 104-21 68th Street, Forest Hills, and parents, Dr. and Mrs. Max Kaminsky of 234 Hewes Street, Brooklyn.  Dr. Kamen is chairman of the Queens legislative Council.

Six months later, on November 29, the Star Journal carried a brief news item about a check made to the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief by Dr. Saul Kamen, Paul’s twin brother, and the donation of Captain Kamen’s uniforms to the Committee by Paul’s widow Anne.  Note that Paul’s portrait in the Star Journal differs from the image in the Times.  

Even in Death

War Hero Contributes to Relief of Victims

November 29, 1945

When Captain Paul Kamen of Elmhurst was killed in action in Germany last summer, a blank check was found among his personal effects.

The check was sent to Dr. Saul Kamen of 63-52 Woodhaven boulevard, Elmhurst, who felt his brother would have wanted the money to go to the Yugoslav people whose sacrifices in the war left them homeless and in rags.

In due time, a check for $10 arrived at the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief, 235 East 11th street, Manhattan.

Today, Burgess Meredith, chairman of the winter clothing campaign of the committee, paid tribute to Captain Kamen and revealed that the captains’ widow had contributed his uniforms to the committee.

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Not forgotten:  Captain Kamen’s memory has been commemorated by two Honoree Records at the National WW II Memorial:  One created by his brother Saul, and the other created by his widow Anne.  The latter includes even a third photographic portrait of the Captain (in a pensive mood?) shown below:

Captain Paul Kamen was buried at Montefiore Cemetery (Block 111, Row 001L, Grave 1, Plot 12) in Springfield Gardens, New York, probably in late 1948.  

Insights into Captain Kamen’s military experiences can be found in Danny S. Parker’s 2013 Fatal Crossroads: The Untold Story of the Malmédy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge, Janice Holt Giles’ 1970 The Damned Engineers, which chronicles the story of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, and above all Colonel David E. Pergrin and Eric M. Hammel’s 1989 First Across the Rhine – The 291st Engineer Combat Battalion in France, Belgium, and Germany.  (“Above all”, because Colonel Pergrin was commander of the Battalion!)  All three excerpts pertain to the Malmedy Massacre – particularly the survival of Lieutenant Virgil Lary – while First Across the Rhine addresses the efforts of the 291st to aid Belgian civilians after Malmedy was inadvertently struck by bombs from American 9th Air Force B-26 bombers on December 23, 1944, and, concludes with an account of Captain Kamen’s death shortly before the war’s end.  

 

Relevant excerpts these works follow below…

Fatal Crossroads

At about 9 p.m. they were all inside saying their prayers.  “Someone rapped on my door,” she recalled.  “We thought it was our turn to die.”

Her sister Marie was nearest to the entrance.  “I’ll go and open it.”  When she did, the silhouette of a big man stood there in the darkness of the doorway.  “He was saying something, but we didn’t understand him.”  Was he German?  The girls looked at each other, but their father Louis, said to let him enter.  Now, with the stranger inside, the kerosene lamp illuminated the room.  They could see that he could hardly walk.

The man looked terrible – muddy and wet, limping on one foot and smudged and rank with cow dung.  His boot was oozing red, and blood trailed onto the floor.  He kept saying something over and over – “Sick!  Sick!” – but no one could understand.  There was small relief when they realized he was an American.  But the Germans who had shot him must be close by.  If they came….  The family sat him down near the warmth of the kitchen stove.  With a loud groan, they got the bloody boot off.  The American had been shot through the ankle.  They washed his wounds.  As they bandaged him up and put a splint on his ankle, Marie, her father, and her sisters discussed the situation.  In the dimly lit farm- house was a refugee boy from Elsenborn who spoke a little English.

Through the youth, the Martin family learned that the man’s name was Lt. Virgil Lary from the U.S Army.  All his comrades – more than a hundred – had just been shot down south of Malmedy.  Marine gasped at his description.  “How did you find the house?” Louis wanted to know.  Lary told them that he had crawled there on his hands and knees.  He had gone through a little village that they knew must have been Hedomont – and no one wanted to open the doors.  Even with drawn curtains, Lary had followed the dim window beacon emanating from the Martins’ kerosene lamps.  The Belgian family looked at each other: The Germans would see them too!

The girls gave the woeful-looking soldier some soup while the family talked.  They couldn’t hazard keeping the American here; it was way too risky.  The Germans would be here soon.  Knowing the danger, her father Louis went down to Malmedy with a note composed by Lt. Lary, asking for help.  He returned only an hour later.  Sure enough, Martin had found the first aid station in Malmedy and tried to get Dr. Paul Kamen, a medic with the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, to send an ambulance.  But Kamen refused, explaining that driving through enemy territory was too dangerous.  He did, however, send back some sulfa drugs and bandages.  Although those were welcome when Louis returned, Lary was now in increasing pain and insisted on getting to an American hospital.  The family was of the same opinion, but for a different reason: If the Germans came, they would all be shot.  Still, even with an improvised crutch made from a broom, Lary clearly could not walk himself.  But accompanying the American would be suicide if Louis ran into the Germans.

However, knowing the enemy might think differently of women helping a wounded man, Marthe and her neighbor, Marthe Marx, volunteered to escort the American to Malmedy.  Doing so was terribly dangerous, but it was the best of a series of poor options.  Eventually Louis Martin consented.  After midnight they left, with the two young women holding Lary between them, each cradling a shoulder.  “We could hear gunfire in the night,” she remembered, worrying that they might run into the Germans.  If they did, that would be it.  She reminded Marthe Marx to speak only German, and if they ran into them, “to shut up and let me do the talking.”

Marthe Martin tried not to think about the risk, but she urged her friend to go faster with the limping American.  They kept moving – a three-kilometer march down a steep hill carrying an adult man between them.  For over an hour Lary groaned in pain as they proceeded, and both girls ached terribly under his weight.  Still, they eventually came to the school building in Malmedy used as the 44th Evacuation Hospital.  There, a harried member of the Belgian Red Gross offered little help.  “Sorry, we can’t take him,” the woman complained.  “The whole unit is evacuating.”  The Germans were coming.  “For the love of God,” Marthe Martin said in exasperation.  “Take this poor soldier to the Americans.”  Okay, the woman agreed.

Marthe Martin and Marthe Marx uttered a quick goodbye to Virgil Lary.  With that, both women hurried back up the steep hill to their home, expecting to run into the Germans at anytime.  Shortly afterward Lt. Lary was taken to the command post of Lt. Col. David Pergrin and then to the 28th General Hospital in Liege. (pp. 217-218)

The Damned Engineers

Around 8:00 that evening, Warrant Officer Coye R. Self reached Malmedy with the ammunition, mines and demolitions Colonel Pergrin had ordered from Battalion earlier.

The supplies were quickly funneled out to the men on the various roadblocks.  Especially strengthened was the area west of Malmedy where Sergeant McCarty now had two roadblocks on the main Stavelot road.  He had one at the wooden bridge over the Warche River, and another at the big railroad viaduct.  Mines and demolitions were sent and McCarty and Lieutenant Rhea set to work to wire the two bridges.

Pergrin was still, however, very short of machine guns.  His officers kept asking for more and more machine guns for the roadblocks.  He thought of Company A.  They might be back home by now.  He therefore radioed Battalion to send him the Company A machine guns and gunners.  It was about 8:30 p.m.  Battalion acknowledged and reported that Company A had not yet got in.

Between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. Captain Paul Kamen, the battalion dental officer, arrived in Malmedy with more medics and medical supplies.  Pergrin was amazed to see him.  When he had radioed Battalion, he had ordered the medical officer over.  Kamen explained that the medical officer, Captain Walter Kaplita, had not been in Haute Bodeux when Pergrin’s radio message was received.  Not wanting to delay, Kamen had reasoned that he knew more about administering drugs and deep dressings than the medics and that in a pinch he might even be able to perform simple surgery, so he had packed up and come ahead.

Artillery fire was now falling in Malmedy.  “Any trouble getting here?” Pergrin asked.

“Well,” Kamen said, “the truck got shot up pretty bad, but we got through.  We came through a heavy bombardment on the road from Stavelot.”

Pergrin went out to look at the panel truck Kamen had brought and could only shake his head.  The body was literally riddled with holes.  “How in the hell did you make it without somebody being killed?” he said.

Kamen did not know.  He thought perhaps they had been driving too fast.  Not a man had received so much as a scratch.  Kamen plunged immediately into work dressing the wounds of survivors from the massacre who continued to be brought in.  Although the flow of wounded survivors would cease, Kamen’s work would not.  For ten days he would be a very busy dental officer doing a medical officer’s work.  (pp. 194-195)

Around midnight the last of the survivors of the massacre the 291st would assist was brought into the aid station.  He was Lieutenant Virgil T. Lary.  He had fallen into the friendly hands of a farmer who was a Belgian patriot rather than a German sympathizer.  He was given assistance and shelter.  He wrote a note addressed to the hospital commandant in Malmedy and asked that an ambulance be sent for him.  The farmer took it to Malmedy where he learned that the hospital was no longer there.  He persisted in his search for help for Lary, however, until he located Company B’s command post and aid station, where he delivered the note.  Captain Kamen told him that he had no ambulance and the station was full of other wounded men who needed the attention of himself and his medics.  Kamen sent sulfa and bandaging for Lary and the farmer promised to bring him in.

