Kocem, Felix Herbert (32972884)

Felix Herbert Kocem
Felix H. Kocem in uniform. Photo credit: (c) Laurie Kapp
Personal details
Birth name	Felix Herbert Kojcem
Born	25 October 1923 Vienna, Austria
Died	15 July 2021 Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Nativity	Austria
Religion	Jewish
Awards	Purple Heart
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32972884
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section	5B
Enlisted	New York City, New York

Awards and honors

Purple Heart

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Felix Herbert Kocem (born Felix Herbert Kojcem; also known in the Army as Felix H. Kent; 25 October 1923 – 15 July 2021) was a Vienna-born Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 14 and was wounded in France in October 1944 while serving in intelligence with the Counter Intelligence Corps. Felix enlisted at New York City, New York.

Biography

Felix Herbert Kocem was born Felix Herbert Kojcem in Vienna on 25 October 1923 into a Jewish family; in the Army he was also known as Felix H. Kent. He attended elementary school in Austria until 1937 and fled after the Nazi takeover, traveling through Zagreb and Le Havre to the United States in February 1939. He lived in New York City, worked as an assistant in a law office, and from 1942 studied law at New York University without completing the degree.

Kocem enlisted at New York City on 22 June 1943 as a private (ASN 32972884) and went through the Induction Center at Camp Upton, New York, to basic and medical training with Company C, 34th Medical Training Battalion, 8th Medical Training Regiment, at the Medical Replacement Training Center at Camp Grant, Illinois. On 9 October 1943 he became a naturalized citizen and was transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, where he trained as a German-language prisoner-of-war interrogator in Class 14 (section 5B, IPW German; certificate 5155), specializing as a document examiner and clerk.

In February 1944 Kocem sailed from Fort Slocum at the New York Port of Embarkation for Europe and joined the 81st Replacement Battalion, probably at the 17th Replacement Depot in Yeovil, England. In June the 487th Replacement Company sent him as an intelligence observer to the tenth class of the Combat Intelligence School, and in July he was transferred from the 487th Replacement Company of the 89th Replacement Battalion to a provisional replacement company and assigned to its intelligence platoon; in August he served with various detachments and companies of the 12th Replacement Depot, probably near Tidworth. He probably worked as an interrogator or translator with the Counter Intelligence Corps in the XV Corps area in France, and in October 1944, near Lunéville, he was wounded by artillery fire during a simultaneous vehicle accident, for which he received the Purple Heart. He was evacuated through Marseille to the 300th General Hospital in Naples, Italy, returned to the United States by hospital ship in December 1944, and was treated further at Charleston, South Carolina, and at Battey General Hospital in Rome, Georgia. He was probably discharged in early 1945; his last known rank was private. He died in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on 15 July 2021.

Gallery

After you are autoconfirmed, upload a photo and add [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]] here, or set |photo=Example.jpg in the infobox.

Timeline

• 25 October 1923 — Born Felix Herbert Kojcem in Vienna, Austria.
• February 1939 — Emigrated through Zagreb and Le Havre to the United States.
• 1942 — Law studies at New York University.
• 22 June 1943 — Enlisted in Army in NYC as Pvt (ASN: 32972884); medical training at Camp Grant, Illinois.
• 9 October 1943 — Became naturalized citizen; transferred to Camp Ritchie, Class 14 (section 5B, IPW German). Certificate # 5155.
• February 1944 — Sailed for Britain; 81st Replacement Battalion.
• June 1944 — Combat Intelligence School (10th class).
• October 1944 — Wounded near Lunéville, France. Purple Heart.
• December 1944 — Returned to the United States by hospital ship.
• 15 July 2021 — Died in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
• Served with Counter Intelligence Corps (XV Corps area, France).

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	32972884
Nara Name	KENT FELIX H
Nara State	23
Nara County	61
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	220643
Nara Grade Alpha	P5T
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	NO
Nara Branch Code	2
Branch	No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N2
Nara Year of Birth	23
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	6
Nara Civilian Occupation	68
Nara Marital Status	1
Nara Height (inches)	44
Nara Weight (lbs)	666
Class_ASN	32972884
Class_Name	KOCEM, Felix H.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• 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)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Felix H. Kocem for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Kocem, Felix H. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: FELIX H. KENT (KOCEM).docx, FELIX H. KOCEM (KENT).docx)
• Austriansoldiers biography: Felix H. Kocem, Austriansoldiers / Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War (in German; accessed 25 September 2026)