| William Kellman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1922 |
| Nativity | Austria |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32826847 |
| Rank | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944) |
| Section | 5D |
| Enlisted | New York City, New York |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
William Kellman (born 1922) was a Ritchie Boy (from Austria; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 14.
Biography
More on him below. William grew up in Vienna, Austria. He went to study in Nitra Yeshiva in Czechoslovakia in 1937, and when Germany annexed Czechoslovakia he was transferred to Schneider Yeshiva in London. When the situation in Europe became grim, and he started learning English and realized he had to get out of Europe. He left with his brother Herman and traveled through Hungary, Belgium and finally made it to the US in 1940. He was drafted March 8, 1943. Did basic training in Camp Butner, North Carolina then was transferred to Military Intelligence School in Camp Ritchie. A graduate of the 14th class on January 31,1944 and was sent back to Europe March 21, 1944. He was attached to the 1st infantry division and was attached to this unit and traveled with them wherever they went. When they captured a German occupied town, it was his responsibility to search the town for troops and civilians left behind. Often the Germans left members of the Hitler Youth and other soldiers left in safe houses. He would interrogate them in German to see what they knew and how the US Army can use that information. Often they would claim to be “good people", Jews, or innocent allies, but with his German looks and German being his native language he was able to determine whether they truly were. Usually they were German SS officers, and he knew the signs. He looked for sabotage, treason, espionage, found out what they knew and had to relay the information quickly to be effective. As the US infantry advanced, he accumulated more knowledge, SS uniforms, weapons, artillery, documents and used them to gain access to other German hideouts. After the war, he helped with the Jewish survivors of the concentration camps. He vividly remembers finding two young Jewish boys in Czechoslovakia. He asked them about Pesach, Yom Kippur to see if they truly were Jews. These two boys were and he got them into a military DP camp to have them deloused, and fed, and got them bicycles and papers to get them to Germany, France, and then Italy to meet the Hagganah ship to take them to Palestine. His big regret was not asking them their names to see what happened to them and where they ended up.
Bit.ly/3rvISIP If you happen to be in New York City this week, and want to learn about the Ritchie Boys, you are invited to attend the Tisha B'Av service at the Carlebach Shul on West 79th Street in Manhattan. In addition to the showing of the Ritchie Boys documentary film, there will be a presentation by the sons of two Ritchie Boys, Bernie Lubran (son of RB [[Lubran, Walter H. Details can be found below.
Research notes
- Boca Raton
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Nara ASN | 32826847 |
| Nara Name | KELLMAN WILLIAM |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 47 |
| Nara POE | 2364 |
| Nara DOE | 80343 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| 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 | 22 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 6 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 170 |
| Nara Marital Status | 1 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 90 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 96 |
| Class_ASN | 32826847 |
| Class_Name | KELLMAN, William |
| 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)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-09-26 (1 post)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-07-23 (1 post)
- Facebook-linked source: bit.ly