SP/4 Edward Rabinowitz
U.S.Army - Armored Infantry
2nd Armored Rifle Battalion
48th Infantry - Company B
Gelnhausen, Germany
September 1959 - September 1961
U.S.Army - Armored Infantry
2nd Armored Rifle Battalion
48th Infantry - Company B
Gelnhausen, Germany
September 1959 - September 1961
Edward Rabinowitz was born in the Bronx, New York on September 27, 1938. When Ed was a toddler his family moved to Waterbury, CT. His father owned a convenience store selling candy, cigarettes, newspapers and other sundry items. At the time "Waterbury was the brass center of the world. That's where Timex and Lux Clock were. A big manufacturing town". "As kids we'd go out to play and when the streetlights came on was when you had to be home for dinner. Growing up in Waterbury, CT was like the TV show Happy Days. It was a fun place to grow up". Ed owned a '53 Chevy convertible but his father sold it when he left for Germany.
Ed went through the local public school system. Grammar school went through 8th grade and from there he went to Crosby High School in Waterbury. When he entered high school, Ed became quite fond of one of the girls in the school, Phyllis Shulkin. They became high school sweethearts and later married in 1962.
Ed graduated from high school in 1957 and because there was no money to send Ed to college, he attended a local community business college in Waterbury. Ed was a few years older than Phyllis and when he completed community college in 1959, Phyllis was attending New Britain State Teacher's College which is now Connecticut State University in New Britain, Ct. It was now time for Ed to find a job.
Ed graduated at the height of the Cold War. Fortunately, there was no shooting war at the time, but the draft was still in effect. "It was the late 50s, so it was before Vietnam really was a place. It was just something that most of us never heard of". Ed recalled it was difficult to get a job if you had not satisfied your military requirement. "On the job applications it always said, ‘What is your military status’? If you were of draft age and you weren't in the service, you weren't getting hired because your potential employer knew you were going to be drafted". Ed discussed the issue of required military service with Phyllis, now his fianceé. They realized there was no way to move forward with their life until this commitment was satisfied. Ed wanted to satisfy his military service requirement as soon as possible. He went to the local draft board to find out when he would be drafted. He came home and discussed his potential entry dates with Phyllis, and they decided he should enter the service mid-September.
Ed headed for Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. During Basic Training Ed ran into Pat Santa Barbara from his hometown of Waterbury, CT. Ed and Pat became friendly with Lenny Koplitz and the trio went through Basic Training and AIT together and formed a tight friendship. Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) was held at Fort Ord in California. Ed was convinced that he was going to Korea. It was not viewed as a great assignment, but it was only 12 months. Instead, Ed received orders to Germany which would be an 18 month assignment. Ed, Pat and Lenny boarded a troop transport, the Simon B. Buckner, headed to Bremerhaven, Germany a port city on the northern coast of Germany. His mother wondered, "they're sending a Jewish boy to Germany"?
The troop ship had approximately 2,000 soldiers on board and for entertainment there was one movie and one ping pong table. "So, there were 1,000 guys on a side". Ed recalled that the trip took about a week. On the ship the boys learned they were going to be separated. "We took a dollar and cut it up into thirds. We each held part, and we said one day maybe the three of us will get back together and we'll go out for a beer. And we did, as a matter of fact".
When the ship disembarked, Ed was sent south to Gelnhausen. "I was attached to an armored infantry company. Each squad that was in the company was assigned to an armored personnel carrier also known as a ‘track’”. It was an armored vehicle with an eight-man crew. "They were smaller than tanks". Everyone was assigned a job on the base, and it was supposed to be closely related to your civilian work experience. While Ed was going to junior college he worked in the parts department of a Chrysler Plymouth dealer in Waterbury. The Army translated that into a Supply Division job. "You get up in the morning and everyone went to work. At 5:00 pm your workday was over, and you went back to the barracks." If it was a training day and “there were plenty of them”, the men would spend the day training which covered such things as marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, tactics and more. Ed recalled much of the training was in Grafenwoehr, Germany which is known for its cold winters. There was not much information from back home. There was one big radio in the barracks and the only station was Armed Forces Radio. The only newspaper was Stars and Stripes. Ed recalled that the men heard and read what Uncle Sam approved.
