Category: Characters-Immigrant-Soldier
Chicago and the Spiegels
Those of us who grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s will probably be familiar with the Spiegel name. Along with Sears and Roebuck, the Spiegel Company of Chicago was one of the best known catalog retailers in the United States. Beloved by their customers since 1912 for offering free credit and installment payment, in…
Born in the USA – A Ritchie Boy
Not all the Ritchie Boys were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. Many were second generation German, Italian, Russian, or Polish, even Japanese. Others where highly ranked language students pulled from advanced college classes. The common thread was fluency in a language spoken by the enemy. A self-described troglodyte, Burton Hastings is one of these American-born…
An Honest Man
Ernest Wachtel is a man who sees the importance of sharing his experiences. However, when I first spoke to him on the telephone in 2009, I noticed a certain reticence to open up. As I explained my project to him, there was silence on the other end of the line. Finally he said, “I’ll tell…
Secret Heroes
I arrived at the Detroit airport on a hot and humid afternoon in July 2011, but I wasn’t there to sightsee or to wander the asphalt streets of a city in the throes of financial decline and economic desperation. I was on my way to meet Ritchie Boys. I would be part of a reunion…