Sternberg, Robert H (32799272)

Robert H Sternberg
Personal details
Born	1921 Germany
Died	2001
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32799272
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section	5B
Enlisted	New York City, New York
Team	IPW 34

Teammates

Team — IPW 34

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

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.

Robert H. Sternberg (1921–2001) was a Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 10, served with IPW Team 34, and later became a second lieutenant.

Biography

Thomas shared that his father was harassed in 1935 . (which was) the last straw for the Sternberg family who promptly immigrated to the United States." Below is a picture of Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg's Naturalization Certificate issued on May 8, 1943 in Spartanburg, SC. Beneath that is a identification card showing that Robert Sternberg arrived in New York on the steamship Volendam on August 23, 1938. Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg's son, Thomas, shared a story that his "father found a German Officers uniform, went across enemy lines, and convinced a number of them to surrender, solely based on the notion that they thought he out ranked them.” Below is a letter dated April 30, 1945 appointing Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg to a rank of Second Lieutenant along with some pictures of him. Robert attended high school in Germany (did not graduate). He worked as translator; decoded messages.

Research notes

• Enlisted records use ASN 32799272; the 30 April 1945 officer appointment uses ASN 02025766 (O-2025766).

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	80
Nara ASN	32799272
Nara Name	STERNBERG ROBERT H
Nara State	23
Nara County	61
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	100243
Nara Grade Alpha	7V0
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	29
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
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	N1
Nara Year of Birth	21
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	6
Nara Civilian Occupation	108
Nara Marital Status	2
Nara Height (inches)	70
Nara Weight (lbs)	202
Class_ASN	32799272
Class_Name	STERNBERG, Robert H.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both
Census_HISTID	BF0A92D3-8982-47E4-B62C-B958E40F0112
Census_State	NEW YORK
Census_Relate	Child
Census_Sex	Male
Census_Age	19
Census_BirthYear	1921
Census_Marital	Never married/single
Census_Race	White
Census_BPL	453
Census_MBPL	0
Census_FBPL	0
Census_Citizen	Not a citizen
Census_Educ	Grade 12
Census_OCC	998

Timeline

• Born 1-29-1921 Born in Germany. Religion: Hebrew.
• 10 February 1943 — Drafted into the Army at NYC as Pvt (ASN 32799272).
• 7-23-1943 Entered Class 10 (IPW Ge).
• 9-20-43 Graduated with Class 10 as Asst Interrogator; Typist-linguist.
• 12-1-43 Promoted to M/Sgt.
• 6-6-1944 Landed on Utah Beach on D-Day with 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry.
• Assigned to IPW Team 34 attached to 4th Infantry Division.
• Assigned to SHAEF planning for Operation Overlord.
• Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.

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)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-07-26 (3 posts)
• Sternberg officer appointment
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Robert H Sternberg for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Sternberg, Robert H for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ROBERT H. STERNBERG (2021).doc)