Sergeant Herman S. Albert
Reflections on this veteran's military serviceSubmitted by Neil Albert
My father had a radio repair store in Hartford, Connecticut; he did not expect to be drafted because he was the sole support of his younger sisters, their parents having both died. He was 36 when he was called up, which was old for the time. The Army at first put his background to good use, putting him in the Signal Corps and giving him a year of advanced training on radar and radio. Then when his unit reached New Guinea his unit was dissolved and all the men became rifleman replacements. My father was assigned to a infantry company of about a dozen Irishmen from New York and New England, himself (a Jew) and two hundred Southerners. It was not a happy unit. The Irish called him "McAlbert" and adopted him for his own protection. The only war story he ever told me was how, in the landing craft on the way to the beach, a Southerner called him out and they had a fistfight right there in the boat.
He fought as an infantryman in very rugged circumstances without complaint. After months of jungle fighting he was evacuated with a case of jungle rot that was so severe he received a small pension for it the rest of his life. He was a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which he preferred to the American Legion because it was limited to those who had served overseas. He did all that was asked of him, under difficult circumstances and his service deserves to be remembered. I am grateful to the City of Lakewood for providing this opportunity Uncle of Lisa Rapp, Director of Public Works for City of Lakewood (Posted 2016) |
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