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|birth_date=14 October 1923
|birth_date=14 October 1923
|photo=5852771538078052.jpg
|photo=5852771538078052.jpg
|birth_place=Nuremberg to Emil and Rose Mosbacher
|birth_place=Nuremberg, Germany
|rank_final=Pfc
|rank_final=Staff Sergeant
|death_date=2 April 1945
|death_place=Neuhaus, Germany
|division=8th Armored Division
|alias=Sigmund Mosbacher; Moose
}}
}}


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'''[[Mosbacher, Stephen S. (35554027)|Stephen Sigmund Mosbacher]]''' (14 October 1923 – 1945) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 19 and served with IPW Team 149.
'''Stephen Sigmund Mosbacher''' (14 October 1923 &ndash; 2 April 1945) was a German-born United States Army interrogator who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, in [[Class 19]] and was killed in action near Lippstadt while serving with IPW Team 149, 8th Armored Division.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
In September 1943, he attended ASTP, University of Missouri as Pfc. Stephen, who usually signed as "Sigmund", was born October 14 1923 into a Jewish family in Nuremberg. Stephen attended University of Toledo (3 years, Chemical Engineering). He buried in Margraten Cemetery, Netherlands. He was the oldest child and only son of Emil Mosbacher and Rose Wurman. Life in Germany had become unbearable when threats to the Jewish population progressed to a point where his father Dr Mosbacher was forced to discontinue his practice of medicine. Stephen enlisted in the US Army in his adopted hometown of Toledo, Ohio on June 12, 1943. During the attack on the Elbe River, S/Sgt Mosbacher advanced to within ten yards of enemy infantry elements in an effort to rescue a comrade who was pinned down by enemy fire. The rescue was accomplished in the face of direct fire of artillery, mortars and small arms fire Mosbacher was fatally wounded a few minutes later while attempting the rescue of another wounded soldier who was directly in the path of an enemy tank. Stephen was grimly smiling and still had a firm grip on his machine gun. S/Sgt Mosbacher was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously for his actions on the day of his death. He was attached to IPW Team #149, 8th Armored Division. He and the rescued soldier were found dead. He had received the nickname "Moose", in part because of his size. He was also reputed to have the biggest appetite in the headquarters company and to be always the first man in the mess line. In addition, he has a Purple Heart among his other awards and commendations.
Stephen Sigmund Mosbacher (born Sigmund; often called “Moose”) was born on 14 October 1923 in Nuremberg, Germany, into a Jewish family; his father was the gynecologist Dr. Emil Mosbacher. After the Nuremberg Laws curtailed his schooling, the family fled to the United States in October 1938. Stephen Americanized his name, attended Newton High School in Jackson Heights, Queens, and later studied chemistry at the University of Toledo after the family moved to Ohio.
 
He enlisted from Toledo on 12 June 1943, trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 19), and went overseas to England in September 1944 with a prisoner-of-war interrogation team attached to Combat Command B, 8th Armored Division. Billeted for a time with a Dutch family in Margraten, he earned a reputation for courage and cheerfulness in Holland and during the drive to the Rhine.
 
On 2 April 1945, during a billeting mission near Lippstadt, Mosbacher volunteered to help cover a withdrawal at Neuhaus and then rode into enemy fire to pull a stranded soldier into a jeep. A German tank shell killed him moments later while the party tried to rescue another wounded man. He received the Silver Star posthumously and is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
* Silver Star
* Silver Star
* Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
* Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
* Death date 2 April 1945 from commanding officer letter and folder dates. Rank rose from Pfc roster entry to staff sergeant in combat narratives—set rank_final to Staff Sergeant.


== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
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* 19.
* 14 October 1923 — Born in Nuremberg, Germany.
* Assigned to IPW Team 145 attached to the 8th Armored Division.
* October 1938 — Family fled Nazi Germany for the United States.
* Awarded Silver Star posthumously.
* 12 June 1943 — Enlisted at Toledo, Ohio.
* Buried in Margraten Cemetery, Netherlands.
* Class 19 — Trained at Camp Ritchie; IPW Team 149.
* Nuremberg to Emil and Rose Mosbacher.
* September 1944 — Arrived England; later Netherlands and Germany with 8th Armored Division.
* 2 April 1945 — Killed in action at Neuhaus near Lippstadt, Germany; Silver Star (posthumous).
* Burial — Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* RB Archive Mosbacher packet photographs and related PDFs
* RB Archive, “Stories of Allied Soldiers from Nuremberg-Fürth: Stephen S. Mosbacher” (includes Maj. John R. Elting letter, 9 June 1946)
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
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