Returning to his farm, when Lary’s wound was dressed the farmer found a stout stick and his daughter Marthe and her friend, Marthe Manx, assisted the wounded officer into the aid station.  It was nearly midnight.  Colonel Pergrin interrogated him shortly afterward.  Lary was able to give the final confirmation, clearly, concisely and coherently of precisely how the massacre had occurred.  Colonel Pergrin said, “Lary was in perfect control of himself, calm and collected.  He related the entire sequence of events coherently and in good detail.  There was no evidence of hysteria.  Like a good officer, he made a good, clear report.”

Between 3:30 that afternoon and midnight, seventeen survivors in all had made their way to places where men of the 291st could help them.  It is known that 43 survivors of both the brief skirmish and the massacre lived and reached safety.  There are 72 names on the monument erected by the Belgians in honor of the men massacred at the crossroads.  The official records, however, list 86 names.  A bleak testimony to the savagery of Peiper’s troops. (pp. 201-202)

*******

Then they were assigned to the 99th Infantry Division for the reduction of the Ruhr.  When that had been done, the 99th, and the 291st with it, were assigned to Patton’s Third Army and they all went speeding down into Bavaria.  The primary objective was to liberate as many prisoner-of-war camps as possible and to prevent any movement of German High Command to the redoubts in the southern mountains.

They lost three men during this movement.  Captain Paul Kamen, who had brought the medical supplies to Malmedy through Pieper’s artillery fire the night of December 17, was killed on the autobahn near Kissengen.  The 291st convoy was strafed by a couple of Luftwaffe jet-propelled planes.  Staff Sergeant Douglas Swift, also of the medical section, was killed at the same time. (pp. 374-375) 

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First Across the Rhine

Shortly after midnight, a Belgian farmer named Martin was passed through one of our roadblocks to Dr. Paul Kamen’s aid station in Malmedy.  Martin told Kamen that a wounded American officer was at his home, a farmhouse just south of town.  Paul sent sulfa and bandages home with the farmer, and Martin returned at about 0100 hours, December 18, with Lieutenant Virgil Lary, commander of the massacred Battery B.  As it turned out, Lary was the last of twenty-nine survivors we had taken in since 1530 hours, December 17.  Though wounded, he was in good mental condition and quite able to relate a perfectly coherent story with many new details, including a complete description of the SS armored vehicles and a fairly accurate accounting of the German column’s strength.  (p. 113)

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… No, Malmedy’s worst enemy after December 21, 1944, was the U.S. Army Air Forces.

On December 23, beneath cloudy skies, twenty-eight B-26 medium bombers of the U.S. 9th Air Force’s IX Bombardment Division got confused on their way to the German town of Zulpich, which was thirty-three air miles from Malmedy.  Twenty-two of the twenty-eight pilots eventually realized they were off course and aborted their bombing runs.  However, six of the medium bombers dropped a total of eighty-six five-hundred-pound general-purpose bombs on Malmedy.

All of the bombs detonated around and through the center of town.  Though severely dazed and shocked, Captain Larry Moyer, Captain John Conlin, and I immediately went to work organizing rescue efforts by al of our available troops – including many we pulled off the defensive barrier.

The town center was devastated.  Fires were raging among the many collapsed buildings, roads and streets were thoroughly blocked, and there was ample evidence – screams, mainly – that many civilians and soldiers were buried alive in the rubble.

Among the first help to arrive was an engineer fire brigade organized by three of the 291st engineers running our eater purification plant – Technician 5th Grade John Chapman, Private First Class Camillo Bosco, and Private First Class John Iles.  The makeshift fire brigade came complete with a fire truck and hoses.

As our line engineers converged on the ravaged area, Larry Moyer and John Conlin quickly organized rescue teams to sift through the rubble in search of survivors.  Bulldozers arriving on the scene were deployed to begin road-clearing operations under the direction of Lieutenants Frank Rhea, Wade Colbeck, Don Davis, Kohn Kirkpatrick, and Leroy Joehnck and Master Sergeant Ralph McCarty.  This was especially ticklish work near the center of the bombed-out area, for the rubble blocking the streets was likely as not to contain buried survivors.  At the far edges of the blasted area, Sergeant Charles Sweitzer’s demolitions team blew fire lanes to contain the further spread of the otherwise uncontrollable fires.

Within minutes of the detonation of the last bomb, Captain Paul Kamen’s makeshift battalion aid station was receiving the first of the many, many military and civilian casualties.  Shortly, litter teams were organized by several of our squad leaders – Sergeants Sheldon Smith and Al Melton, and Corporal Black Mac MacDonald.  Unfortunately, the shortage of medics left the onerous task of separating the dead from the wounded to these three stalwarts.  Too soon, lines of dead civilians and soldiers were being deposited in an open temporary morgue in the schoolyard near the aid station.  By the time the last living victim had been freed from the rubble, Paul Kamen – our dentist – and his medics had treated about a hundred civilians and fifty GIs.  Among the injured troops was Technician 3rd Grade Mack Barbour, an irrepressible medic who went straight to work as soon as his wounds had been bound.

My troop leaders and troops were magnificent.  As I walked through the rubble, finding very little that needed my attention, there rose in me a sense of pride even the events of the past week could not surpass.  Their reaction to the unbelievably frightening disaster had been so quick, so thorough, so giving.  Almost without let up, these combat-hardened young men worked straight into the night, gingerly sifting the rubble of countless buildings for some sign of even the most tenuously maintained spirit of life.

Locating the living – and the dead – in the rubble was more difficult than it sounds.  The mighty detonations of the five-hundred-pound-bombs had ground many parts of many buildings to a fine, powdery gray dust which coated everything in sight.  A living, unconscious body looked much the same as dead stone, and more than a few survivors were located only after they gave way beneath the boot-shod feet of would-be rescuers.  There was no blood visible – only less-dry blood-charged patches of the ubiquitous gray dust.  And throughout the effort, the strenuous breathing resulting from heavy, frantic physical effort carried great volumes of the noxious fine powder and cordite-tinged are into the noses, mouths, and lungs of the rescuers.

Many of the tableaux we uncovered were simply pitiful.  Master Sergeant Ralph McCarty and Technician 5th Grade John Noland lifted some heavy rubble from the ruin of one house and found several live children arrayed around the cold, stiff bodies of their mother and father.  Children and adults whose clothing had been reduced to gray, dusty rags wandered aimlessly through the area of the worst destruction, all no doubt driven temporarily over the edge by the shock and grief that had burst upon their comparatively orderly lives.  (It is one thing to see a war going on, and quite another to have that war explode in your family’s sitting room.)

We eventually learned that the BBC had reported Malmedy as being in German hands, and we chalked the error up to that bad information.  We had placed many huge marker panels on roofs throughout the town, but low clouds apparently obviated their being seen in time.  However, a subsequent investigation revealed that it was a navigation error, pure and simple.  I cannot imagine what would have befallen us had all or most of the B-26s dropped their bombs.  (pp. 173-175)

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The Germans quit the Ruhr region altogether on Sunday, April 15, 1945, three days after we were rocked by the news of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt.  By then, all of our prisoner-of-war camps were filled beyond capacity by fit German soldiers who were clearly placing their lives and futures ahead of any remaining loyalty to the Nazi regime.  Only the most rabid Nazis were still putting up appreciable resistance.

As the Allied armies in the West converged along a narrowing front and the Ruhr became a backwater, I took the opportunity of our relative inactivity to institute a major program of rest and recreation for my men.  Every man we could spare from routine road and bridge maintenance duties was given an opportunity to wash, shave, and trade in worn clothing and shoes.  Everyone who wanted to go was sent on fishing expeditions in the clear streams and lake that dotted our operational zone.  We played hard at a wide variety of sports.  As the transportation system sorted itself out, long leaves in Paris and Brussels became available on a limited basis.   

The moment things settled into a routine, Mill McKinsey was back with his “order” that I leave for my vacation on the Riviera.  By then, even I felt the need to take a break, so I acceded and joined a fellow lieutenant colonel from the 1st Army Engineer section for the flight to Cannes.  The week passed in a blur of unwarlike activity.  On the way back to the Ruhr, the pilot of our C-47 transport plane dipped low over Remagen so I could see the 291st’s handiwork.  It was satisfying to see that the treadway pontoon bridge was as busy with traffic as it had been on its first day of business.

