Those Who Served: W

  • Waisman Raymond
    Waisman Raymond

    Maj. Raymond C. Waisman
    Serial No. 0496170
    U. S. Army
    September 1, 1942 - June 1, 1946
    Pacific Theater

    I was a medical officer in one of the original "Mash" hospitals - the 99th Evacuation Hospital, SM. We were organized at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Then we were shipped to the Mojave Desert in California for desert training and then off to the Pacific Theater. We were in New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. We were then shipped to Japan for the occupation. My son, Jim, was 3 months old when I was shipped to the Pacific. I returned 2 1/2 years later. The separation was difficult for my family, but that was true for others as well.

  • Weber Robert S
    Weber Robert S

    Robert S. Weber
    U. S. Navy
    Stateside

  • Weinbeg Dudley
    Weinbeg Dudley

    Maj. Dudley Weinberg
    Serial No. 0520304
    U. S. Army
    1942 - 1945
    Pacific Theater

    Dudley traveled throughout New Guinea, arriving in the middle of an air raid at Hollandia. His most memorable experience was in the Philippines. He obtained clothing and other materials for Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who, because of German citizenship, had not been imprisoned by the Japanese but had been assigned to the mountains of Baguio. They were discovered after the liberation. Another memorable experience was when he organized and conducted a Seder in Manila attended by thousands of people - US service personnel as well as Jewish citizens of the Philippines and refugees from Germany. That Seder is believed to have been the largest gathering of its sort ever. Procuring food and matzoth for the Seder is a story all its own. Dudley wrote wonderful letters every day, sometimes twice a day, no matter what the circumstances were. He was awarded a Bronze Star. Submitted by Marian Weinberg

  • Weinberg Joseph
    Weinberg Joseph

    Pfc. Joseph Weinberg
    Serial No. 36252679
    U. S. Army
    August 6, 1942 - November 18, 1945
    European Theater

    A very interesting but sad experience was observing the war's destruction across France and Germany. I had a very memorable experience in Europe driving a jeep for our chaplain, Rabbi Jack Ott, who was from Chicago. His regular driver was gone for a couple of weeks and I was chosen to temporarily replace him. When Jeanne and I got married in January of 1947, Rabbi Ott was kind enough to come up to Milwaukee from Chicago to perform the ceremony.

  • Weinberg Paul
    Weinberg Paul

    (Rear-Dinu Davidson, Paul Weinberg;
    Front, a friend and Yzu Bichman, all from Romania)

    Machine Gunner Paul Weinberg
    (Rear, right side)
    Red Army
    1944 - 1946

    This is a story of me and two other Jewish soldiers. After the war, it wasn't easy to reconcile in my mind that I must stay in Soviet territory. But I had to start over. I was walking on the streets of Kishinev, without an aim, when I got the idea to see if the house where I had lived before the war still existed. I walked slowly and came face-to-face with an old friend, Yhyl Bichman, who started to cry when he saw me. Yhyl was married to my mother's cousin. He had been born in Lyova-Besarabia and the territory was under new Soviet rule. He repatriated himself and family to Lyova, but through the tragedy of war, his wife and son, Nathan, vanished in unknown circumstances.

    We walked to his home where he was living with Yzu Bichman, another relative and childhood friend. Yzu participated during the War in one of the biggest tank battles of history, the Kursk Battle, Operation Citadel. During the struggle, an enemy missile hit him and cut both legs off above the knees.

    The fourth friend, Dinu Davidson, couldn't take the situation in Romania, as he integrated himself in Soviet society by fighting with them against the Nazis. However, he didn't have a passport to enter the Soviet frontier and through a series of happenings, he was arrested for illegally crossing the frontier and classified as a spy. He never had a trial and was kept in prison for seven years.

  • Weinberg Sol
    Weinberg Sol

    Sgt. Sol Weinberg
    U. S. Army Medical Corps
    May 1941 - October 1945
    European Theater

    I entered the service in April 1941 and trained at Camp Lee, GA. For the holidays, we were invited to several Jewish homes for dinner and met some of the girls at dances that were held for us. In October 1941, I was shipped overseas to Iceland and joined a medical corps unit that opened a hospital to take care of our soldiers who were injured in the invasion. I spent 22 months in Iceland, and then I was sent to Campden, England, where we had a prisoner of war hospital. While in England, I got in touch with my brother, Joe, and he was able to visit me - we spent one afternoon together. I spent 22 months in England. While there, I was in charge of drawing rations for the unit and also prepared the menus. I was discharged from the service in October 1945. I was married to Roselind Zipser in September 1946. We have two children and three grandchildren.