While in Germany Ed recalled surprise drills called alerts that were supposed to simulate a threat or an attack. A horn would blow, and the men would have to run to the barracks and grab a bag that they always kept packed for such an occasion. Ed would report to supply and jump in a truck filled with supplies for whatever type of emergency they were training for on that particular day. "You would go out on maneuvers, and nobody ever knew what or when or how long you would be out. It could be anywhere from hours to weeks". If you had a pass to leave base you would have to report back to base. There were consequences for not showing up for alert.
Ed recalled segregation in the Army during his tour. All of the men lived and trained and worked together on base. However, when you were out on pass there was very little intermingling. Ed recalled it was very, very rare. Even in Germany, there was a section in town for the black soldiers.
Ed was assigned temporary duty in Aschaffenburg where he also worked in supply. After Ed returned from temporary duty there were three months remaining on his two-year commitment. Soon Ed was on a troop transport and headed back to the states.
Unlike today's volunteer military where many soldiers make a career of the military, Ed recalled there being very few soldiers with a rank higher than Corporal. "They used to try and get us to reenlist but there were very, very few guys who re-upped".
It had been 18 months since Ed had seen his fiancée or parents. He had spoken to them only once during this time. It was a different environment than today's military. "There was no such thing as a cell phone. You wrote letters back and forth. You sent photographs. That was the only time when I actually had personal contact with loved ones".
Ed was discharged from active duty the end of August 1961. The Army gave him enough money to get on a train from New York to the New Haven train station in Connecticut. His parents and Phyllis met him at the station and in the car on the way home Phyllis told him that they would be getting married in June 1962. (A week after her college graduation.) Ed was discharged from active duty, but he was still committed for two years of active Reserve duty and three years of inactive Duty. Ed didn't think reporting for the Reserves was that important and decided he would not be missed. However, the Reserves missed him and eventually caught up with him. "I don't know how they found me, but they did". Ed was given two weeks to report, or he would be going back on active duty. "So off I went to the Armory in West Hartford, CT and when I showed up there, they told me I was going to be supply Sargent". Ed got off to a rough start dealing with the rules and regulations. At the time Phyllis was a second grade teacher in Bloomfield, CT not far from West Hartford. It just so happened that the child of the Commanding Officer of the Reserve Unit was in Phyllis' class. When that was discovered, life got a lot easier.
Ed landed a job with Toy House of Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie, NY. Ed was in the record division, and he would refill the records in the racks for the various mom and pop stores. That lasted only a few months. Then Ed got a job with E.J Korvettes store in Hartford, CT. Ed and Phyllis were married in 1962 and rented their first apartment in Hartford not far from the E.J.Korvettes store where Ed worked. Ed held various positions and was promoted to floor manager. Then he was asked to transfer to the store in Nanuet, NY. in 1970.
Ed and his family, which now included three sons (Michael, Alan and Ric) moved to Haverstraw, NY not far from the store. After a few years he was promoted and transferred to the Paramus, NJ store, but soon Ed could "see the writing on the wall" and he saw Korvettes was in financial difficulty. Ed decided it was time to move on and by the time he left he had logged 14 years with the company.
Phyllis had become a mom to their three boys and when they were all in school, she decided she wanted to work at a local nursery school. After being an employee for 6 years, Ed and Phyllis decided to start their own nursery school. With Phyllis' expertise in teaching and Ed’s business management experience, they opened Busy Bee Playschool in September 1983.
After Ed retired and because he had too much time on his hands, he decided to work part time at a local Lexus dealer, which he did for 14 years. Finally, Ed decided he had enough and wanted to devote his time to taking care of his youngest granddaughter, Amelia. This turned into a wonderful arrangement for him, and he developed an incredible bond with her. Ed recalled their ritual of going to the grocery store to buy Amelia her favorite lunch,
SpaghettiOs. "It was the greatest experience a grandfather could have".