I was met at the airfield at Scheinfeld by good old Mike Popp.  As I greeted my driver, I was struck by the look of despair on his face.  Instantly, the positive effects of a week away from the grind dissipated in a shudder of fear.  I knew instinctively that someone close to me had died.  As I climbed into the command car for the drive to my new CP, in Klein, I asked the inevitable question, “Who was it, Mike?”

“You won’t believe it, Colonel.  It’s your chess-playing buddy.”

“Not Kamen!”  I felt dizzy as the face of Dr. Paul Kamen, the battalion dentist, flashed before my eyes.  “How did our medics get involved in a shootout?”

“We were in a convoy, keeping up with the 99th Division on the way south.  On April 20, the Krauts dive-bombed our column near a place called Kitzigen, south of Frankfurt.”

I wanted more details; I wanted to know how Paul Kamen, the hero medico of Malmedy, had died.  Mike took a deep breath and laid it out.  “We were in a motorcade, meeting no resistance, when we heard the Kraut jets coming down on us.  All the trucks stopped and everyone hit the ditch.  It was routine stuff, Colonel.  We’d done it a hundred times since we crossed into Germany.  Anyway, I was at the front of the column and the medical section was all the way in the rear.  According to the guys who were back there, the medics never got out of their trucks.  The jets hit them too fast.  Doctor Kamen’s truck took a direct hit.  He was killed instantly.  They also got Doug Swift.  We got Doug out, but he died in the hospital.  Mack Barbour was with him when he died.”

I was dumbfounded, too overcome by grief to speak, so we finished the dive to the CP in silence.  When we got there, Lieutenant Don Gerrity came out to greet me with what he hoped would be better news.  “Five men from the H&S Company were wounded in the jet attack, Colonel, but,” and he held up his hand before I went crazy, “they’ve all been returned to duty.  Nothing serious.”  After Don told me who the wounded men were, I asked where I could find Technician 3rd Grade Mack Barbour.  Don said that he would get Mack for me.

As soon as Mack walked into the CP, I asked how Paul Kamen had died.  “He went right away, sir, as soon as the bomb got the weapons carrier.  We were stopped before the bomb hit, but we didn’t have a chance to get out.  I wasn’t touched.  I checked his vital signs right away, but he was gone.  Sir, there wasn’t a mark on him.  It could have been the concussion or it could be his heart stopped from the shock of the explosion.  We got him to the evac hospital and the doctors confirmed that he was gone.

“Master Sergeant Swift had abdominal wounds, but it looked like he was going to make it.  I thought he’d make it, but he died during the same evening.” (pp. 304-306) (Born on March 1, 1911, S/Sgt. Douglas C. Swift, 38396893, of Seminole County, Ok., is buried at the Fairview Cemetery, in Shawnee, Ok.  His tombstone incorrectly lists the date of his death as 4/30/45.)

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On the odd hunch that at least some kind of historical record of the 291st had been preserved on film, I discovered the fifty-minute-long documentary – “The Damned Engineers in the Battle of the Bulge December 1944 (“U.S 291st Combat Engineer Battalion against Battle Group Peiper in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944”).  According to a bibliographical record at WorldCat, the film was produced in 1991 by “A & E [Arts & Entertainment Network] Home Video”, the producers having been Richard P. Maniscalco, John Flynn, Colonel Pergrin himself, and “Image Crafters”.  

The title being self-explanatory to the documentary’s nature, the film – based on Colonel Pergrin and Eric Hammel’s First Across the Rhine – is excellent, incorporating both American and German archival footage, still photos and maps (well, images of maps).  The video is of very good quality, while the audio narration is refreshingly not obscured by too-loud background theme music.  As a nice and fittingly symbolic gesture – particularly in the context of the timing of its early 1990s production, when most WW II veterans were in their sixties and seventies and approaching or in retirement – it begins and concludes with the depiction of a veteran of the 291st (played by John Flynn) reviewing his wartime and memorabilia and reminiscing about his service in the 291st.

The film is hosted at Daniel Kneeland’s YouTube channel, but, you’ll have to log in to YouTube to view it, for it comes with the warning: “This video is age-restricted and only available on YouTube.”  Gadzooks.  Seriously?  Why?  Well, probably due to the inclusion of camera footage of the recovery and identification of soldiers murdered by the S.S. during the Malmedy Massacre (I’ve not seen these sequences before), film which even by the standards of cinema of WW II combat – and the aftermath of combat – is at once utterly graphic, appalling, and infuriating.  

You can view the video at the link below, after – uhhh – logging in to YouTube. 

Or more aptly phrased, TheirTube?

In this context, the documentary includes brief interviews with two survivors of that atrocity (James Mattera at both 21:53-22:11  and 22:45-23:12, and, Bill Merriken at 22:12-22:44), and towards the end, film of the Malmedy Massacre trial.  This sequence includes (from 48:31 to 49:22) of film of Lieutenant Virgil P. Lary, Jr.  

One of the several still images incorporated into the film appears from 43:46 to 44:09 – and shows Colonel Pergrin and his staff toasting the 291st’s defense efforts at Malmedy.  As stated in the narration, “In the center was Colonel Pergrin, on the right Captain [Lawrence] Moyer and on the left Lieutenants [Thomas] Stack, Fitzpatrick, and Lieutenant Don[ald] Davis.  Lieutenants Scoback and Ray, Captain Kamen the medic, and Captain Lloyd Sheetz, the liaison officer.” 

Screen captures of the photo are shown below.  Despite the narration, I’m uncertain of “who is who”, albeit Captain Kamen is standing second from left at the bottom of the three images, looking directly at the unknown photographer.  

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Paul Kamen is among the many American Jewish WW II military casualties whose named are absent from the 1947 book American Jews in World War II.   

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The year 2001, fifty-six years after Captain Paul Kamen was killed in action in Germany, marked the release of Steven Spielberg (especially see this…) and Tom Hanks’ production of the television miniseries Band of Brothers, which presented a dramatized account of the history of E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, inspired by Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose’s book of the same name.  

(Digressing and getting very “off topic”:  I’ve never viewed, and have never been interested in viewing, Band of Brothers.  I did watch Saving Private Ryan, and found the film to be disquieting (albeit this feeling didn’t actually arise from its graphic nature as such) and above all, well – how can I put it?? – contrived, with sentimentality splashed on as if with a heavy trowel.  Then again, I’ve never been impressed with Spielberg’s oeuvre, which excels as much in shallowness, a kind of forced, disingenuous, and calculated optimism, and an avoidance of historical reality, as it does simple cinematography – I’ll give him credit there.  Okayyy, enough with the film criticism for now!  Back to the post-at-hand…) 

As I discovered while creating this post, the music for the series was written by the late composer Michael Arnold Kamen, Captain Paul Kamen’s nephew.  As stated in the booklet accompanying the CD release of the music soundtrack, “This music was written as a requiem for Captain Paul Kamen, my father’s twin, who was killed at Remagen, 3 days before the end of the war.  Rest in peace.”  Well, while completely and oddly incorrect – the war in Europe ended on May 8, almost three weeks after Captain Kamen’s death, and the Captain was not killed at Remagen – the feeling and motivation are nonetheless quite real.     

You can listen to the full 48-minute musical soundtrack of Band of Brothers hereat the Movie Themes Symphonies & Suites YouTube channel.

Born in 1948, Michael Kamen passed away in 2003 at the age of fifty-five, after an enormously prolific and successful musical career, as evidenced by the plethora of information about his life and body of work. 

As summarized by Ron Moody at Michael Kamen’s biographical profile at FindAGrave:

Musician.  Classically trained at New York’s Julliard School where he studied oboe, he gained fame as a Grammy winning and Oscar nominated composer.  His first Grammy came in 1992 for the theme to “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” followed by a Grammy in 1996 for “An American Symphony” which he derived from his work on the musical drama “Mr. Holland’s Opus”.  His most recent Grammy came in 2001 which he shared with Metallica for the song “The Call of Ktulu” for conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.  He was nominated for Oscars for his work with Bryan Adams on “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” from Robin Hood” and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” from “Don Juan DeMarco”.  During his career he also collaborated with such artists as Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton.  He also provided the music for the “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” movies.  In 1997 he established the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to raise money to make musical instruments available to the nation’s children.

You can read more about Michael Kamen at…

Wikipedia (…but of course…)

The Guardian (his obituary)

Internet Movie Database

DejaReviewer

Fandom

Last.FM

Discogs

In all this, it would seem that past and future – whether by chance or inevitability – intersected with one another.  Or, in the words of William Faulkner in Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead.  It’s not even past.”

Photo from The Lounge Critic Blogspot

Photo via Ron Moody

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His obituary appearing in the Times on May 15, 1945, PFC Donald Robert Lindheim (39054015) of the 2nd Ranger Battalion received the Purple Heart.  

