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Walter H. Glass
| Walter H. Glass | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1921 |
| Died | 15 April 2012 |
| Nativity | Austria |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32883220 |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 13 (30 October – 23 December 1943) |
| Section | E (13); 5A (13) |
| Enlisted | New York City, New York |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Walter H. Glass (1921 – 15 April 2012) was a Ritchie Boy (from Austria; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 13.
Biography
Glass passed away on April 15, 2012 at the age of 91. Walter was born Walter Heinz Frauenglas in Vienna, Austria. As a boy Walter was interested in international affairs and had read Mein Kampf. He held no illusions about what Hitler’s rise portended for European Jews. However, he could not persuade his family of the danger, and was forced to flee alone. After being sent back to Vienna from France on his first attempt, he managed to escape Austria and Europe, sailing for New York on the Acquitania in February 1939. On his departure from New York to Texas for college in September 1939 he adopted the name Walter Henry Glass, which became his legal name upon his naturalization in 1943. His last communication from his parents was a letter dated January 20, 1940, and he never heard from them again. When efforts to find them after the war proved fruitless, he assumed they had perished in the Holocaust. A son-in-law later found records that they had been shipped by train from Vienna to Lodz, Poland. There the trace was lost. Walter graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin, completing his course work in three years and obtaining admission to Harvard Law School, where he enrolled in 1942. His legal education was interrupted by two years of military service in the U.S. and Europe, where he was a technician in the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Branch (Signal Corps). He trained for this work at Camp Ritchie, the subject of the documentary film “The Ritchie Boys,” about the exploits of German-speaking Jewish immigrants in the U.S. Army, stateside and at the front. In Europe a fellow soldier patiently taught him to drive their truck. (He later copied his friend’s method to successfully teach each of his four children to drive stick-shift automobiles.) More information about Walter can be read here: Photos are from the archive of Walter's widow Ann, which were posted on the website - a project created by Walter's granddaughter, Sarah Poyet to celebrate his legacy.
Research notes
- 3rd
- 4th
- 5th Mobile
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 91 |
| Nara ASN | 32883220 |
| Nara Name | GLASS WALTER H |
| Nara State | 13 |
| Nara County | 17 |
| Nara POE | 2364 |
| Nara DOE | 60443 |
| 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 | 21 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 7 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 177 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 98 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 119 |
| Class_ASN | 32883220 |
| Class_Name | Giass, Walter H.; GLASS, Walter H |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_compatible; asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Sources
- Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
- 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 2022-10-03 (1 post)
- Facebook-linked source: walterglass.last-memories.com
- Facebook-linked source: theglassfiles.com