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Martin A. Uebel
| Martin A. Uebel | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1912 |
| Died | 2008 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Field Artillery |
| ASN | 01184744 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 11 (25 August – 23 October 1943) |
| Section | 5B |
| Teams | IPW 38, MII 423-G |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Martin A. Uebel (1912–2008) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 11 and served with IPW Team 38.
Biography
Martin Uebel was a Ritchie Boy. Born in East Hampton, Massachusetts on April 12, 1912, he was the son of Herman and Marie Uebel. His father and his uncle both came to the USA when they were teenagers. Eventually, the entire family emigrated. They spoke German in the home. Martin was a 1933 graduate of Dartmouth University -- right in the middle of the Great Depression -- he couldn't get a job in the teaching field. He played the clarinet, and for two years made his living as part of a group trying to revive Boston's opera. The winter of 1935 looked promising for musicians when he, out of the blue, got a teaching offer from a small school in Germany. He taught high school English for a year at the Odenwalz Schule in Cologne. Adolf Hitler was beginning to get rambunctious, but der Fuhrer still allowed foreigners to stay in the country to teach languages. Martin learned an American school needed an English teacher for the children of steel and Ford Motor Co. employees, and he taught in their grade school for two years -- up until the war broke out. Back in the States, Martin found a job as a German teacher at Culver Military Academy. For two summers, he took education courses at Indiana University. Drafted in 1942, he went from Fort Benjamin Harrison to Fort Sill, Okla., where, just before graduation as a second lieutenant, he ran into an old friend who questioned his assignment in an artillery battalion. "With your background in German," his pal said, "you shouldn't be in the field. You need to be involved in the language area." He said he would see what he could do. Martin was given a hearing in front of an Army board. One of the reviewing officers said, "sprach ze doosch?" Martin laughed. "The guy thought he was speaking German -- and very poorly, at that! After I figured out what he was trying to say, I was reassigned as an interpreter." Sent to the Intelligence Center at Camp Ritchie, MD., Martin learned about interrogation techniques for POWs and facts about the German army. "I knew more about the German army than I did about our own," he said. After landing in Normandy with the Second Army, part of Martin's job was questioning German prisoners who were captured trying to break out to get back to their country. "At one point, I was sleeping in a French basement when an American officer woke me and took our Jeep. We commandeered a German truck, loaded our prisoners aboard and headed back to our lines." A German mortar exploded, seriously wounding Martin. It was the first of his two Purple Hearts. "My eyes were bloody and my left wrist was broken along with other injuries." He remembered the crossroads and, although unable to see, he was able to direct the truck to a British field hospital. After recuperating from his injuries, Martin rejoined his unit. The American forces were getting ready for a push deep into Germany. One night, while sleeping in the shaft of a German coal mine near Trier, enemy fire burst into the mine, shattering Martin's right knee and injuring the sole of his foot. "I considered myself lucky," he said. "I could've been sleeping with my head where my feet were. In that case, it would have been all over for me." On the operating table, he saw the doctor pick up the blanket, look at his knee and shake his head in disbelief. It didn't look good. Just before being anesthetized, Martin told the nurses, "I'm from Boston." He was in a hospital in Augusta, Ga., when the war ended. Martin was told he couldn't be separated from the service until his knee was operated on in order to restore 90 percent capability. Martin went back to his position at CMA as a language instructor, teaching German, Latin and English. A colonel at the military school, he was a counselor and head of the ROTC. For several summers, he also served as band director. "When they couldn't find anyone else," he said. He retired in 1977, but remained with the band for several more years. Martin passed away April 16, 2008 at the age of 96.
Research notes
- 423-G
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 96 |
| Class_ASN | 184744 |
| Class_Name | UEBEL, Martin A. |
| match_method | asn_partial_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
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 2023-01-13 (1 post)