Born on June 2, 1914 in New York City, he was married to Mrs. Mary (Tuthill) Lindheim, of 247 (347?) Union St., in San Francisco.  His parents were Attorney and Mrs. Norvin Rudolf [1880-1928] and Irma (Levy) [1886-1978] Lindheim; his siblings Norvin Rudolf, Jr. [1/23/08-4/6/39], Richard W., Stephen W., and Mrs. Hortense L. Wheatley, the family residing at the Peter Stuyvesant Hotel in Manhattan (about which, see more below).  He was a graduate of Cornell University.  

PFC Lindheim is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery, in Margraten, Holland (Plot J, Row 4, Grave 4).  His name appeared in a Casualty List issued on May 15, 1945, as well as the New York Sun (April 8, 1939), Daily News (New York Daily News, that is) on May 18, 1945, and Jewish Chronicle (London) on June 1, 1945.  His name can be found on page 48 of American Jews in World War II.    

Ranger Who Lost His Life In Germany on April 20

May 15, 1945

Pfc. Donald R. Lindheim of the Second Ranger Battalion of the Army was killed in action in Germany on April 20, the War Department has informed his family, it was announced yesterday.  He was 30 years old.  Private Lindheim was a son of Mrs. Irma L. Lindheim of the Peter Stuyvesant Hotel [The Peter Stuyvesant Hotel, at 257 Central Park West, was sold on April 17, 1967, becoming the Peter Stuyvesant Apartments, the name then being changed to the Orwell House.  Resident shareholders finally changed the name to “257 Central Park West” by the early 2000s, the building’s present title.], who is a former president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and of the late Norvin Lindheim, a lawyer.

Born here, Private Lindheim attended the Tome School in Maryland and Cornell University.  He studied and worked in collective agriculture in Palestine and at the time of an Arab uprising there acted as bodyguard to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization.  He was studying for a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of California when he enlisted.

Besides his mother Private Lindheim leaves a widow, Mrs. Mary Tuthill Lindheim of Tucson, Ariz.; two brothers, Lieut. Richard Lindheim of the Army Signal Corps, now in Burma, and Stephen Lindheim, in special Government service, and a sister, Mrs. John Wheatley of Yonkers, N.Y.

Here’s PFC Lindheim’s obituary, as it appeared in the Daily News; not that much different from as reported in the Times.  

Daily News (New York)

May 18, 1945

A member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, PFC Donald R. Lindheim, 30, son of Mrs. Irma L. Lindheim of the Peter Stuyvesant Hotel, was killed in action in Germany on April 20.

Lineheim once acted as bodyguard to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, at the time of an Arab uprising in Palestine.  His mother is a former president of Hadassah, women’s Zionist organization.  He was studying for a doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of California when he enlisted.  Surviving also are Lindheim’s widow, Mrs. Mary Tuthill Lindheim of Tuscon, Ariz.; two brothers and a sister.

Here’s a view of 257 Central Park West, from Wikipedia  (“The profile from the 86th Street transverse at Central Park.”)

Another view of the building.  (“Hotel Peter Stuyvesant, ca. 1938.”)

This photo of PFC Lindheim, at his FindAGrave biographical profile, is via contributor ET.  

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The third April 20, 1945 casualty whose obituary appeared in the Times was PFC Arthur Neurad Sloan (42038875), a medic in the Medical Detachment of the 260th Infantry Regiment of the 65th Infantry Division, who died of wounds on April 21.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.  

The son of Dr. Alfred V. and Mrs. Jeanette Salomon and brother of S/Sgt. Alfred V. Sloan, Jr., of 41 West 96th Street in Manhattan, he is buried at Linden Hill Cemetery in Maspeth, N.Y.

PFC Sloan’s name appeared in Casualty Lists on May 14 and May 18, 1945, and in the Times’ Obituary section on July 16, 1948.  His name can be found on page 447 of American Jews in World War II.

Youth Fatally Wounded While Helping Comrade

June 5, 1945

Pfc. Arthur N. Sloan, an Army medical aid man, son of Dr. and Mrs. Alfred V. Salomon of 41 West Ninety-Sixth Street, died on April 21 of wounds he suffered the previous day while attending a wounded comrade near Regensburg, according to word received here.  He was 19 years old.

Born in this city he was graduated from Columbia Grammar School in 1943 and entered the pre-medical course of Washington Square College of New York University.  He entered the Army in September, 1943, and went overseas in January, 1945.  He saw active service with the Third Army in the Saar and later in Bavaria and Czechoslovakia.

Besides his parents he leaves a brother, S/Sgt. Alfred V. Sloan Jr. of the Army Air Forces.

Here’s an Oogle Street view of 41 West 96th Street in Manhattan.

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Some other Jewish military casualties on Friday, April 20, 1945 (Yom Shishi, 7th Iyar, 5705) include…

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –

תהא
נפשו
צרורה
בצרור
החיים

United States Army

Killed in Action / Died of Wounds

Adler, Samuel Ludwig, S/Sgt., 36774182, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart (Germany – died of wounds)
65th Infantry Division, 259th Infantry Regiment, K Company
Born Hungary, 10/4/10
Mrs. Goldie G. Adler (wife), 4748 N. Whipple St., Chicago, Il.
Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France – Plot F, Row 11, Grave 26
Chicago Daily Tribune 7/29/45
American Jews in World War II
– 92

This image of S/Sgt. Adler is via FindAGrave contributor PJHorn

Cite Veterans of Far Flung Battle Zones
Bronze Star Citations Tell of Bravery

Chicago Daily Tribune
July 29, 1945

The 65th Infantry Division in Austria recently honored the memory of Staff Sgt. Samuel L. Adler who gave his life wiping out a German machine gun nest.  Son of Mrs. Lenas Geydushek, 4626 Monticello Ave., he was awarded the bronze star posthumously.

Adler’s act of heroism took place in the city of Neumarket [sic], Germany, last April.  Leading his squad in clearing houses in Nermarket, he was pinned down by intense fire from an enemy machine gun nest to his front.  He inched his way forward to discover the enemy’s position and when within 25 yards of his objective was fatally wounded by machine gun fire. 

Sgt. Adler’s Bronze Star citation, at his FindAGrave biographical profile, reads as follows:

“For heroic achievement in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States at Neumarkt, Germany, on 20 April 1945.  Sergeant ADLER, a Company “K” squad leader, leading his squad in clearing houses in Neumarkt, was pinned down by intense fire from an enemy machine-gun nest to his front.  Leaving his men under cover, Sergeant ADLER inched his way toward the enemy gun.  Discovering their position, he informed his scout, and began an advance to wipe out the nest.  When within twenty-five yards of his objective, he was fatally wounded by machine-gun fire.  Sergeant ADLER gave his life protecting his comrades, and by his heroic devotion to duty enabled his squad to annihilate the enemy machine gun nest, thus contributing greatly to company’s advance”

Details:  General Orders No. 23, Headquarters 65th Infantry Division (16 May 1945).

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Chelimsky, Joseph L., Sgt., 32999069, Bronze Star Medal, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
77th Infantry Division, 307th Infantry Regiment
Born 1916
Mrs. Virginia Chelimsky (wife), 11 Maple St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ms. Zita Fox (?)
Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii – Plot N, Row 1, Grave 385
American Jews in World War II – 288

Coldwater, Ralph, Pvt., 39931847, Purple Heart (Okinawa)
96th Infantry Division, 382nd Infantry Regiment
Born in Montana, 3/29/20
Mr. and Mrs. Lipman [2/16/88-2/16/77] and Henrietta [8/12/84-5/1/39] Coldwater (parents), Capt. Elliott Coldwater (brother)
303 East Park Ave., Anaconda, Montana
B’Nai Israel Cemetery, Butte, Mt.
Casualty List 6/10/45
American Jews in World War II – 219

This image of Pvt. Coldwater’s Matzeva, by Suzanne Andrews, appears at his FindAGrave biographical profile.  

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David, Allan Lippett, 2 Lt., 0-1183680, Purple Heart (Philippines, Negros Island)
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion
Born 1924
Mr. Sigmund W. David (father); Martha L. David and Elinor S. David (sisters), 167 Maple St., Glencoe, Il.
Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines – Plot N, Row 7, Grave 167
Chicago Tribune 5/17/45
Chicago Jewish Chronicle
6/1/45

American Jews in World War II – 96

Goldberg, Jack, PFC, 33935228, Silver Star, Purple Heart (died of wounds)
10th Mountain Division, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, D Company
Miss Jean Goldberg (sister), 3834 Wyalusing Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy – Plot F, Row 2, Grave 14
The Jewish Exponent 6/8/45
Philadelphia Bulletin 6/2/45
Philadelphia Inquirer 6/1/45
Philadelphia Record 6/2/45
American Jews in World War II – 524

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Markson, Harry F., Pvt., 12238636, Purple Heart, shot by a sniper at Monte Maygori, Italy
10th Mountain Division, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, G Company
Born Elmira, N.Y., 1926
Attorney Harry Markson (father) and Mrs. Mildred (Falk) [1892-1986] Markson (mother), 10 7th St., Buffalo, N.Y.
Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy – Plot C, Row 4, Grave 23
Casualty List 6/18/45
Buffalo Courier-Express 6/19/45, 9/27/45, 11/9/45
American Jews in World War II – 388

As described in the history of the 10th Mountain Division (page 111):

2nd Battalion – To the Valley
COMPANY G – TOMBA

Company G was given the mission of capturing the town of Tomba and clearing the ridge beyond to protect the battalion advance on their right.  The company moved out at 0645, 3rd Platoon leading.  Small arms fire held up the 3rd Platoon, and the 2nd Platoon passed through and took the right part of town.

