Viewing the Channel 13 tapes on the TV, on the presidency of FDR, revived my memory of my teen age years and the struggles our population experienced. FDR was president from 1932 to 1945 when he died at Warm Springs. He was the only president to be elected 4 times. He took office after the Wall Street Crash and was immersed in trying to solve the economy and then the war problems,from 1938 to the time of his death. He had a rough time physically and personally but he always managed to present a calm confident appearance when he gave his lectures to the country. He was much loved by the greater majority of voting public.
I was 15 years old when FDR took office. When he died, I was in Germany . During his years as President, I was subject to his policies and attempts to help solve our economy and the war. I had complete faith in him as I believe most of our population did. The scenes of the trains transporting his body for burial in New Hyde Park showed the mourners lined up along the railroad tracks was indicative of the sorrow we all felt.
So when I awoke early to report to our draft board for entry into the army, it was done without fear or anger. We, the people were all aware of the importance of the necessity to stop Hitler’s efforts to take over the European continent. I have this vivid memory of the early morning sun shining through the trees. There was not a soul on the street. Just me walking into an unknown future, having said good-bye to Shirley last night and to my parents this morning. I felt sorry for them, because my brother Bill was in the army and was heading for the Pacific and my younger brother Nat who was due for draft in the end of the year. We all felt that it was our duty to be part of the effort to stop Hitler.
I walked to the draft board office, where the draftees were meeting, It was very early in the morning. Not many people up that early. When I arrived on 47th St and 13th Avenue, there were several young men milling around and I joined them. We were told to wait in front of the entrance to the office. We were told that two army trucks would pick us up and drive us to Ft. Dix, N.J. After loading up, we sat on the open platform six abreast, 12 to a truck and were on our way, before the rush hour. As we rode down the highway to Fort Dix, we were greeted with waves and thumbs up by drivers and workers on their way to their jobs.
I was feeling good, in spite of the sad departures from Shirley and my parents. We, all the draftees, were proud of joining in the effort to stop Hitler and the Nazis. We arrived at Fort Dix, a short trip of about 2 hours. We unloaded and were lined up in twos to walk en- masse to our barracks for wash-up and breakfast. As we were walking, I hear a voice spoken loudly “Hey Jewboy, how come they got you? I thought all you Jews were getting deferments?” I stopped and turned towards the voice and saw this young soldier, with a nasty smirk on his face. ( I still see it, now. over 60 yrs ago) He was standing on the porch of a barrack alongside of the road, about twenty feet from us. I stopped and was about to confront him, when I felt a tug on my elbow and arm. The draftee walking with me said “Ignore him, he’s a jerk. Probably an Irish Father Coughlin supporter, who is preaching Anti-Semitism on radio. New Jersey is filled with them”. So keep quiet and move on. Ignore him.” So I moved on and felt upset by not being able to prove to him how wrong his premise was. This was my first day in the army. What a beginning.
