Don’t Forget to Duck

By Sam Greenberg

Marty was born in Wilks-Barre, PA, and he was one of three brothers.  They grew up in a small town with around 4,000 Jews in the town, which was a large Jewish population for Wilkes-Barre’s size.  He was a Boy Scout, and he always wanted to serve his country and to follow in the footsteps of his brother Sam.

His chance came when he was drafted at the beginning of the Korean War.  His brother Sam dropped him off at his local train station to go to basic training.  Sam told him, “Don’t forget to duck,” and he laughed and continued to smile as he got on the train.

He trained at Fort Sam Houston to become a combat medic, and he joined the First Armored Division at Fort Hood, where they deployed to Korea.  He worked a lot in the field – dragging and caring for other soldiers.  He always said, “War was hell,” and that’s pretty much all he would say about it.  He was wounded three times during the battle of Pork Chop Hill, and he received a bronze star and a silver star for performing his duties.

He spent 10 months in Walter Reed recovering before going home to Pennsylvania.  He decided he would become a watchmaker and diamond setter, which he really enjoyed quite a bit – he did it the rest of his life.  There, he met Sondra, and they had three sons – Mark, Allan and Kevin.

Marty was a dedicated member of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., and spent more than 40 years giving back to other veterans.  Marty passed away earlier this year, but we will always remember him, still smiling.

Volume 71. Number 3. Fall 2017