The 1st Platoon, meanwhile, pushed up and took the section of town left of the road.  Machine guns and mortars gave excellent overhead fire on the ridge from positions where they were receiving heavy artillery and mortar fire from the enemy.

After part of the town was taken, one squad of the 1st Platoon moved over onto the forward slope.  They promptly received machine gun and sniper fire.

Pfc. HARRY F. MARKSON was killed by a sniper.

The following two photographs are via FindAGrave contributor Keith Redmond.  The first image, a formal portrait taken in 1930, shows ten-year-old Harry with his mother Mildred, then thirty-eight years old.  

As reported in the Buffalo Courier-Express

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Nathan, Marcus, Pvt., 33176598, Medical Corps, Purple Heart
77th Infantry Division, 302nd Medical Battalion
Born7/3/07
Mrs. Anna S. Nathan (wife) [1/11/96-12/20/83]
Mr. and Mrs. Harry [6/16/81-9/1/41] and Henrietta (Pincus) [2/23/80-3/7/51] Nathan (parents), 2738 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Anita, Harold H., Sidney, and Victor (sister and brothers)
Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, Ca. – Section N, Grave 1774
The Jewish Exponent 6/8/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 5/30/45
American Jews in World War II – 541

Pearl, Joseph, 1 Lt., 0-1301870, Purple Heart
3rd Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Regiment, Communications
Born in Soviet Union, 1921
Mr. Jack Pearl (brother), 76-36 113th St., Forest Hills, N.Y.
Mr. Louis Pearl (father), 2100 Westbury Ct., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Employee of Richmond Lighting Company, Brooklyn
Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France – Plot E, Row 35, Grave 23
Long Island Star Journal 5/18/45
American Jews in World War II – 403

Ruffine, Barney S., PFC, 12030943, Field Artillery, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart (Philippines)
37th Infantry Division, 140th Field Artillery Battalion
Mr. Louis Ruffine (father), 118-02 Liberty Ave., Richmond Hill, N.Y. / 118-14 83rd Ave., Kew Gardens, N.Y.
Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines – Plot A, Row 14, Grave 207
The New York Times (Obituary Section) 4/28/46
American Jews in World War II – 424

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Schorr, Morris (Moshe Bar Shlomo), Pvt., 33329311, Purple Heart
45th Infantry Division, 180th Infantry Regiment
Born 1919
Mrs. Esther Schorr (mother), Martin, William, and Mrs. Vera Malkin (brothers and sister), 2610 S. Warnock St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mount Sharon Cemetery, Springfield, Pa. – Section I; Buried 12/12/48
Casualty List 5/23/45
The Jewish Exponent 6/1/45, 12/10/48
Philadelphia Inquirer 12/9/48
American Jews in World War II – 550

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Sclarenco, Stanley I., Pvt., 33940640 (at Treuf, Germany)
65th Infantry Division, 260th Infantry Regiment
Born 9/9/22
Mr. and Mrs. Morris [died 7/26/26] and Dora [1894-1989] Sclarenco (parents), Michael Louis [3/31/45-1/22/48] (brother) and Ruth Sclarenco (sister) 2057 N. 8th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Collingdale, Pa. – Section 15; Buried 12/19/48
The Jewish Exponent 12/24/48
Philadelphia Inquirer 12/17/48
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Wounded in Action

Jaret, Nathan M., Capt., 0-534241, Medical Corps, in Germany
Born 1914
Mrs. Elsie (Kramer) Jaret (wife), 79-19 68th Ave., Middle Village, N.Y.
Mr. Alex Jaret (father), 67-32 75th St., Middle Village, N.Y.
Medical degree from Royal College of Edinburgh, 1939
Casualty List 5/11/45
Long Island Star Journal 5/10/45
American Jews in World War II – 352

Shulman, Melvin, Pvt., at Ie Shima
(Wounded previously, ~ 9/1/44)
Born 1925
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice and Helen Shulman (parents), 751 Avenue D, Rochester, N.Y.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 6/10/45
War Department Releases 11/1/44, 6/14/45
American Jews in World War II – 441

Yesner, Theodore D., PFC, 33795935, at Okinawa
Born in Pennsylvania, 1908
Mrs. Fae Yesner (wife), 1304 Rockland St., Philadelphia, Pa.
The Jewish Exponent 5/25/45
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Record 5/17/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

United States Navy (attached to United States Marine Corps)

Killed in Action at Okinawa

Rutberg, Leon Aaron (Ari Leev bar Yosef), ChPhM (Chief Pharmacist’s Mate) 4121204, Purple Heart
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Air Group 25, Medical Flight Section
Born Philadelphia, Pa., 10/23/10
Mrs. Lillian (Kraus) Rutberg (wife); Carole and J. Gary (children), 1216 N. Sweetzer St., Los Angeles, Ca.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Rebecca “Beckie” (Ginsberg) Rutberg (parents), Esther, Jacob (“Jack”), and Kate (sisters and brother), Philadelphia, Pa.

Har Zion Cemetery, Collingdale, Pa. – Section J, Lot 134, Grave 4; Buried 2/7/49
Name never appeared in The Jewish Exponent (Philadelphia)
American Jews in World War II – 52

This portrait of ChPhM Rutberg accompanies his biographical profile – movingly written by his daughter, Carole Silverman – at the website of the American World War II Orphans Network.

United States Army Air Force

15th Air Force

Killed in Action

Mogel, Edward R., Sgt., 11120668, Purple Heart
301st Bomb Group, 353rd Bomb Squadron
Born 7/7/23
Mrs. Mary Mogel (mother); Harriet M. Finn (sister), 90 Rosseter St., Dorchester, Ma.
Edward and Meredith Finn (nephew and niece in law)
No Missing Air Crew Report, Aircraft: B-17G, no other information known
Meretz Cemetery Association, Quincy, Ma.
Casualty List 5/11/45
American Jews in World War II – 172

Akin to many Second World War Army Air Force casualties, no Missing Air Crew Report is associated with the death of Sergeant Edward Mogel.  However, given his rank of Sergeant and award of the Purple Heart medal, it can be reliably assumed that he was an aerial gunner, radio operator, or photographer, and was killed on a combat mission in which his B-17 was not actually lost in combat.  The specifics are almost certainly present in the historical records of the 353rd Bomb Squadron or his IDPF, but I don’t have access to those records. 

This picture of Sgt. Mogel’s matzeva, taken by genealogical researcher Pamela Filbotte-Hollabaugh, appears at his biographical profile at FindAGrave.  

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Weinstein, David, S/Sgt., 12084596, Tail Gunner, Air Medal, 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
97th Bomb Group, 342nd Bomb Squadron
Born 8/14/23
Mr. Abraham Weinstein (father), 1315 Merriam Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. – Section H, Grave 9794; Buried 11/15/49
Casualty List 5/23/45
American Jews in World War II – 468

This picture of S/Sgt. Weinstein’s matzeva is by FindAGrave contributor Glenn.  

S/Sgt. Weinstein was one of the eleven crew members aboard B-17G 44-6328, an un-nicknamed aircraft which was lost during a mission to the Fortezza Marshalling Yards (northeast of Bolzano) in Italy. 

In an incident akin to the downing of the 711th Bomb Squadron’s (447th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force) B-17G TNT KATIE on March 15, 1945, the fuselage of the 342nd Bomb Squadron plane received a direct hit by flak (probably 88mm; possibly 105.cm, or 12.8 cm) in the nose.  Alas, sadly unlike TNT KATIE, from which three crewmen were miraculously able to parachute to safety, none of 6328’s crew survived.

As recounted by tail gunner S/Sgt. John D. Jeter (one of three witnesses to the plane’s loss, the others having been bombardier 2 Lt. Jack M. Johnson and T/Sgt. Ted S. Kelting) in Missing Air Crew Report 13818, an anti-aircraft shell exploded in the nose of the plane near the navigator’s astrodome, demolishing the aircraft’s nose as far back as the flight deck, yet leaving the lower nose and chin turret intact.  The plane continued in level flight for five more seconds, and then, nosing over, dove to earth from an altitude of 27,000 feet, crashing near Fortezza.    

