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Paul A. Eisler
| Paul A. Eisler | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Paul Robert Alfred Maximilian Eisler |
| Born | 16 May 1921 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 17 November 1987 San Francisco, California |
| Nativity | Austria |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Awards | Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 39129139 |
| Rank | Technician Fifth Grade |
| Enlisted | San Francisco, California |
|
|
| Bronze Star Medal | Purple Heart |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Paul A. Eisler (born Paul Robert Alfred Maximilian Eisler; 16 May 1921 – 17 November 1987) was a Vienna-born Ritchie Boy who passed through Camp Ritchie, Maryland, into the Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies and served in Europe as a loudspeaker announcer, interrogator, translator, and propaganda writer, earning the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Paul enlisted at San Francisco, California.
Biography
Paul A. Eisler was born Paul Robert Alfred Maximilian Eisler in Vienna on 16 May 1921. He was Jewish, though the Army recorded him as Protestant. He attended elementary school and the Realgymnasium in Vienna and, according to Army records, received infantry cadet training. After the Anschluss he fled in October 1938 through Paris to Britain, where he spent a year at school in Winscombe, England. In December 1939 he emigrated from Southampton to the United States; after a short stay in New York City he lived in San Francisco from January 1940, working as a bank clerk and bookkeeper and taking part in Jewish clubs such as the Hakoah sports club.
Eisler entered the Army at San Francisco on 29 March 1943 and went through the Reception Center at the Presidio of Monterey to basic training at Army Air Forces Basic Training Center No. 8 in Fresno, California. In June 1943 he was sent to the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where from September he took the Foreign Areas and Languages course. In January 1944 he was transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie and assigned directly to the combat propaganda unit of the 2nd Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company, and in February to the 3rd MRBC; he trained as a translator, took a psychological warfare course at Camp Sharpe, Pennsylvania, and became a United States citizen.
In May 1944 Eisler sailed to Britain, where he was temporarily reduced to private, and in June he took further propaganda training at Clevedon and in London. From July 1944 he served with the 3rd MRBC in France, including at Le Mans; from September he came under the 2nd MRBC at Verdun and, under the Publicity and Psychological Warfare Section of the 12th Army Group, was detached as a loudspeaker announcer, interrogator, translator, and propaganda writer to the Third and First U.S. Armies and V Corps, with further missions in Belgium and the Netherlands and, in 1945, near the German border with the 4th and 28th Infantry Divisions. In March 1945 he was wounded near Jesberg in Hesse and received the Purple Heart; he also received the Bronze Star. He was discharged as a technician fifth grade at Dibble General Hospital in Menlo Park, California, in May 1946, and that spring was involved in a family restitution case in Lower Austria. He died in San Francisco on 17 November 1987.
Gallery
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Wartime photograph with a jeep, used as the portrait of Paul A. Eisler on his Austriansoldiers biography; the individuals are not identified in the caption (NARA, Record Group 208 / Lee Richards)
Timeline
- 16 May 1921 — Born in Vienna, Austria.
- October 1938 — Fled through Paris to Britain; school in Winscombe, England.
- December 1939 — Emigrated from Southampton to the United States.
- January 1940 — Settled in San Francisco.
- 29 March 1943 — Entered the Army at San Francisco (ASN 39129139); basic training at Fresno, California.
- June 1943 — ASTP, University of Illinois, Champaign.
- January 1944 — Camp Ritchie; assigned to the 2nd MRBC.
- February 1944 — Assigned to the 3rd MRBC; psychological warfare course at Camp Sharpe, Pennsylvania.
- May 1944 — Sailed to Britain.
- July 1944 — France with the 3rd MRBC (Le Mans).
- September 1944 — 2nd MRBC, Verdun; propaganda missions with the First and Third Armies and V Corps.
- March 1945 — Wounded near Jesberg, Germany; Purple Heart. Also awarded the Bronze Star.
- May 1946 — Discharged as T/5 at Dibble General Hospital, Menlo Park, California.
- 17 November 1987 — Died in San Francisco, California.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| MRBC3 | 3 |
| Approx Age at Death | 66 |
| Nara ASN | 39129139 |
| Nara Name | EISLER PAUL A |
| Nara State | 91 |
| Nara County | 075 |
| Nara POE | 9175 |
| Nara DOE | 290343 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Race | 1 |
| Nara Race Description | White citizen |
| row_source | demographics |
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)
- Austriansoldiers biography: Paul A. Eisler, Austriansoldiers / Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War (in German; accessed 25 September 2026)