Friday, November 30, 1945
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
Page Twenty-Two
"I Didn't Feel Right to Sit Safe Far Behind the Lines"
(Tech. Sgt. Harold Katz, if
you ask his friends and fam-
ily about him, was just a
"good boy." He wasn't out-
standing in athletics or his
studies at James Monroe High
School, in the Bronx, but his
teachers and the principal re-
member him as a reliable
though not extraordinary stu-
dent. When he enlisted at
eighteen in the medical corps
he requested combat duty. He
died saving a comrade. On his
body the following letter to
his mother was found.)
Dear Mom:
I realize that this is a war
and that men will be killed win-
ning it, and since I am included
in these, I know there is a pos-
sibility of my not coming back.
If you receive this letter it
will be because that possibility
has come true. I am writing this
letter now, while I have the
chance, in the hope that it will
ease the weight of the sad news,
in that it will make you better
understand my viewpoint of the
matter,
I am certainly not going out
with the intention of getting
killed, but I do hope to perform
my duties, living up to the stand-
ards of a man and a soldier.
Mom, I have always loved you
very dearly. There is no other
person or thing on earth for
which I could have more love.
The army made me realize keen-
er how kind, generous, and un-
selfish you always were to me
and Roily. I wish now that I
had taken more opportunities
than I did to show my apprecia-
tion to such a swell mother.
Mom. I want you very much to
be more proud than sorry. I
don't want you to think of it as
losing a son for no good rea-
son, but rather as sacrificing a
son so that all of mankind could
live in a peaceful and free
world.
Please use the insurance mon-
ey to take life easy, happy, and
comfortable. I hope you can do
some things you hoped to do be-
fore but couldn't get around to.
I think it best for you to for-
get about me as much as pos-
sible, Mom, for tears do no one
any good, and also it will be
hard on young Roily to see his
Mom sad.
(Harold's Silver Star citation
follows: "Technician Fifth Grade
Harold Katz, who while serving
with the Army of the United
States, distinguished himself by
gallantry in action on 30 March
1945. During an attack on the
town of Attweilman, Germany,
the Second Platoon of Company
E was subjected to a heavy con-
centration of enemy artillery
and supporting fire which caus-
ed many casualties and halted
the platoon. Leaving the com-
'Take Life Easy'
I hope you realize exactly parative safety of his position,
Technician Katz, medical aid
what I am trying to tell you,
hoped to use in the future.
Another reason why I was
not satisfied in just being in the
army, but wanted combat duty,
is the fact that I am Jewish. I
felt again, it wasn't right for me
to be safe behind the lines,
while others were risking their
lives, with one of their goals
the principle of no race preju-
dice. I knew this meant fighting
for me and my family because
if Hitler won, my family—you,
Roily and Pop—would certainly
suffer more than the families of
other soldiers who died in the
fight. I felt that I musk risk my
life, on that point, so that I
could earn the right to live in
peace and free from race pre-
judice. I didn't think it right to
stand by and let others fight for
things which would benefit me.
I asked for combat for the above
reasons. The reason I joined the
army was to fight for my coun-
try, my people, and my ideals.
Those are the feelings I had
inside of me, Mom, and I could
not push them aside. I felt if I
did not face them, I was not a
man of true good character.
Sought Combat
Mom, I want you to know
that I asked for a combat as-
signment. I did so for several
reasons. One is that I had cer-
tain ideals within my own mind
for which I had often argued
verbally. I didn't feel right to
sit safe, far behind the lines,
while men were risking their
lives for principles, which I
would fight for only with my
lips. I felt that I also must be
willing to risk my life in the
fight for that freedom of speech
and thought I was using and
CHANUKAH GREETINGS
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lasting inspiration to those who
knew him and reflect the high-
est credit upon himself and
Armed Forces of the United
States.")
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man, exposed himself to the en-
emy fire to reach the side of a
wounded comrade. He adminis-
tered first aid to him and placed
him in a deep fox-hole for pro-
tection against further injury.
Although being fired at constant-
ly he moved. to the side of an-
other wounded soldier to whom
he also administered first aid.
Attempting to evacuate him, he
was seriously wounded by the
enemy fire. Despite his wounds
and the fact that he was unab1.3
to move his legs, Technician
Katz succeeded in pushing the
wounded comrade into a shal-
low hole which afforded him pro-
tection from flat trajectory fire.
His gallant actions and inspir-
ing concern for the welfare of
his fellow comrades remain a
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