S/Sgt. Jeter noted that #6328 dropped its bombs prematurely, with its bomb-bay doors remaining partially open afterwards.  No crewmen or parachutes were seen to emerge from the plane.     

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Here are a series of Apple Map and Air Photo views of Fortezza and its surroundings – at larger and larger scales as you move “down” the blog post – from DuckDuckGo.  

This view shows the location of Fortezza (at the end of the red pointer) in the Italian Tyrol.  North of the red-marked international border is Austria.

Moving in, here’s a map showing Fortezza in relation to surrounding towns.  The relatively small number of inhabited localities is explained by the area’s topography, which is apparent in the air photo image below…

…which reveals the mountainous nature of the terrain.  

Zooming in closer, one sees that Fortezza lies on the Iscaro River.  The city is south of the Brenner Pass, which itself was the target of many 15th Air Force bombardment missions.  

Zooming in further, you can see the rail line running through the city.  

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The bomber’s crew comprised:

Pilot: Sullivan, Earle L., 2 Lt.
Co-Pilot: Townsend, Gordon K., Jr., 2 Lt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Navigator: Wilcox, John E., 2 Lt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Togglier: Conner, Victor G., Sgt.
Flight Engineer: Tichy, Robert G., T/Sgt.
Radio Operator: McKinney, James Edward “Snookie”, S/Sgt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Gunner (Ball Turret): Porter, James D., S/Sgt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Gunner (Right Waist): Tomaszycki, Alfonse J., S/Sgt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Gunner (Left Waist): Bonner, Thomas W., S/Sgt. (Name does not appear in NARA Records at WW II Memorial Database)
Gunner (Tail): Weinstein, David, S/Sgt.
Photographer: Dudek, Chester A., Sgt.

The following image, at the FindAGrave biographical profile of radio operator S/Sgt. James E. McKinney (contributed by S/Sgt. McKinnney’s cousin NancyG) shows a group of ten men – one of whom (third from right, rear row; the only crew member actually identified in the photo) is S/Sgt. McKinney, and nine other aviators, the latter very likely McKinney’s fellow crew members and thus … the Earle Sullivan crew.  Given the arrangement of the men in the photo – four officers in front and six NCO’s standing in back – the four in front would likely include Sullivan, Townsend, and Wilcox.  Besides S/Sgt. McKinney, the other five in the rear would include Bonner, Porter, Tichy, Tomaszycki, and Weinstein.  Dudek is probably not in the photo.  According to NancyG, the specific B-17G plane in the background – Wichita Belle – served as the backdrop for other crew images. 

According to the account at FindAGrave, the burial locations of the bomber’s crew were only definitively identified by the summer of 1949, with the crew being returned to the United States for burial by the end of that year.

This image, by FindAGrave contributor Bobby Hunt, shows the collective grave marker at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery for S/Sgt. McKinney and five of his ten fellow crew members.  As indicted above, akin to David Weinstein, Sullivan, Townsend, Conner, and Dudek are buried in private cemeteries. 

Killed on Active Service

As evidenced by this series of posts – pertaining to Jewish WW II military casualties reported upon in the New York Times – military service by its very nature involves a level of danger and risk in situations unrelated to engagement with enemy forces and actual combat.  Such was tragically evidenced on April 20, 1945, in the crash of B-17G Flying Fortress 44-6441 (Mary Rose) of the 301st Bomb Group near Caserta, Italy, while piloted by 1 Lt. Robert L. Francis.  None of the plane’s twenty-one crew and passengers survived. 

Though I don’t have the Accident Report, according to Jing Zhou’s website B-17 Bomb Flying Fortress (which carries a list of the plane’s crew and passengers, and includes a photo of the wreck), the bomber’s loss may have been attributable to bad weather, as “The report clarifies how the aircraft hit the side of the hill after the pilot aborted the landing in poor visibility.”  Though not specifically delineated in Missing Air Crew Report 15496, given the marking on the plane’s tail (circle 4), the plane may have been assigned to the 419th Bomb Squadron.      

Among the plane’s passengers were Captain Howard A. Leeser, Captain Seymour S. Weisberger, and T/5 Lisa Zucker.  

Leeser, Howard A., Capt., 0-432475
Born Missouri, 1/28/18
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur [3/7/83-6/28/25] and Flossie (Marks) [5/2/90-1/20/63] Leeser (parents), Tulsa, Ok.
Kane, Pa.
New Mount Sinai Cemetery, Afton, Mo. – Dora Weigel Plot, Lot 153, Section I, Grave 9; Buried 12/48
American Jews in World War II – 505

Weisberger, Seymour S., Capt., 0-1579282
15th Air Force, 5th Photo Reconnaissance Group
Born 9/2/17
Mr. and Mrs. Harry and Belle Weisberger (parents), 575 Westlake Ave., Barberton, Oh.
Rose Hill Cemetery, Akron, Oh.
The Akron Beacon Journal 5/1/45
American Jews in World War II
– 503

This image of Captain Weisberger, provided by 57th Bomb Wing Researcher Patti Johnson is from the Akron Beacon Journal of May 1, 1945, and appears at Captain Weisberger’s FindAGrave profile.  

—–

Zucker, Lisa, T/5, A-200820
15th Air Force, 6720th Headquarters Platoon
Born 4/19/13
Mr. Michael Zucker (brother), 6718 7th Ave., Los Angeles, Ca.
Bronx County, N.Y.
Hillside Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Ca. – Valley of Remembrance, Plot 4-313-5
The Knickerbocker News (Albany, N.Y.) 1/30/43
Los Angeles Times 5/4/44, 3/9/49, 3/14/49
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

Like Captain Kamen, T/5 Lisa Zucker is an example of the many Jewish WW II military casualties whose names never appeared in American Jews in World War II.  Ironically; fortunately, information and photographs about her existed well before the sad event of April 20, 1945, in the form of newspaper articles in The Knickerbocker News (of Albany, New York) of January 30, 1943, and The Los Angeles Times of May 4, 1944.  These news items are shown below, the former accessed via Thomas M. Tryniski’s FultonHistory website. 

New York State Digital library
New York State Digital library

Albany WAACs Don’t Lack for Dates or Hospitality

First in a Series

The little WAAC who was none too sure of herself gives you an idea of how Albany’s ladies in khaki get along for entertainment.

Preparing to go on duty, she was standing in front of a mirror fluffing her hair.  On average, how often do WAACs gave dates?

“Well, I only have about a couple a week,” she said, “bit a lot of the girls have three or four.  I guess I have some things to learn.”

Almost always WAAC dates are with soldiers or sailors stationed in Albany and what with propinquity playing the part it does in human affairs, quite a few couples have started “going steady”.  This is pretty largely to the credit of the United Service Organizations for many romances in Albany have started at USO dances at the Albany Yacht Club.

Albany WAACs, however are not wholly dependent upon men for entertainment.  Groups of them go to the picture shows (22 cents admission if they are in uniform), swim or use the gym at the Jewish Community Center and YMCA or bowl (one alley gives them a cut rate one night a week).

There are two lounges available to the girls.  One is a portion of the lobby of the hotel in which they live and the other is in a State St. store.

The latter is operated jointly by the Albany County Home Bureau and the USO and is equipped with a ping-pong table, a radio, record-player, smoking stands and desks for letter writing.  It also has a gas range.

“The other night,” Second Officer Marjorie Hunt said, “about 15 girls brought food and prepared their own supper.  It is nice to have a place where you can be that free to do as you please.”

Albany churches have “outdone themselves” in inviting WAACs to church supper and entertainments, Second Officer Hunt said.  “Some of them have taken the girls bowling, and, in general, have made it pleasant for them,” she said.  “The City Club, the Albany Institute of History and Art and the Albany Public Library also have been cooperative.

“Over the holidays,” Second Officer Hunt said, “a lot of the girls were invited to homes of Albany people.  Between holidays there usually isn’t so much of that.”

If male civilians can arrange to meet a WAAC, they need not quail at the thought of dating a girl in uniform when they are not.  The WAACs don’t have to wear their uniforms when off duty – and most of them can have dates almost any night.

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Here is a photo of PFC Zucker from the Los Angeles Times of May 4, 1944.

HONORS IN ITALY – Wac. Pfc. Lisa Zucker, Los Angeles, attached to 15th Air Force in Italy, stands at attention as Maj. F.H. Cratheron awards good conduct ribbon.  

