The man who was always a boy

 

Walter in uniform
photo courtesy of his daughter Eva 

It was always special sitting lakeside shooting the breeze with Walter each summer when he and his wife came to visit. Our conversations had an atypical resonance, very different from those I might have with anyone else. He had a way of boring into the marrow space of your thoughts, and you didn't realize it was happening until later. How was he able to do that?

Several years ago while watching a Boston Film Festival documentary, I thought for sure I figured it out. The film recounted the exploits of an elite US Army unit known as the Ritchie Boys, young GIs of German ancestry trained in reconnaissance at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. Multilingual and with high IQs, the Boys' primary charge was providing intelligence and conducting battlefield interrogations in the European theater. Having escaped to the US from Germany prior to the blitzkrieg, and then promptly drafted into the US Army, Walter appeared to fit the profile - he had to be a Ritchie Boy. I found out indeed he was. In a way, our lakeside chats were actually interrogations, albeit forgiving ones. But they were just one chapter in Walter's story. The saga of his life spanned a journey as expansive as the ocean he crossed and as courageous as his parachute drops into battle zones. 

Normandy - June 2001
© David Greenfield 

The men in Walter's early life were WWI veterans and German-Jewish patriots. All believed Germany was the greatest country despite its broken status after wartime defeat and subsequent humbling treatment at Versailles. In the antebellum years when the National Socialist Party replaced the governing Weimar Republic with its own platform squarely laying blame for the country's misfortunes on the Jews, life gradually deteriorated for Walter's family. Neighbors who initially ignored the Nazi's ranting soon believed Jews were responsible for   their woes. The continuous stream of vitriol struck a chord with Walter's classmates as well. Although an admired star athlete, Walter's daily trek to school soon became marred by abuse and beatings. When it became clear the situation would not end well, the family felt compelled to leave their home. They managed to get passage aboard a ship headed for the United States in the shrinking time window before the exit gates slammed shut.

As a naturalized US citizen and member of the armed services, in short order Walter staged a return to the Europe he left behind - that time via parachute as chief interrogator attached to the 82nd Airborne. He landed in Normandy on D-Day+7. During ensuing missions, his prowess in combat, interrogation skills, command of language, and familiarity with the terrain all proved invaluable.

Omaha Beach, Normandy - June 2001
© David Greenfield

After V-E Day in 1945 Walter returned to civilian life having attained the rank of Master Sergeant. His legacy is one of distinguished Ritchie Boy and decorated paratrooper. Although often the subject of Walter's interrogations, I will always be proud to have had Walter as my friend and remember him fondly on this Veterans Day.

 At Walter's grandson's wedding - 2007
photo courtesy Walter's daughter Eva

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