Herman Salinger

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Herman Salinger
Personal details
Born23 December 1905
Saint Louis, Missouri
Died22 January 1983
NativityUnited States
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
Arm / serviceAir Corps
ASN0913812
RankCaptain
Rank at RitchieSecond Lieutenant
Camp RitchieClass 6 (13 March – 11 May 1943)
Section2
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Herman Salinger (23 December 1905 – 22 January 1983) was a St. Louis–born scholar and poet who taught at Camp Ritchie (Class 6) and served in G-2 with Twelfth Army Group and Seventh Army.

Biography

Herman Salinger was born on 23 December 1905 in Saint Louis, Missouri. After study at Stanford and time at the Universities of Berlin and Cologne, he taught German at Princeton (1932–1935) and completed a Ph.D. at Yale in 1937. He later taught at the University of Wisconsin before entering the Army Air Corps as a second lieutenant in 1942.

Promoted to first lieutenant in March 1943 and to captain in October 1944, Salinger served on the staff and faculty of the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie (Class 6 era) and then in G-2 with Twelfth Army Group in Verdun and Wiesbaden and with Seventh Army headquarters in Augsburg and Heidelberg. He left active duty on 14 January 1946.

A published poet and translator—including Heine’s Germany: A Winter’s Tale (1944)—he taught at the University of Kansas City and then as associate professor of German at Grinnell College. He died on 22 January 1983.

Research notes

Technical record

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 78
Class_ASN 913812
Class_Name SALINGER, Herman
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline

  • 23 December 1905 — Born in Saint Louis, Missouri.
  • 1932–1935 — Taught German at Princeton; Ph.D. Yale 1937.
  • 1942 — Entered Army Air Corps as 2nd Lt.; Kelly Field / Lubbock instruction.
  • 1943–1945 — Staff and faculty, MITC Camp Ritchie; then G-2, Twelfth Army Group and Seventh Army.
  • 17 March 1943 / 11 October 1944 — Promoted 1st Lt.; then Captain.
  • 14 January 1946 — Left active duty.
  • 1946–1947 — University of Kansas City; then Grinnell College.
  • 22 January 1983 — Died.

Sources

  • RB Archive biographical OCR (Grinnell / wartime service sketch)
  • Find a Grave — Herman Salinger
  • Prabook — Herman Salinger
  • 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 2022-12-29 (1 post)