Another Incident: An aviator who parachuted and returned to duty

Berman, Jacob, 2 Lt., 0-2056684, Bombardier, Purple Heart
14th Air Force, 308th Bomb Group, 373rd Bomb Squadron
Parachuted 15 miles north of Kunming, China; Returned to duty; Hospitalized (Lightly injured in bailout)
Born 1924
Mr. Nathan Berman (father), 3210 Fillmore Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
MACR 14467, Aircraft B-24M 44-50283, Pilot 2 Lt. Wayne V. Jorgensen, 9 crew – 8 survivors
The Aluminum Trail – 404
American Jews in World War II – 275

Statement in Missing Air Crew Report: “Plane No, 44-50283 took off on a shipping strike from Lulian, China, at 1831 hours, 19 April 1945.  On return from mission all crew members bailed out fifteen (15) miles north of Kunming, China due to fuel shortage at about 0348 hours, 20 April 1945.  2 Lt. William B. Ealey, 0-553955 [radar officer], was killed in the bailout and Sgt. [Stephen] Blacet [Gunner] is missing.  [Returned to duty May 15 – lightly injured in bailout]  All other crew members are hospitalized at 95th Station Hospital, APO 627.  Extent of injuries unknown.”

Other crew members:
Pilot: Jorgensen, Wayne V., 2 Lt.
Co-Pilot: Emery. Frederick V., 2 Lt.
Navigator: Bittle, Claude E., 2 Lt.
Flight Engineer: Hoyler, Edward W., Sgt. – Lightly injured in bailout
Radio Operator: Wheeler, Woodrow, T/Sgt.
Gunner: Ratzin, Thomas, Sgt.

Soviet Union

Red Army
U.S.S.R. (C.C.C.Р.), Red Army [РККА (Рабоче-крестьянская Красная армия)]

Agranovich, Zelik Isaevich – Senior Sergeant (Агранович, Зелик Исаевич – Старший Сержант)
Deputy Battalion Commander – Political Section (Заместитель Политчасти Командира Батальона)
68th Autonomous Tank Brigade
Born 1912; City of Nizhneudinsk, Irkutsk Oblast
Buried: Fraternal Cemetery, Laisov Village, Brandenburg, Germany – Row 2, Grave 5

Bloomenkrants, Isaak Iosifovich – Major (Блюменкраиц, Исаак Иосифович – Майор)
Political Agitator (Агитатор)
1107th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, 3rd Tank Corps, 2nd Tank Army
Died of wounds
Born 1915; City of Minsk, Minsk Oblast, Belorussian SSR
Place of burial: Unknown

Entin, Iosif Yakovlevich – Guards Lieutenant (Энтин, Иосиф Яковлевич – Гвардии Лейтенант)
Tank Commander (Командир Танка)
1st Belorussian Front, 11th Autonomous Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, 90th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
Born 1914; Pochenskiy Raion, Bryansk Oblast
Buried: Brandenburg, Germany
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 (Книги Памяти евреев-воинов, павших в боях с нацизхмом в 1941-1945 гг) Volume IV, p. 533; Volume V, p. 160

Glikman, Leonid Mikhaylovich – Guards Junior Technician-Lieutenant (Гликман, Леонид Михайлович – Гвардии Младший Техник-Лейтенант)
Tank Technician (Техник Танковый)
57th Guards Tank Brigade
Born 1919; Odessa
Buried: Poland

Kantarovich, Roman Iosifovich – Guards Lieutenant (Кантарович, Роман Иосифович – Гвардии Лейтенант)
Armor (Specific crew position or assignment unknown) (“Танковый”)
Place of burial: Unknown
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 (Книги Памяти евреев-воинов, павших в боях с нацизхмом в 1941-1945 гг) Volume V, p. 700

Malamud / Malomud, Iosif Shulimovich, – Junior Lieutenant (Маламуд / Маломуд, Иосиф Шульимович – Младший Лейтенант)
Rifle Platoon Commander (Командир Стрелкового Взвода)
250th Rifle Regiment, 82nd Rifle Division, 47th Army
Born: 1913, Vinnitskaya Oblast
Wife: Nina Zalmanov / Zimkovna Malamud / Molomud
First place of burial: Nider-Nayendorf, Brandeburg, Germany

Neer, Vevik Manikovich – Junior Lieutenant (Неер, Вевик Маникович – Младший Лейтенант)
Self-Propelled Gun Commander (Командир Самоходной Установии)
1203rd Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
Born 1912; Odessa
Buried: City of Bernau (southeast, “elevation 89”), Brandenburg, Germany

Peysakhov, Mordukh Khaymovich – Senior Sergeant (Пейсахов, Мордух Хаймович – Старший Сержант)
Chief – “Walkie Talkies” (Начальник Рации)
2nd Ukranian Front, 84th Tank Regiment
Born 1906; Shumyachskiy Raion, Smolensk Oblast
Buried: Moravia, Czechoslovakia
Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 (Книги Памяти евреев-воинов, павших в боях с нацизхмом в 1941-1945 гг), Volume V, p. 160; Volume VI, p. 183

Rozenflan, Pavel Filippovich – Guards Junior Sergeant (Розенфлан, Павел Филиппович – Гвардии Младший Сержант)
Gun Commander (Командир Орудия)
53rd Guards Tank Brigade
Killed at city of Baruth, Brandenburg, Germany
Born 1925; City of Dnepopetrovsk
Buried: Germany, city of Baruth, northern outskirts

Veytman, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich – Senior Sergeant (Вейтман, Александр Александрович – Старший Сержант)
Gun Commander (Командир Орудия)
3rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, 4th Guards Tank Corps
Died of wounds at 165th Medical-Sanitary Battalion
Born 1903
Buried: Germany, city of Muskau, Collective Grave

France

Killed in Action

Franck, Marcel Frederic Jean Baptiste (AC-21P-187386)
Armée de Terre, Direction Générale des Etudes et de la Recherche
Died at Flossenburg Concentration Camp
Born 8/27/07, Tourcoing, Nord, France

Touati, Albert Abraham (AC-21P-157194), at Hesselbronn, Germany
(from Algeria), Armée de Terre, 41eme Groupe Colonial de Force Terrestre Antiaériennes (41st Colonial Anti-Aircraft Group)
Died of wounds
Born 2/16/23, Sidi bel Abbes, Algerie

Poland

Polish People’s Army

Killed in Action

Baugarten, Jan, Cpl. (Germany, Saxony, Nieksy (Operation Bautzen Elba)
1st Tank Brigade
Born Piadyki (d. Kolomyja) [Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine?], Poland, 1906
Mr. Jozef Baugarten (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 82

Bilski, Wiktor, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Odernitz)
1st Motorized Infantry Brigade
Born Poland, Grodno; 1902
Mr. Leon Bilski (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 82

Bocian, Berek, 2 Lt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Potsdam, Berlin (Operation Brand-Berlin))
11th Infantry Regiment
Born Sochaczew, Mazowieckie, Poland, 1921
Mr. Hercz Bocian (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 9

Borzwejg, Saul, Cpl. (Germany, Saxony, Nieksy (Operation Bautzen Elba))
1st Motorized Infantry Brigade
Born Poland, Mazowieckie, Warsaw; 1910
Mr. Pesach Borwejg (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 10

Cogiel
, Arik (Germany, Brandenburg, Paulinnau (Operation Brand-Berlin))

12th Infantry Regiment
Born Buknic, Poland, 1920
Mr. August Cogiel (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 14

Cudny, Henryk, 2 Lt. (Germany, Saxony, Rietschen (Operation Bautzen-Elba))
12th Infantry Regiment
Born Poland, Mazowieckie, Warsaw; 1921
Mr. Jan Cudny (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 14

Drupiewski, Adam, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Wriezen (Operation Brand Berlin))
Intelligence Company
Born USilver StarR, Woronez (Voronezh?); 1922
Mr. Beniamin Drupiewski (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 17

Finkielsztein, Nuta, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Daubitz)
37th Infantry Regiment
Born Sarnaki (d. Losice) [Mazowieckie?], Poland, 1913
Mr. Abraham Finkielsztein (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 20

Fuss, Herman, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Tuchen (Operation Brand-Berlin))
8th Infantry Regiment
Born Chyrow, Poland, 1911
Mr. Jakub Fuss (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 22

Gleich, Michal, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Milkel (Operation Bautzen-Elba))
17th Infantry Regiment
Born Kijow, Opolskie, Poland, 1915
Zgorzelec Military Cemetery, Zgorzelec, Poland
Mr. Jozef Gleich (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 24

Goldfeder, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Bautzen (Operation Bautzen Elba))
16th Tank Brigade
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 86

Grubman, Chaim, Capt. (Poland, Jaroslaw)
2nd Reserve Regiment
Born Ukraine, Khmelnytsky, Kamieniec Podolski; 1908
Mr. Szmuel Grubman (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 26

Hartfelder, Zygmunt, 2 Lt. (Germany, Saxony, Sdier (Operation Bautzen-Elba))
17th Infantry Regiment
Born Jaroslaw, Poland, 1923
Mr. Jan Hartfelder (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 28

Holc, Mieczyslaw, Pvt. (Germany, Saxony, Odernitz (Operation Bautzen-Elba))
1st Motorized Infantry Brigade
Born 1924
Mr. Aleksander Holc (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 30