Ed and Phyllis retired to Florida in 2019 and are fortunate to have 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Busy Bee Playschool is thriving in the capable hands of their son Ric, who has been a teacher/owner over 20 years.
Ed, thank you for serving your country in the cold German winters with summer fatigues. In your retirement we hope Amelia lets you continue to serve her SpaghettiOs.
Ed went through the local public school system. Grammar school went through 8th grade and from there he went to Crosby High School in Waterbury. When he entered high school, Ed became quite fond of one of the girls in the school, Phyllis Shulkin. They became high school sweethearts and later married in 1962.
Ed graduated from high school in 1957 and because there was no money to send Ed to college, he attended a local community business college in Waterbury. Ed was a few years older than Phyllis and when he completed community college in 1959, Phyllis was attending New Britain State Teacher's College which is now Connecticut State University in New Britain, Ct. It was now time for Ed to find a job.
Ed graduated at the height of the Cold War. Fortunately, there was no shooting war at the time, but the draft was still in effect. "It was the late 50s, so it was before Vietnam really was a place. It was just something that most of us never heard of". Ed recalled it was difficult to get a job if you had not satisfied your military requirement. "On the job applications it always said, ‘What is your military status’? If you were of draft age and you weren't in the service, you weren't getting hired because your potential employer knew you were going to be drafted". Ed discussed the issue of required military service with Phyllis, now his fianceé. They realized there was no way to move forward with their life until this commitment was satisfied. Ed wanted to satisfy his military service requirement as soon as possible. He went to the local draft board to find out when he would be drafted. He came home and discussed his potential entry dates with Phyllis, and they decided he should enter the service mid-September.
Ed headed for Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. During Basic Training Ed ran into Pat Santa Barbara from his hometown of Waterbury, CT. Ed and Pat became friendly with Lenny Koplitz and the trio went through Basic Training and AIT together and formed a tight friendship. Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) was held at Fort Ord in California. Ed was convinced that he was going to Korea. It was not viewed as a great assignment, but it was only 12 months. Instead, Ed received orders to Germany which would be an 18 month assignment. Ed, Pat and Lenny boarded a troop transport, the Simon B. Buckner, headed to Bremerhaven, Germany a port city on the northern coast of Germany. His mother wondered, "they're sending a Jewish boy to Germany"?
The troop ship had approximately 2,000 soldiers on board and for entertainment there was one movie and one ping pong table. "So, there were 1,000 guys on a side". Ed recalled that the trip took about a week. On the ship the boys learned they were going to be separated. "We took a dollar and cut it up into thirds. We each held part, and we said one day maybe the three of us will get back together and we'll go out for a beer. And we did, as a matter of fact".
When the ship disembarked, Ed was sent south to Gelnhausen. "I was attached to an armored infantry company. Each squad that was in the company was assigned to an armored personnel carrier also known as a ‘track’”. It was an armored vehicle with an eight-man crew. "They were smaller than tanks". Everyone was assigned a job on the base, and it was supposed to be closely related to your civilian work experience. While Ed was going to junior college he worked in the parts department of a Chrysler Plymouth dealer in Waterbury. The Army translated that into a Supply Division job. "You get up in the morning and everyone went to work. At 5:00 pm your workday was over, and you went back to the barracks." If it was a training day and “there were plenty of them”, the men would spend the day training which covered such things as marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, tactics and more. Ed recalled much of the training was in Grafenwoehr, Germany which is known for its cold winters. There was not much information from back home. There was one big radio in the barracks and the only station was Armed Forces Radio. The only newspaper was Stars and Stripes. Ed recalled that the men heard and read what Uncle Sam approved.
