Roofing work could be dangerous as well as arduous. Falls were always possible, and the buildings themselves were not always structurally sound. One day my boss Mr. Shenker was pulling himself up on a pulley hoist, called a Bosun’s chair in the trade, which was attached to a hook on the facade of the building. The bricks suddenly gave way and poor Mr. Shenker was buried under a pile of rubble...
Quotes from this chapter
More than a million young men across America were called to serve during the Korean War, including plenty of Jewish new Americans. It gave me some pride to know that I was to be a part of a national cause.
That night, we told all our friends that we were engaged, and there were drinks and toasts. Many of our friends were getting engaged and married around the same time.
Our training as military interrogators mainly amounted to role-playing. One of us would play the Russian captive and one the interrogator. Then we would switch hats and do it again the other way.
More than 100 friends and family celebrated our wedding: friends of ours as a couple, her Bronx enclave community members, some Army pals, some friends from our years in the DP camps, and even a few from Skala.
In Germany, Florence’s mother met and married a man who had a brother who was already in America—in a small town in South Carolina, of all places. This is where Florence’s family was sent as well.
Goldberg said that if I would volunteer to take training to become a kosher cook, he could get me into an upcoming course that would extend past the date I could be sent to Korea.
Book excerpts about the people, places and events mentioned in the book
Some catchy teaser text for this featured person.
U.S. Army base where the author served
Basic training wasn't hard for a young man raised in refugee camps
Michael was training for deployment when active hostilities ended