Finger, Aaron (32881200): Difference between revisions
Incorporate high-confidence Facebook document OCR facts |
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|first=Aaron | |first=Aaron | ||
|class_section=6B | |class_section=6B | ||
|class_rank= | |class_rank=Private First Class | ||
|birth_year=1918 | |birth_year=1918 | ||
|death_year=2013 | |death_year=2013 | ||
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|class_number=22 | |class_number=22 | ||
|class_display=22 | |class_display=22 | ||
|photo= | |photo=5812455472109659.jpg | ||
|rank_final=Second Lieutenant | |||
|birth_place=Toronto, Canada | |||
|division=405th Infantry, 102nd Infantry Division | |||
}} | }} | ||
<div class="soldier-lead"> | <div class="soldier-lead"> | ||
'''[[Finger, Aaron (32881200)|Aaron Finger]]''' (1918–2013) was a Ritchie Boy | '''[[Finger, Aaron (32881200)|Aaron Finger]]''' (1918–2013) was a Toronto-born Ritchie Boy who served as a second lieutenant and battalion S-2 with the 405th Infantry, 102nd Division, in postwar Germany. | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
Aaron Finger was born in 1918 in Toronto, Canada, to Simon and Celia Finger, immigrants from Galicia who had married in New York City before moving north for work. Yiddish was spoken at home. The family returned to New York in 1920. Finger later enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 1943. | |||
Strong language and IQ testing led to selection for Camp Ritchie, where he trained in intelligence work, learned German, and studied aerial photography and German military organization. After the war he went overseas in the fall of 1945. In Germany he served with the 405th Infantry, 102nd Division, including time associated with Flossenbürg and duty at Hof, Bavaria, where—using his Yiddish—he worked with a Russian counterpart on prisoner exchanges and related tasks. An April 1946 recommendation identifies him as battalion S-2 and credits him with restoring border-control effectiveness along the U.S.–Russian and German–Czechoslovak frontiers; the paper recommends an Army Commendation Ribbon but does not by itself prove the award was granted. He helped host a Seder for displaced persons in Hof in April 1946 and returned to the United States aboard the SS ''New Bern Victory'' in June 1946. He was discharged in July 1946 as a second lieutenant. | |||
Finger married Henrietta Treister on 8 February 1948. They settled in Queens, New York, where he taught junior high school history and reading. He died in 2013. | |||
== Research notes == | == Research notes == | ||
* | * Enlisted records use ASN 32881200; officer documents use ASN 01337697 (O-1337697). | ||
* | * The Army Commendation Ribbon document is a recommendation, not proof of award. | ||
* | * USHMM finding aid biography gives birth as either 7 or 8 August 1918; infobox keeps year-only pending a decisive primary date. | ||
* | * Enlisted ASN 32881200; officer identification uses ASN 01337697 (O-1337697). | ||
== Gallery == | == Gallery == | ||
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== Timeline == | |||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline"> | |||
<div class="soldier-timeline-body"> | |||
* 1918 — Born in Toronto, Canada (USHMM biography notes 7 or 8 August 1918). | |||
* 1920 — Family moved from Toronto back to New York. | |||
* May 1943 — Enlisted in the U.S. Army. | |||
* Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 22). | |||
* Fall 1945 — Went overseas to postwar Germany (Flossenbürg; Hof, Bavaria). | |||
* April 1946 — Battalion S-2, 405th Infantry; letter of commendation / recommendation; Hof Seder for displaced persons. | |||
* June 1946 — Returned to the United States aboard SS New Bern Victory. | |||
* July 1946 — Discharged as second lieutenant, 405th Infantry, 102nd Division. | |||
* 8 February 1948 — Married Henrietta Treister; settled in Queens, New York, as a junior high teacher. | |||
* 2013 — Died. | |||
</div> | |||
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div> | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
* Camp Ritchie | * [https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn710957 USHMM Collections Search — Aaron Finger papers (irn710957)] | ||
* 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 2022-10-28 (1 post) | * Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-10-28 (1 post) | ||
* | * [https://medium.com/memory-action/turning-yiddish-skills-into-interrogation-techniques-aaron-fingers-us-army-journey-68b23184b5ed Medium / USHMM Memory & Action — Aaron Finger’s US Army journey (29 April 2022)] | ||
* [[:File:5812455455442994.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 5812455455442994.jpg]] | |||
* [[:File:5812455462109660.jpg|Finger officer identification card]] | |||
* [[:File:5812455472109659.jpg|Finger portrait in uniform]] | |||