  • Weiner Jack
    Weiner Jack

    Cpl. Jack Weiner
    Serial No. 38601934
    U. S. Army
    January 1943 - February 1946
    Stateside

    I guarded German prisoners who were placed in a POW camp in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I was the only Jewish MP who was accepted by the POW's. I refused to guard the Rommel troop prisoners and was assigned to guard four anti-Nazi German soldiers who I befriended - they were kept apart from the Nazi troops. These men included a professor of history from Stuttgart University, a violinist with the Berlin Symphony and a mathematician from the University of Berlin. We would discuss politics and European history long into the night. For a number of years after the war, we exchanged letters and they sent me holiday greetings.

  • Weingrod Herman
    Weingrod Herman

    Capt. Herman Weingrod
    Serial No. 0055795
    U. S. Army Air Corps
    1942 - 1946
    Stateside

    I wrote a manual for storage and shipping of sensitive film and photographic paper.

  • Weingrod Murray
    Weingrod Murray

    Sgt. Murray M. Weingrod
    U. S Army Air Corps
    1942 - 1945
    African Theater

    Murray spent three years in West Africa working in the commissary. He spent much time with the native people who told him they were glad to have the Americans there. Submitted by Dorothy Weingrod, wife

  • Weinshel Howard
    Weinshel Howard

    Cpl. Howard Weinshel
    U. S. Army Air Corps
    1942 - 1944
    Pacific Theater

    As we tried to land on Guadalcanal, we were heavily bombed and those of us who survived, abandoned ship. I had a life jacket on and was picked up. The weather was always the same, so the Japanese sent a force of 140 planes under cloud cover. By the time they reached Guadalcanal, the clouds separated and our force picked off the Japanese planes. 90 of their planes were destroyed but we still suffered heavy casualties. One Friday night at Sabbath services, a couple who lived on Noumias, New Caledonia Island, joined the small Jewish unit for services. Their name was Bloom, and they invited us for tea after the service.

  • Weinshel Leo
    Weinshel Leo

    Brig. Gen. Leo R. Weinshel
    Serial No. 0360282
    U. S. Army Air Corps
    European Theater

    I had a camera given to me by an officer in thanks for saving his life when I operated on him. He kept me supplied with film all during the time I was in Germany. I was able to record events as they were occurring. I arrived in Dachau early in May, early enough to see the bodies. I saw Hitler's home and forest smashed. In Tannhausen, a German butcher came to my hospital with a wagon full of sausages. He fell to his knees and wanted to kiss our hands, all the while shouting "Frei! Frei!" My great aunt and her two daughters lived in a wall in a farmhouse. Every time the Nazis came, the farm people hid them. The people took care of them, and the Nazis never really looked. The farmers supplied food to the Nazis. I was chief of surgery of a large hospital. I spoke German and this is why I was placed in German hospitals. I kept a ledger of names, wounds and operations that I performed - 1,800 in 13 months.

  • Weinshel Norman
    Weinshel Norman

    Maj. Norman E. Weinshel
    Serial No. 02034710
    U. S. Army
    April 1941 - December 1945
    Pacific Theater

    During a staff meeting after landing at Zamboanga, P.I., the Japanese landed two mortars in our midst, killing two and wounding eleven. I was the only one left unscathed. The result was I was the only officer on staff (liaison), and I took command of the Infantry for several hours until an Infantry officer was sent to take over. It was a memorable experience. A special Jewish experience for me was participating in a Yom Kippur service at Zamboanga, conducted by a Presbyterian minister. My family was busy at home during the war. Father's company, E. Weinshel & Bros., manufactured field jackets for the U. S. Army from 1940-1947.

  • Weinstein Jack
    Weinstein Jack

    Capt. Jack Weinstein
    Serial No. 01755169
    U. S. Army
    April 2, 1943 - May 31, 1946
    Pacific Theater

    I participated in the invasion of the Philippines, Leyte Gulf, on October 20, 1944. The ships bombarded the landing area for two days. We then left the ship and set up medical emergency tents for the wounded. They made me an anesthetist while the doctors did emergency service. An unusual experience for me was during the fighting on Leyte, I met a fellow named Resnick who lived on 47th between Hadley and Locust. I did his dental work for him, which was special for that time and place.

