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Glass, Walter H. (32883220): Difference between revisions

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|surname=Glass
|surname=Glass
|first=Walter
|first=Walter
|middle=H.
|middle=Henry
|class_section=E (13); 5a (13)
|class_section=E (13); 5A (13)
|class_rank=Pfc
|class_rank=Private First Class
|birth_year=1921
|birth_year=1921
|death_year=2012
|death_year=2012
|nativity=Au
|nativity=Austria
|religion=J
|religion=Jewish
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|state=MASSACHUSETTS
|state=MASSACHUSETTS
|certificate=NG
|education=3 years of college
|education=3 years of college
|marital=Single without dependents
|marital=Single without dependents
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|class_number=13
|class_number=13
|class_display=13
|class_display=13
|death_date=15 April 2012
|photo=Glass_Walter_H_32883220_SHAEF_reading.jpg
|birth_date=13 February 1921
|birth_place=Vienna, Austria
|death_place=Sleepy Hollow, New York
|alias=Walter Heinz Frauenglas; Walter Henry Glass
}}
}}


<div class="soldier-lead">
<div class="soldier-lead">
'''[[Glass, Walter H. (32883220)|Walter H. Glass]]''' (1921–2012) was a Ritchie Boy (from Austria; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 13.
'''Walter Henry Glass''' (born Walter Heinz Frauenglas; 13 February 1921 &ndash; 15 April 2012) was an Austrian-born United States Army soldier who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, in [[Class 13]] and served with SHAEF in Europe.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Glass passed away on April 15, 2012 at the age of 91. Walter was born Walter Heinz Frauenglas in Vienna, Austria. As a boy Walter was interested in international affairs and had read Mein Kampf. He held no illusions about what Hitler’s rise portended for European Jews. However, he could not persuade his family of the danger, and was forced to flee alone. After being sent back to Vienna from France on his first attempt, he managed to escape Austria and Europe, sailing for New York on the Acquitania in February 1939. On his departure from New York to Texas for college in September 1939 he adopted the name Walter Henry Glass, which became his legal name upon his naturalization in 1943. His last communication from his parents was a letter dated January 20, 1940, and he never heard from them again. When efforts to find them after the war proved fruitless, he assumed they had perished in the Holocaust. A son-in-law later found records that they had been shipped by train from Vienna to Lodz, Poland. There the trace was lost. Walter graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin, completing his course work in three years and obtaining admission to Harvard Law School, where he enrolled in 1942. His legal education was interrupted by two years of military service in the U.S. and Europe, where he was a technician in the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Branch (Signal Corps). He trained for this work at Camp Ritchie, the subject of the documentary film “The Ritchie Boys,” about the exploits of German-speaking Jewish immigrants in the U.S. Army, stateside and at the front. In Europe a fellow soldier patiently taught him to drive their truck. (He later copied his friend’s method to successfully teach each of his four children to drive stick-shift automobiles.) More information about Walter can be read here: Photos are from the archive of Walter's widow Ann, which were posted on the website - a project created by Walter's granddaughter, Sarah Poyet to celebrate his legacy.
Walter Henry Glass was born Walter Heinz Frauenglas on 13 February 1921 in Vienna, Austria. Unable to persuade his family of the danger after Hitler’s rise, he fled alone—after an earlier failed attempt via France—sailing for New York on the ''Aquitania'' in February 1939 with Quaker encouragement. On leaving New York for college in Texas that September he adopted the name Walter Henry Glass, later his legal name upon naturalization in 1943. His last letter from his parents was dated 20 January 1940; postwar research indicated they were deported from Vienna toward Łódź.
 
Glass graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin in 1942 and began Harvard Law School before wartime service interrupted his studies. Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 13), he served in Europe with the Army Psychological Warfare Branch / Signal Corps under Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, including the Battle of the Bulge period.
 
After the war he completed a Harvard J.D. (1947), worked for the SEC and on coal reorganization in postwar Germany with HICOG, and spent a long career in international contracts at General Electric (with a Raytheon interlude). He died on 15 April 2012 in Sleepy Hollow, New York.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
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* 4th
* 4th
* 5th Mobile
* 5th Mobile
* Photos WG-2–WG-5 are wartime group shots; WG-1 insignia printout; WG-6 destruction—curate carefully.


== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
<div class="soldier-gallery">
<div class="soldier-gallery">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
5733081696713704.jpg
5733081696713704.jpg|Walter H. Glass wartime portrait (earlier upload; see also SHAEF reading photo)
5733081690047038.jpg
5733081690047038.jpg|Walter H. Glass with Army colleagues in Europe, circa 1944
5733081693380371.jpg
5733081693380371.jpg|Walter H. Glass wartime photograph
5733081686713705.jpg
5733081686713705.jpg|Walter H. Glass with Army colleagues sitting on a wall, Europe circa 1944
Glass_Walter_H_32883220_SHAEF_reading.jpg|Walter H. Glass in uniform with SHAEF shoulder insignia, reading, Europe circa 1944 (RB Archive)
Glass_Walter_H_32883220_colleagues_03.jpg|Walter H. Glass with Army colleagues in Europe, circa 1944 (RB Archive)
</gallery>
</gallery>
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| row_source || both
| row_source || both
|}
|}
== Timeline ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
* 13 February 1921 — Born Walter Heinz Frauenglas in Vienna, Austria.
* February 1939 — Sailed for New York on the Aquitania.
* 1942 — B.A., University of Texas at Austin (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa).
* Class 13 — Trained at Camp Ritchie; SHAEF / Psychological Warfare service in Europe.
* 1947 — J.D., Harvard Law School.
* 15 April 2012 — Died in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
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</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* [[:File:Glass_Walter_H_32883220_colleagues_03.jpg|Walter H. Glass with Army colleagues in Europe, circa 1944 (RB Archive)]]
* [[:File:Glass_Walter_H_32883220_SHAEF_reading.jpg|Walter H. Glass in uniform with SHAEF shoulder insignia, reading, Europe circa 1944 (RB Archive)]]
* Paid notice, “Glass, Walter H.,” ''New York Times'', 18 April 2012 (RB Archive ProQuest)
* RB Archive / family narrative posted via theglassfiles.com (Ann Glass archive)
* 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
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-10-03 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-10-03 (1 post)
* Facebook-linked source: [http://walterglass.last-memories.com/ walterglass.last-memories.com]
* [http://walterglass.last-memories.com/ Walter H. Glass memorial site (last-memories)]
* Facebook-linked source: [https://www.theglassfiles.com theglassfiles.com]
* Facebook-linked source: [https://www.theglassfiles.com theglassfiles.com]
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