Hupert, Hugo, Cpl. (Germany, Saxony, Odernitz (Operation Bautzen Elba))
1st Motorized Infantry Brigade
Born 1908
Mr. Markus Hupert (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 88

Kasper, Eliasz, Pvt. (Germany, Brandenburg, Wriezen (Operation Brand Berlin))
12th Infantry Regiment
Born Cznowicze (d. Nieswicz), Poland, 1902
Mr. Daniel Kasper (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 89

Kuperman, Zygfryd, First Sergeant (Germany, Torgelow)
3rd Infantry Regiment
Born Bielsko-Biala, Slaskie, Poland, 1915
Mr. Henryk Kuperman (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 42

Landau, Hirsz, First Sergeant (Germany, Friedrichsthal (Operation Brand Berlin))
1st Light Artillery Regiment
Born Poland, Malopolskie, Krakow, 1914
Mr. Jakub Landau (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 43

Lubiczew, Salomon, Pvt.
11th Infantry Regiment
Born Szabelnia, Poland, 1924
Mr. Jakub Lubiczew (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 92

Matela
, Zygmunt, Sgt. (Germany, Saxony, Nieksy (Operation Bautzen Elba))

1st Armoured Infantry Brigade
Mr. Jakow Matela (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 48

Nikonczuk, Michal, Cpl. (Germany, Dannenberg)

5th Infantry Regiment
Born Holowin, Poland, 1918
Mr. Dawid Nikonczuk (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 52

Okret, Oskar, Capt. (Operation Brand Berlin)
5th Infantry Division
Born Poland, Lodzkie, Lodz; 1908
Mr. Pawel Okret (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 52

Pilac, Leon, Pvt. (Field Hospital 8 (Operation Brand Berlin))
Poland, Polish People’s Army
Born Russia; 1911
Mr. Adam Pilac (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 54

Polakow, Siemion, Sgt. (Germany, Torgelow (Operation Brand Berlin))
1st Communications Battalion
Born Odessa Oblast, Odessa; 1924
Mr. Nisym Polakow (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 55

Rotberg, Jozef, Cpl. (Germany, Brandenburg, Danewitz (Operation Brand Berlin))
7th Infantry Regiment
Born Ukraine, Lwow, Olesko; 1912
Mr. Salomon Rotberg (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 58

Rozental, Aleksander, Pvt.
3rd Infantry Regiment
Born Poland, Mazowieckie, Warsaw; 1916
Mr. Pawel Rozental (father)
Missing in Action; No Known Grave
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 96

Slupski, Mieczyslaw, Lt. (Germany, Saxony, Bautzen (Operation Bautzen Elba))
26th Infantry Regiment
Born Poniatowka (d. Grodno) [Lubelskie?], Poland, 2/16/23
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 62

Sosnowicz, Chaim, First Sergeant (Germany, Saxony, Nieksy (Operation Bautzen Elba))
4th Tank Brigade
Mr. Abram Sosnowicz (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 63

Szafran, Chaim, First Sergeant (Operation Bautzen Elba)
4th Tank Brigade
Mr. Abram Szafran (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 64

Wajs, Jan, Pvt. (Germany, Torgelow (Operation Brand Berlin))
3rd Infantry Regiment
Born Nowomiejska, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Poland, 1920
Mr. Szymon Wajs (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 72

Weintraub, Bronislaw, 2 Lt. (Germany, Saxony, Rietschen (Operation Brand Berlin))
13th Infantry Regiment
Born Poland, Malopolskie, Krakow, 10/12/02
Mr. Julian Weintraub (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 73

Werdach, Zygmunt, First Sergeant (Germany, Saxony, Nieksy (Operation Bautzen Elba))
4th Tank Brigade
Mr. Julian Werdach (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 73

Wiertel, Leon, WO (Operation Brand Berlin)
9th Infantry Regiment
Born Poland, Stanislawow; 1911
Mr. Marek Wiertel (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 74

Ziubisz, Beniamin (Poland, Warsaw)
Poland, Polish People’s Army
Born Poland, Rowne; 1904
Mr. Szymon Ziubisz (father)
Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Army in World War II (Volume I) – 77

England

Killed in Action

Goldberg, David, Rifleman, 6855382, Killed by artillery at Traghetto, Italy
King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 1st Battalion
Mr. S. Goldberg (brother), 87 Duelston Road, London, E5, England
Argenta Gap War Cemetery, Argenta, Ferrara, Italy – II,A,15
The Jewish Chronicle 6/8/45
We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945 – 92

Czechoslovakia

Killed in Action

Frischling, Chaim, Pvt.
1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, 1st Communication Battalion
Died of wounds (battle at Sueany) 4/23/4,  at Vrútky (hospital), Zilina, Slovakia
Born Frystat, Czechoslovakia; 12/14/17
Jewish Cemetery, Vrutky, Zilina, Slovakia

Hamburg, Ludovit, Pvt.
1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, 4th Infantry Brigade
Born Czechoslovakia, Dravce, Levoea; 10/11/19

United States Army

Another Incident: Award of Bronze Star Medal

Spanover, Abraham, S/Sgt., 32494837, Bronze Star Medal (For actions at Treuf, Germany)
United States Army
Born 1921
Mr. Isie Spanover (?), Sgt. Max Spanover (brother), 1135 E. 51st St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Brooklyn Eagle 7/15/45
American Jews in World War II – Not listed

OVER THERE

Brooklyn Eagle
July 15, 1945

For Administrating first aid to wounded comrades while under fire, Staff Sergeant Abraham Spanover, of 1135 51st St., has received the Bronze Star Medal.

An infantryman, Sergeant Spanover performed his heroic act April 20, near Treuf, Germany.

“After being surprised by three enemy tanks, which killed and wounded several members of his squad, Sergeant Spanover ordered his squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to care for the wounded,” his citation says.

“For two hours he crawled over flat, open terrain which was subject to heavy enemy fire, administering first aid to the wounded.  Despite the constant enemy fire, he carried on until aid men arrived to evacuate the wounded.”

References

Books

Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947

Giles, Janice H., The Damned Engineers, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Ma., 1970

Grimm, Jacob L., Heroes of the 483rd: Crew Histories of a Much-Decorated B-17 Bomber Group During World War II, Georgia (?), 483rd Bombardment Group Association, 1997.

Meirtchak, Benjamin, Jewish Military Casualties in the Polish Armies in World War II: I – Jewish Soldiers and Officers of the Polish People’s Army Killed and Missing in Action 1943-1945, World Federation of Jewish Fighters Partisans and Camp Inmates: Association of Jewish War Veterans of the Polish Armies in Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1994

Morris, Henry, Edited by Gerald Smith, We Will Remember Them – A Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939 – 1945, Brassey’s, United Kingdom, London, 1989

Parker, Danny S., Fatal Crossroads: The Untold Story of the Malmédy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, Ma., 2013

Pergrin, Colonel David E., and Hammel, Eric M., First Across the Rhine – The 291st Engineer Combat Battalion in France, Belgium, and Germany, Ballantine Books, New York, N.Y., 1989

Quinn, Chick Marrs, The Aluminum Trail –China-Burma-India World War II 1942-1945 – How & Where They Died, Chick Marrs Quinn, 1989

Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume IV [Surnames beginning with Т (T), Ф (F), Х (Kh), Ц (Ts), Ч (Ch), Ш (Sh), Щ (Shch), Э (E), Ю (Yoo), and Я (Ya)], Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1997

Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume V [Surnames beginning with А (A), Б (B), В (V), Г (G), Д (D), Е (E), Ж (Zh), З (Z), И (I), К (K)], Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1998

Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume VI
[Surnames beginning with Л (L), М (M), Н (N), О (O), П (P), Р (R), С (S), Т (T), У (U), Ф (F), Х (Kh), Ц (Ts), Ч (Ch), Ш (Sh), Щ (Shch), Э (E), Ю (Yoo), Я (Ya)], Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 1999


Memorial Book of Jewish Soldiers Who Died in Battles Against Nazism – 1941-1945 – Volume IX
[Surnames beginning with all letters of the alphabet], Maryanovskiy, M.F., Pivovarova, N.A., Sobol, I.S. (editors), Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans, Moscow, Russian Federation, 2006

United States National Archives (College Park, Maryland)

Records Group 153: Case File 16-293-16

Records Group 92: Missing Air Crew Report 13817

Other References

French WW II Casualties – Soldiers who died during the Second World War – “Database of soldiers who died during the Second World War, conscripts and active soldiers, regular and resistant soldiers (Militaires décédés au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (Base de données des militaires décédés au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, conscrits et militaires d’active, soldats réguliers et résistants), at Memoire des Hommes), at sga.defense.gouv.fr

Chief Pharmacists’s Mate Leon Aaron Rutberg

American World War II Orphan’s Network – Biography by Carole Rutberg Silverman

Navy Medicine – Medical Power for Naval Superiority: Killed in Action Memorial – World War Two

257 Central Park West – at Wikipedia

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021