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.
Frank Karl Hauser
| Frank Karl Hauser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Franz Karl Hauser |
| Born | 4 October 1911 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 1993 |
| Nativity | Austria |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Awards | Bronze Star Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32417389 |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private First Class |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944) |
| Section | 5C |
| Enlisted | Ft Jay Governors Island, New York |
| Specialty | German document examiner; radio operator |
| Team | IPW 140 |
|
| Bronze Star Medal |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Frank Karl Hauser (born Franz Karl Hauser; 4 October 1911 – 1993) was a Vienna-born Ritchie Boy (Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 20 and served with IPW Team 140 in the Rhineland and Ardennes campaigns, earning the Bronze Star.
Biography
Frank C. Hauser was born Franz Karl Hauser in Vienna on 4 October 1911 into a Jewish family. He completed four years of commercial school in Austria and, probably after the Anschluss of 1938, left the country. He sailed from Liverpool on the SS Georgic and arrived in the United States on 27 March 1940; in October 1940 he was living in New York City and working as a leather belt maker.
Hauser enlisted at Fort Jay (Governors Island), New York, on 31 July 1942 as a private (ASN 32417389) and went through the Reception Center at Fort Dix, New Jersey, to basic training at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Croft, South Carolina, which he completed on 6 November 1942, becoming a naturalized citizen at Spartanburg. By October 1943 he was an Army Specialized Training Program student with Company A of the 4767th Army Specialized Training Unit at the University of Denver, Colorado. In March 1944 he was briefly assigned as a message center clerk to the 44th Infantry Division, and in April he joined the 61st Radio Intelligence Company of the Signal Corps at Camp Polk, Louisiana, as message center chief, working as a radio operator. In June 1944 he was transferred through the 14th Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Special Troops, Fourth Army, to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, where he trained as a German-language prisoner-of-war interrogator in Class 20 (section 5C, IPW German; certificate 8005) and graduated on 16 August 1944 as a German document examiner.
Hauser was promoted to staff sergeant on 4 September 1944 and assigned as assistant interrogator to provisional IPW Team 337. Released from Camp Ritchie on 18 September 1944, he traveled to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, sailed on the RMS Queen Mary, and arrived in Scotland on 25 September 1944. In October he was stationed with the 321st Replacement Company, 49th Replacement Battalion, 10th Replacement Depot, near Lichfield, England. In November the Field Interrogation Detachment at Headquarters, Military Intelligence Service (Forward and Main), at Le Vésinet, France, assigned him to IPW Team 140 and sent him to the Ninth U.S. Army; his teammates included Norman Wagner, Sigurd Swenson, and William Thatcher. In December 1944 he worked as a translator in the 29th Infantry Division's sector near Herzogenrath, Germany, and that same month he was detached to the 75th Infantry Division at 's Herenelderen, Belgium, interrogating prisoners near the Westwall during the German Ardennes offensive. He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operations against Nazi Germany during the Rhineland Campaign. He was discharged in October 1945 as a staff sergeant and died in 1993.
Gallery
-
Frank C. Hauser, 1943 or 1944 (photo: Sharon Delaney)
Timeline
- 4 October 1911 — Born Franz Karl Hauser in Vienna, Austria.
- 27 March 1940 — Arrived in the United States from Liverpool on the SS Georgic.
- October 1940 — Leather belt maker in New York City.
- 31 July 1942 — Enlisted at Fort Jay, New York, as Pvt (ASN: 32417389).
- 6 November 1942 — Completed basic training at Camp Croft, South Carolina; naturalized at Spartanburg.
- October 1943 — ASTP, 4767th ASTU, University of Denver, Colorado.
- April 1944 — 61st Radio Intelligence Company, Signal Corps, Camp Polk, Louisiana.
- June 1944 — Transferred to Camp Ritchie; Class 20 (German).
- 16 August 1944 — Graduated Class 20. Classified as Documents Examiner.
- 4 September 1944 — Promoted to S/Sgt.
- 18 September 1944 — Released from Camp Ritchie; sailed on the RMS Queen Mary.
- 25 September 1944 — Arrived in Scotland.
- November 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 140, attached to Ninth Army.
- December 1944 — Herzogenrath, Germany, and 's Herenelderen, Belgium (Ardennes offensive).
- October 1945 — Discharged as S/Sgt.
- 1993 — Died.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 82 |
| Nara ASN | 32417389 |
| Nara Name | HAUSER FRANK C |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 61 |
| Nara POE | 2327 |
| Nara DOE | 310742 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | BI |
| Nara Branch Code | 0 |
| Branch | Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA |
| 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 | 11 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 8 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 627 |
| Nara Marital Status | 2 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 64 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 144 |
| Class_ASN | 32417389 |
| Class_Name | HAUSER, Frank |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Research notes
- Four service and personal-history cards are now reflected in the biography and infobox.
- A separate Bronze Star certificate documents the decoration and Rhineland Campaign service.
- The Austriansoldiers biography dates his naturalization at Spartanburg to November 1944; the service documents give 6 November 1942, which is kept.
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)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2018-03-14 (1 post)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2018-03-16 (3 posts)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2018-04-20 (1 post)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2018-07-04 (2 posts)
- OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 1906949665993612.jpg
- OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 1775827892439124.jpg
- OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 1907097249312187.jpg
- OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 1907097262645519.jpg
- Hauser Bronze Star Medal certificate
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Frank C. Hauser for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Hauser, Frank C. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: FRANK C. HAUSER.doc)
- Austriansoldiers biography: Frank C. Hauser, Austriansoldiers / Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War (in German; accessed 25 September 2026)