  • Weiss Howard
    Weiss Howard

    Tech 3/S Sgt. Howard C. Weiss
    Serial No. 12133047
    U. S. Army
    European Theater

    I was a clerk in the 293rd Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company, Camp Elsenborn, Belgium. The Germans shelled us, cutting off communications. There was great confusion; we were ordered to fight - cooks, medics, everyone. We had never fired anything. We found out the ammo didn't fit our rifles. We had nothing to fight with unless we wanted to use our rifles as clubs. I went up to the captain and suggested we could do a better job for the Army if we saved the millions of dollars worth of equipment and get out of there. He agreed. We pulled out.

  • Weis Alex
    Weis Alex

    A/1st Sgt. Alex Weis
    Serial No. 36830455
    U. S. Army
    1943 - 1946
    European Theater

    Taken from a letter to a daughter:

    "You wouldn't even know me if you saw me. As far as you're concerned, I'm a picture on your mama's dresser. . . an envelope; I'm a sergeant in the army. . .

    You didn't cry when I went away - you never missed me.Those things don't bother a little doll of eight months.

    We didn't have much to say to each other when I left you for the first time to go to the army. . . I guess I hugged you especially tight that time.

    I came back 6 months later and you were starting to walk. . . It nearly broke my heart walking away from you 10 days later. . . what sort of daddy runs off and leaves a little girl he loves. . . But don't you dare think for 1 minute that I ever left you. . .

    You've grown daughter. . . less a little baby and more a little girl with each passing day. . .

    And now your birthday approaches. . . Let's see what your daddy can find to tell you. . . how much he loves you, how hard he prays for you and how bitterly he misses you. . . for now, darling, I can only give. . . you all the love that's in my heart. . . So, have the happiest of birthdays, daughter mine - and may God grant that on your next birthday I'll be there with you so we can celebrate as a family should. . ."

    Submitted by Margie Stein, daughter

  • Wilk Herb
    Wilk Herb

    Tech. Sgt. T/3 Herbert S. Wilk
    Serial No. 16154646
    U. S. Army
    1942 - 1946
    Pacific Theater

    We were in the Philippines, preparing for the invasion of Japan. We were all packed up and ready to go when they dropped the atom bomb. They didn't realize how serious it would be. When they dropped the second one, there was great elation. There would have been hundreds of thousands of deaths if they hadn't done it. A Jewish experience for me occurred every now and then when a Jewish chaplain would conduct Friday night services.

  • Winnig Sidney
    Winnig Sidney

    Cpl. Sidney Winnig
    Serial No. 36815572
    U. S. Army Air Corps
    1942 - 1946
    European Theater

    Sid's basic training was in Atlantic City and Logan Air Force Base Colorado. He received a diploma as a squadron, engineering and operations clerk. For fourteen weeks at age eighteen, he was in charge of a classified office and placed officers in various areas. He was also stationed in Africa, Lugano, Italy and Shrivenham, England. Sid was recommended for the Bronze Star and Officer's Training. His superior officer said he'd be making a mistake to pursue the recommendations since he was Jewish. In various places, families were good to the "boys". Sid's family would save their ration stamps to send him kosher salamis. His family also remembers that he did not want to talk about his wartime experiences. Submitted by Family

  • Wiviott Wilbert
    Wiviott Wilbert

    S-1/c Wilbert Wiviott
    Serial No. 9604071
    U. S. Navy
    June 7, 1945 - July 3, 1946
    Stateside

    Because it was the end of the war, our unit's orders to ship out to the Asian front were cancelled. There were no other Jewish sailors in my unit, so my Jewish experience was limited to attempting to explain the various Jewish holidays and beliefs to my friends.

  • Wolf Jordan
    Wolf Jordan

    Tech 4th Grade Jordan M. Wolf
    Serial No. 16092295
    U. S. Army Medical Corps
    June 1942 - November 1945
    European Theater

    I lived at staging area Camp Don B. Passage outside Casablanca. I attended Sabbath services at an open-air synagogue where services were held in French, Hebrew and Yiddish. I was appointed contact man for Jewish personnel for Chaplain Synagogue on Boulevard Marechal Joffre, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen - strictly Orthodox. I met Al Rottman at a large Seder in Naples-- met Joe Peckerman and Art Posner, all from Milwaukee.

    An unusual experience occurred during March 1944 when the volcano at Mt. Vesuvius erupted with such force that we were thrown from our cots 15 miles across the bay. All U.S. Army units were alerted and all types of Army vehicles were needed to help with evacuation of people from the villages. When the eruption took place at night, many of the personnel from the 17th Gen. Hospital climbed to the roofs of our buildings to get a birds eye view. This was a great sight and something I shall never forget.