Gerald Forrest

Gerald Forrest
Personal details
Birth name	Jerry Forrest Feigenbaum
Born	12 July 1918 Berlin, Germany
Died	14 May 2013 Los Angeles, California
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Protestant
Awards	Bronze Star; Purple Heart
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	39228276
Rank	Technician Fifth Grade
Camp Ritchie	Class 12 (27 September – 25 November 1943)
Section	5A
Enlisted	Los Angeles, California
Unit / division	10th Armored Division

Awards and honors

Bronze Star	Purple Heart

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Gerald Forrest (12 July 1918 – 14 May 2013), born Feigenbaum, was a Berlin-born Ritchie Boy (Class 12) who landed on Utah Beach with the 10th Armored Division and later received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Biography

Gerald Forrest was born Gerald Feigenbaum on 12 July 1918 in Berlin to Leopold and Else Feigenbaum. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933 he and his brother Henry fled by bicycle while their parents left by train, reuniting friends in Paris before moving on to Scotland, where Jerry learned English. While his parents emigrated to the United States he lived on a moshav near Gedera in Mandatory Palestine, then rejoined the family in New York in 1939.

He enlisted, trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 12), returned to England for the invasion buildup, and landed on Utah Beach on 6 June 1944 with the 10th Armored Division. His campaigns included the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of Dachau. He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After the war he lived in Los Angeles, worked in the family business and aerospace, spent time in Israel repairing tanks for the IDF in the early 1980s, then ran a woodworking business until retirement. He died on 14 May 2013 at age 94.

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	95
Nara ASN	39228276
Nara Name	FORREST GERALD
Nara State	91
Nara County	37
Nara POE	9141
Nara DOE	270241
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	6
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the Panama Canal Department
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N1
Nara Year of Birth	18
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	475
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	73
Nara Weight (lbs)	155
Class_ASN	39228276
Class_Name	FORREST, Gerald
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 12 July 1918 — Born in Berlin (Feigenbaum).
• 1933 — Fled Germany via Paris and Scotland; moshav near Gedera; to New York 1939.
• Camp Ritchie Class 12 — POW interrogation training.
• 6 June 1944 — Utah Beach; 10th Armored Division; Bulge; Dachau liberation.
• Awards — Bronze Star; Purple Heart.
• Postwar — Los Angeles; early-1980s Israel tank repair; woodworking business.
• 14 May 2013 — Died, age 94.

Sources

• Legacy / Los Angeles Times — Gerald Forrest
• New York Times, 22 May 2013 — paid death notice for Gerald Forrest (RB Archive ProQuest PDF; private copy, not uploaded)
• 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 2022-11-30 (1 post)