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Rudolph E. Friedman
| Rudolph E. Friedman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1914 Germany, Of Jewish Faith |
| Died | 1999 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 39076100 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 16 (6 February – 5 April 1944) |
| Section | 7C |
| Enlisted | Sacramento, California |
| Specialty | Interrogation of prisoners of war |
| Team | IPW 164 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Rudolph E. Friedman (1914–1999), known as Rudy, was a German-born Jewish Camp Ritchie graduate of the 16th class (April 1944) who served as a master sergeant on IPW Team 164 in France and Germany. Family posts on the Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page preserve his diploma, IPW photographs, and unit mementos shared by his son Ronald.
Biography
Wiki profile records list Rudolph E. Friedman (ASN 39076100) as born in 1914 in Germany, of Jewish faith, with Camp Ritchie Class 16 (section 7C, corporal), IPW Team 164, overseas service, and enlistment at Sacramento, California. Civilian records list four years of college and an occupation as a manufacturing foreman. He died in 1999.
According to his son Ronald Friedman, writing to the Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, Rudolph graduated from Camp Ritchie in April 1944 with the 16th class. By June he was a master sergeant serving on IPW Team 164 with Harold Bergstrom, Andrew Akos, Jack Hillesum, and Fred W. Hellman (also referred to as Captain Frederick Hellman), in France and later into Germany.
Family photographs shared on the page show Friedman with IPW Team 164: one taken April 12, 1945 at Geislingen, southwest of Stuttgart, with an Interrogators of Prisoners of War (IPW) sign behind him; others from June 1945 at Lindenfels, south of Frankfurt; and additional undated images with teammates, two of whom Ronald believed to be Bergstrom and Akos. The family also kept a unit memento—a cross-section of an 88 mm howitzer prepared by Friedman and his teammates to commemorate the advance into Germany.
Ronald later noted the Latin motto on the MITC completion certificate, Fas est ab hoste doceri ("It is right to be taught even by an enemy"), as a fitting description of how Ritchie Boys worked. After Ronald's messages were posted, a relative of teammate Fred Hellman also contacted the page, linking the IPW 164 story across families.
Research notes
- Also Class 1 IPW Ge
Gallery
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The second photo on the right was taken on June 26, 1945 at Lindenfels, south of Frankfurt, Germany Courtesy of his son, Ronald Friedman. -
The second photo on the right was taken on June 26, 1945 at Lindenfels, south of Frankfurt, Germany Courtesy of his son, Ronald Friedman. -
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Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 85 |
| Nara ASN | 39076100 |
| Nara Name | FRIEDMAN RUDOLPH E |
| Nara State | 91 |
| Nara County | 89 |
| Nara POE | 9170 |
| Nara DOE | 10241 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for Hawaiian Department |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 14 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 8 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 591 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 73 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 158 |
| Class_ASN | 39076100 |
| Class_Name | FRIEDMAN, Rudolph E. |
| match_method | asn_exact_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 2018-01-10 (4 posts)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2018-01-15 (1 post)