While in Germany Ed recalled surprise drills called alerts that were supposed to simulate a threat or an attack. A horn would blow, and the men would have to run to the barracks and grab a bag that they always kept packed for such an occasion. Ed would report to supply and jump in a truck filled with supplies for whatever type of emergency they were training for on that particular day. "You would go out on maneuvers, and nobody ever knew what or when or how long you would be out. It could be anywhere from hours to weeks". If you had a pass to leave base you would have to report back to base. There were consequences for not showing up for alert.
Ed recalled segregation in the Army during his tour. All of the men lived and trained and worked together on base. However, when you were out on pass there was very little intermingling. Ed recalled it was very, very rare. Even in Germany, there was a section in town for the black soldiers.
Ed was assigned temporary duty in Aschaffenburg where he also worked in supply. After Ed returned from temporary duty there were three months remaining on his two-year commitment. Soon Ed was on a troop transport and headed back to the states.
Unlike today's volunteer military where many soldiers make a career of the military, Ed recalled there being very few soldiers with a rank higher than Corporal. "They used to try and get us to reenlist but there were very, very few guys who re-upped".
It had been 18 months since Ed had seen his fiancée or parents. He had spoken to them only once during this time. It was a different environment than today's military. "There was no such thing as a cell phone. You wrote letters back and forth. You sent photographs. That was the only time when I actually had personal contact with loved ones".
Ed was discharged from active duty the end of August 1961. The Army gave him enough money to get on a train from New York to the New Haven train station in Connecticut. His parents and Phyllis met him at the station and in the car on the way home Phyllis told him that they would be getting married in June 1962. (A week after her college graduation.) Ed was discharged from active duty, but he was still committed for two years of active Reserve duty and three years of inactive Duty. Ed didn't think reporting for the Reserves was that important and decided he would not be missed. However, the Reserves missed him and eventually caught up with him. "I don't know how they found me, but they did". Ed was given two weeks to report, or he would be going back on active duty. "So off I went to the Armory in West Hartford, CT and when I showed up there, they told me I was going to be supply Sargent". Ed got off to a rough start dealing with the rules and regulations. At the time Phyllis was a second grade teacher in Bloomfield, CT not far from West Hartford. It just so happened that the child of the Commanding Officer of the Reserve Unit was in Phyllis' class. When that was discovered, life got a lot easier.
Ed landed a job with Toy House of Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie, NY. Ed was in the record division, and he would refill the records in the racks for the various mom and pop stores. That lasted only a few months. Then Ed got a job with E.J Korvettes store in Hartford, CT. Ed and Phyllis were married in 1962 and rented their first apartment in Hartford not far from the E.J.Korvettes store where Ed worked. Ed held various positions and was promoted to floor manager. Then he was asked to transfer to the store in Nanuet, NY. in 1970.
Ed and his family, which now included three sons (Michael, Alan and Ric) moved to Haverstraw, NY not far from the store. After a few years he was promoted and transferred to the Paramus, NJ store, but soon Ed could "see the writing on the wall" and he saw Korvettes was in financial difficulty. Ed decided it was time to move on and by the time he left he had logged 14 years with the company.
Phyllis had become a mom to their three boys and when they were all in school, she decided she wanted to work at a local nursery school. After being an employee for 6 years, Ed and Phyllis decided to start their own nursery school. With Phyllis' expertise in teaching and Ed’s business management experience, they opened Busy Bee Playschool in September 1983.
After Ed retired and because he had too much time on his hands, he decided to work part time at a local Lexus dealer, which he did for 14 years. Finally, Ed decided he had enough and wanted to devote his time to taking care of his youngest granddaughter, Amelia. This turned into a wonderful arrangement for him, and he developed an incredible bond with her. Ed recalled their ritual of going to the grocery store to buy Amelia her favorite lunch,
SpaghettiOs. "It was the greatest experience a grandfather could have".
Ed and Phyllis retired to Florida in 2019 and are fortunate to have 9 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Busy Bee Playschool is thriving in the capable hands of their son Ric, who has been a teacher/owner over 20 years.
Ed, thank you for serving your country in the cold German winters with summer fatigues. In your retirement we hope Amelia lets you continue to serve her SpaghettiOs.