Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Peter A. Bindczyck
| Peter A. Bindczyck | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32626728 |
| Rank | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 9 (21 June – 18 August 1943) |
| Section | 5 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Peter A. Bindczyck was a German-born Camp Ritchie trainee (Class 9) whose wartime naturalization at Frederick County, Maryland, became the subject of 1951 Supreme Court citizenship litigation.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Peter A. Bindczyck (also reported as Peter Alfons Bindczyck) was a native of Germany who trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Class 9). On 2 December 1943, while serving at Camp Ritchie, he was admitted to U.S. Citizenship by the circuit court of Frederick County, Maryland. The next day he was alerted for overseas duty.
According to contemporary press accounts of later litigation, Bindczyck soon made statements to a post intelligence officer that the Justice Department said disclaimed willingness to bear arms and a desire to remain in the United States after the war. Within a week the Frederick court canceled the citizenship order after he reportedly admitted swearing falsely that he would fight for the United States. He was ordered deported in 1948 and sued; a federal district court held him a citizen, an appeals court reversed, and on 26 November 1951 the U.S. Supreme Court restored citizenship on the ground that cancellation had not followed the exclusive procedure of the 1940 Nationality Act, while leaving the government free to proceed again under that act. Press reports placed him in Elmhurst, Long Island, married to an American, with one child.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
- See: The Sovereign Citizen
- 1919-?
- Supreme Court restored citizenship for procedural failure under the 1940 Nationality Act; government could still re-proceed. Press spelling varies (Bindczyck / Bindezyck).
Gallery[edit | edit source]
After you are autoconfirmed, upload a photo and add [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]] here, or set |photo=Example.jpg in the infobox.
Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Class_ASN | 32626728 |
| Class_Name | BINDOZYOK, Peter A. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_compatible |
| row_source | both |
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- Camp Ritchie Class 9 — Military Intelligence Training Center.
- 2 December 1943 — Admitted to U.S. citizenship, Frederick County, Maryland (while at Camp Ritchie).
- December 1943 — Citizenship order canceled days later after contested statements to post intelligence.
- 1948 — Deportation order; begins suit.
- 26 November 1951 — U.S. Supreme Court restores citizenship on procedural grounds (5–2).
Sources[edit | edit source]
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 26 November 1951 — Supreme Court citizenship coverage of Peter Alfons Bindczyck / Camp Ritchie naturalization (RB Archive PDF)
- 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)