World War II - USA

The PBY Catalina

The PBY Catalina

Ralph worked on a variety of sea planes, including the famous PBY Catalina (shown to the left.)  Known for its long range and durability, the PBY was used for maritime patrol, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare.  Before the plane would go out an a mission, they would do a test flight with a mechanic inside the crawlspace of the engine to make sure that everything was functioning properly.

Click on the video to the left to hear Ralph talk about working on the PBY while it was in flight.

Ralph Bernstein

In late 1944, Ralph decided that, even though he was repairing military aircraft, he wanted to be more active in the war effort.  He wanted to be in the service.  So, in November of 1944 he quit his job at Pam American.  This caused his inactive status in the Naval Reserve to be automatically changed to active.  Ralph Bernstein was now in the Navy!  Ralph attended boot camp in San Diego (along with his two cousins Sam Chilkov and Murray Bernstein.)   Ralph actually enjoyed boot camp and was excited to be in the Navy.  All the recruits had to take an aptitude test, to see which of the recruits might have the ability to handle more complicated and technical jobs.  Ralph got the highest score out of his group of one hundred sailors.

Click on the video to the left to hear Ralph talk about an anti-semitic incident that occurred in boot camp after he received the high score on the test.

The EDDY Test

Sam Chilkov, the son of Fanny and Phil Chilkov (Feige Lyutrovnik and Fizsel Chilkowski) was the first to find out about the EDDY program and alerted his cousins Ralph and Murray Bernstein about it.

The Navy’s Radar Problem

Capt. Eddy

Cousins Ralph, Sam and Murray - 1944

After the attack at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. geared up quickly for war.  But they had a problem.  They had an incredible technological advantage because of Radar.  The problem was that of the 2,000 naval vessels in service, only 79 had radar installed on them.  They could build more Radar sets, but they would need thousands of men to maintain and operate what was literally some of the most advanced electronic equipment existing in the world at that time.  The Navy quickly developed an eleven-month training program to produce the thousands of Radar technicians they needed, but an unacceptably large number of sailors were failing the program.  They would have to find a way to find the Navy’s best and brightest candidates to train them for the highly complex work of maintaining and operating the complex Radar equipment.

The task fell to William C. Eddy, an inventor, pioneer in the field of television and naval officer.  Eddy, who would eventually be promoted to the rank of captain, developed the EDDY test, which was used to evaluate candidates on their knowledge of mathematics, physics and psychological factors.  Some say it was the hardest test ever administered by the U.S. military, and if you failed the test, there was no second chance.  There is no data on the pass-fail rate of the EDDY test, but of the approximately 500,000 men who ultimately took the test, only about 6% finished the Electronic Technician’s training.  Once you passed the test, you began an eleven month training course of both theoretical and applied mathematics, physics and radio theory, with fifteen hour days and exams on Saturday.

Sam, Ralph and Murray all took the EDDY test and passed (with their good Bezbrozh genes!) and were admitted into the Radar training program.  After an eleven month training program, they all graduated and were promoted to petty officers.  Ralph and Murray became instructors in the Radar training program at Treasure Island in San Francisco.  Sam Chilkov served in the South Pacific as a Radar technician and operator, but it was after the hostilities had ceased.  

Ralph received an Honorable Discharge on July 20th, 1946.  His rank was a Petty Officer Second Class, which is the equivalent of a Sergeant.  Sam and Murray were most likely also Petty Officers Second Class.  To the left is the Petty Officer Second Class insignia.  The two chevrons indicate Petty Officer Second Class.  The bolts of electricity indicate his specialty, which was Electronic Technician’s Mate.

Click on the left icon to view Ralph Bernstein’s separation papers from the U.S. Navy.  His final rank was ETM2, Electronic Technician’s Mate 2nd Class.  His training was “PRM” for “Pre-Radio”, “EE & RM” is for “Elementary Electrical and Radio Material”, and “Adv” is for “Advanced.”  Click on the right icon to view Ralph’s honorable discharge papers.

Bill enlisted in the Air Corps (the predecessor of the Air Force) on July 2nd, 1943.  He was trained as an airplane and engine mechanic and also qualified as a sharpshooter on the M1 Carbine rifle.  

On September 3rd, 1945 he was shipped overseas and served in the 2nd Combat Cargo Squadron in Burma and Chungking.  His primary duties were as an airplane mechanic, but he also served a brief assignment as an aerial gunner.  Bill received an honorable discharge on April 20th, 1946.

