Joseph Wechsberg

Joseph Wechsberg
Personal details
Born	29 August 1907 Ostrava, Austria-hungary
Died	10 April 1983 Vienna, Austria
Nativity	Czechoslovakia
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	39716066
Rank	Technical Sergeant
Camp Ritchie	Class 16 (6 February – 5 April 1944)
Enlisted	Los Angeles, California

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.

Joseph Wechsberg (29 August 1907 – 10 April 1983) was a Czech-born United States Army technical sergeant, Ritchie Boy (Class 16), and later a prolific American journalist and New Yorker correspondent.

Biography

Joseph Wechsberg was born on 29 August 1907 in Ostrava (then Ostrau), Moravia, in Austria-Hungary. He studied music and law, worked as a shipboard musician and European journalist, and served as a lieutenant in the Czechoslovak army during the 1938 mobilization. He and his wife reached the United States as refugees; his mother was later murdered at Auschwitz.

Wechsberg enlisted in the U.S. Army at Los Angeles on 4 November 1943 (ASN 39716066). His brother Maximilian Wechsberg had already trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 4). Joseph entered Class 16 for interrogation of German prisoners of war, then continued psychological-warfare training at Camp Sharpe near Gettysburg. In a 1950 Nation's Business essay he still associated fatigue uniforms with early kitchen-police duty at Camp Ritchie. Overseas he served with a Mobile Radio Broadcasting / psychological-warfare unit (roster MRBC 4), rose to technical sergeant, and worked as a military correspondent, including a temporary assignment with Stars and Stripes and front-line duty during the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war Wechsberg became a widely published American writer and longtime Europe correspondent for The New Yorker. He died in Vienna on 10 April 1983.

Research notes

• Roster MRBC 4 retained; expanded from placeholder "attached to ___" using Camp Sharpe / psychological-warfare Mobile Radio Broadcasting context (Ritchie History Museum essay + Nation's Business Camp Ritchie mention).
• Brother Maximilian Wechsberg (Class 4 faculty) is a separate roster page.

Gallery

• 
  Contributor note on Joseph Wechsberg, Nation's Business, August 1950 (Czech-born journalist; Czech army 1938; U.S. Army private to sergeant; Camp Ritchie context in article).
• 
  Wechsberg recalls early kitchen-police days at Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Nation's Business, August 1950, "The Corner Store Goes Abroad").

Technical record

Field	Imported value
MRBC4	4
Approx Age at Death	76
Nara ASN	39716066
Nara Name	WACHSBERG JOSEPH
Nara State	91
Nara County	37
Nara POE	9141
Nara DOE	41143
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	N4
Nara Year of Birth	7
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	9
Nara Civilian Occupation	6
Nara Marital Status	2
Nara Height (inches)	80
Nara Weight (lbs)	990
row_source	demographics

Timeline

• 29 August 1907 — Born in Ostrava (Ostrau), Moravia, Austria-Hungary.
• 1938 — Served as a lieutenant in the Czechoslovak army during mobilization (Nation's Business contributor note, August 1950).
• 1939 — Reached the United States as a refugee with his wife.
• 4 November 1943 — Enlisted at Los Angeles, California, as Private (ASN 39716066).
• Trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 16 (interrogation of German POWs); recalled early kitchen-police duty there (Nation's Business, August 1950).
• Continued psychological-warfare training at Camp Sharpe, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Ritchie History Museum biographical essay).
• Served overseas with MRBC 4 / psychological-warfare radio unit; promoted to technical sergeant; temporary Stars and Stripes work; Battle of the Bulge duty (December 1944).
• Mustered out as a sergeant (Nation's Business, August 1950).
• Postwar — American journalist and Europe correspondent for The New Yorker.
• 10 April 1983 — Died in Vienna, Austria.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Joseph Wechsberg (vitals cross-check)
• Ritchie History Museum: Joseph Wechsberg — Epicurean Master of Cultural Commentary (Class 16; Camp Sharpe; MRBC / psychological warfare; brother Max Class 4)
• Joseph Wechsberg, "The Corner Store Goes Abroad," Nation's Business, August 1950 (contributor note: Czech-born journalist; Czech army 1938; U.S. Army private to sergeant; article recalls Camp Ritchie kitchen-police duty) author note; Ritchie passage
• 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)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Joseph Wechsberg for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Wechsberg, Joseph for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: JOSEPH WECHSBERG.doc)