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.
Robert H Sternberg
| Robert H Sternberg | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1921 |
| Died | 2001 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32799272 |
| Rank | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943) |
| Section | 5B |
| Enlisted | New York City, New York |
| Team | IPW 34 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Robert H Sternberg (1921–2001) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 10 and served with IPW Team 34.
Biography
We received the following from Landon Grove, Curator of the future Ritchie Museum. “The Ritchie Museum is BEYOND grateful for the donation given to us on Friday by Thomas and Barbara Sternberg, children of Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg. Tom (Sternberg) and his wife Cheryl toured Ritchie and had a wonderful time in the area. Thomas shared that his father was harassed in 1935 . (which was) the last straw for the Sternberg family who promptly immigrated to the United States." Below is a picture of Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg's Naturalization Certificate issued on May 8, 1943 in Spartanburg, SC. Beneath that is a identification card showing that Robert Sternberg arrived in New York on the steamship Volendam on August 23, 1938.
Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg's son, Thomas, shared a story that his "father found a German Officers uniform, went across enemy lines, and convinced a number of them to surrender, solely based on the notion that they thought he out ranked them.” Below is a letter dated April 30, 1945 appointing Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg to a rank of Second Lieutenant along with some pictures of him. Beneath that is a page from Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg's German Passport.
Ritchie Boy Robert Sternberg published this book, "From There to Here and Back Again."
Research notes
- From There to Here and Back Again
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 80 |
| Nara ASN | 32799272 |
| Nara Name | STERNBERG ROBERT H |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 61 |
| Nara POE | 2364 |
| Nara DOE | 100243 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | 7V0 |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | 29 |
| 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 | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 21 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 6 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 108 |
| Nara Marital Status | 2 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 70 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 202 |
| Class_ASN | 32799272 |
| Class_Name | STERNBERG, Robert H. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
| Census_HISTID | BF0A92D3-8982-47E4-B62C-B958E40F0112 |
| Census_State | NEW YORK |
| Census_Relate | Child |
| Census_Sex | Male |
| Census_Age | 19 |
| Census_BirthYear | 1921 |
| Census_Marital | Never married/single |
| Census_Race | White |
| Census_BPL | 453 |
| Census_MBPL | 0 |
| Census_FBPL | 0 |
| Census_Citizen | Not a citizen |
| Census_Educ | Grade 12 |
| Census_OCC | 998 |
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 2021-07-26 (3 posts)