The Emblem of Bill’s Squadron

Good Conduct Medal

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

American Campaign Medal

Sharpshooter

For his service, Bill was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal,  American Campaign Medal, and Sharpshooter badge, all shown to the left.

Click on the left icon to see Bill Bernstein’s discharge qualifications.  Click on the middle icon to see his enlistment record.  Click on the right icon to see Bill’s Honorable Discharge Certificate.

Herman Bernstein (who would later change his name to Robert Bernstein) was the son of Morris and Bessie Bernstein (Moshe and Basia Bezbrozh.)   On November 24th, 1942, Robert Bernstein was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Herman (Robert) Bernstein

Robert was trained as a military policeman and served in Company B of the 783rd Military Police Battalion.  On February 12, 1944, Robert was shipped overseas to Europe.  The invasion at Normandy, or D-Day, was on June 6th, 1944, and according to "MP: The Story of the Corps of Military Police”, Companies C and D of the 783rd MP Battalion directed beach traffic on D plus 4 (June 10th, 1944), and the entire 783rd battalion landed after that.  So Robert landed at Normandy probably no more than a week after D-Day.  

Good Conduct Medal

The duties of the Military Police during and after the Normandy Invasion were incredibly important.  Within one week after D-Day, the allies had landed over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and 100,000 tons of equipment, and all these troops and equipment had to travel across Europe.  A traffic jam in the supply lines could result in food, fuel, weapons and ammunition not reaching the front, which could put the troops at the front in serious jeopardy.  One of the main jobs of the military police was to keep the supply lines moving so that the troops could keep fighting.  The MPs also guarded supply dumps and processed prisoners of war.

Robert served in Normandy, in the Northern France Campaign, where the Allied troops expelled the German Army from France, and the Battle of the Rhineland where the Allies pushed the Wehrmacht back into Germany and across the Rhine river.  Robert received an Honorable Discharge on November 30th, 1945, serving a total of three years in the Army.

EAME Campaign Medal

Click on the left icon to see Robert Bernstein’s enlistment record.  Click on the right icon to see his Honorable Discharge Certificate.

World War II Victory Medal

American Campaign Medal

For his service, Robert was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the American Campaign Medal, all shown to the left.

Howard rose to the rank of corporal, and was appointed company clerk. He served in the Chemical and Mortar Battalion, landing in France in 1944. (A “chemical mortar” was capable of firing not only high explosive shells, but also chemical, gas, incendiary and smoke marker shells.)  Howard’s company saw combat in France, Luxembourg and Germany. Howard was discharged from the army in 1945.

Marty Menkes, the future husband of Fanny and Philip Bernstein’s daughter Beatrice, enlisted in the United States Army on July 28th, 1944.  He was assigned to the infantry.  As far as I know, he is the only person connected to the Bernstein/Bezbrozh family in America who was wounded in World War II.

After D-Day, June 6th, 1944, the Allies slowly but steadily pushed the Wehrmacht out of Western Europe and back toward Germany.  The Allies definitely had the upper hand.  But Hitler was not one to go quietly.  He planned a brilliant counterattack on the Allies with the goal of splitting the Allied forces in two.  He would encircle and destroy the Allied armies and then force the allies to negotiate a peace treaty.  Hitler’s plan almost succeeded.  

On December 16th, 1944, the Wehrmacht launched a counterattack through the heavily forested Ardennes region of France and Belgium.  The Allies were taken completely by surprise and suffered heavy losses.  For a while, it looked like Hitler’s plan might succeed.  The vast majority of the casualties were American, and the American army took personnel from all over Europe to defend their line.  This campaign was called “The Battle of the Bulge.”  Marty was quickly shipped to the front lines in the Ardennes.  

Shortly after he was deployed, Marty was marching with some troops when the soldier in front of him stepped on a land mine.  There was an explosion and the soldier was killed instantly.  Marty was thrown back with shrapnel embedded in his leg and groin.  The soldier behind Marty was killed as well.  Marty had to spend several weeks in the hospital, and the doctors were only able to remove some of the shrapnel.  Marty was awarded the Purple Heart (shown to the left) for being wounded in battle.  Marty received an Honorable Discharge on October 5th, 1945.

Finally, after over a month of fighting in the Ardennes, the Allies, mostly the Americans, managed to stop the Germans’ advance, but at a huge cost.  Over 89,000 Americans were killed, 47,500 wounded, and 23,000 missing.  However, the Germans lost somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 troops, and lost a great number of tanks and aircraft.  The Germans had depleted their reserves, and it was just a matter of time before they lost the war.