Family members who served in the military

Cousins Club

Dear Family,

Since December 7, 2016 was the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and one of our cousins was stationed at Pearl Harbor during WWII (he left on leave the day before the attack) - its a good time to share more about those family members who served in the Military during World War II. They were deployed throughout Europe - including France, Italy, Germany and North Africa and fought in a number of famous battles (including D-Day).

A summary of the families involvement in the war is below. This is based on what the family has shared so far. More about the family members can be found on our website: www.CousinsClub.us. If you would like to add any additional details about the military history of a family member or anything else, please e-mail Rich Pollner at: [email protected]

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Family members who served

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Family members who served

Irwin Kohn

Irwin Kohn was a Private First Class in the US Army 116th Infantry Regiment during WWII where he served as a Radio Man. He was part of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion - 29th Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion.

Irwin went on to fight at St. Lo in France, which was also known as the "Battle of the Hedgerows". This was an important battle during the first few weeks of July, 1944 following D-Day during the Campaign of Normandy. It was a very bloody battle and very strategic for a number of reasons, including taking control of a communications center on the Vire River. Irwin also participated in the Battle For Brest, which was in northwestern France and was one of the fiercest battles fought on the Western Front. His division formed a perimeter around Brest while Allied Tanks went in to fight against the Germans.

After Brest, his unit went to Belgium and Holland where they were held in reserve behind the lines. He also helped hold the line at the Roer River in Holland and Germany to the north of the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) and the Siegfried Line until Patton relieved them. This represented an important front in the Allied push towards Germany.

Irwin was injured during the war, was awarded a Purple Heart and came back in a hospital ship.

Pista Pollner

During the Second World War the British Army formed a Jewish Brigade and Pista, who was living in Haifa, Israel at the time, became a soldier in it. Pista told his Niece, Vera Dekany, that he actually saw Mussolini hanging in Rome while deployed there with the Brigade.

The Jewish Brigade was formed in 1944 as a part of the British Army made up of Jews primarily from what was then still Palestine. The Brigade was commanded by Jewish British Officers and fought in Italy, Greece, North Africa and elsewhere. Many of its members went on to important positions within the Israeli government or military. You can find more on the Jewish Brigades here.

Max Pollner

Max had a distinguished career in the US Army. He fought in the Spanish-American War (1898) and WWI where he served in the US Army Signal Corp. Max retired a Major and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Family lore has it that he served on Pershings staff during World War I.

During his career, he was stationed in several different places including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; throughout the United States and according to the military records on Fold3.com, he was in Germany during WWI. His US immigration records indicated his native language was German, which would obviously have been of been of great value while in Germany.

Tibor Czeisler

Tibor was a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II. He served from 1942 - 1945 as a physician in General Patton's army during the invasion of Sicily.

Sydney Pollner

Sydney served in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was stationed in India and trained as a Radio Operator.

Bud Rosenthal

Bud technically is a Korean War Veteran but actually served with the United States Infantry as part of a 57 mm recoilless rifle crew in the US Armys occupation of Germany.

Harold Krumholz

Harold was in the US Army during and even before the start of WWII. He served with MacArthurs HQ command in the Pacific. He was officially stationed in Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941 - but had just left for home leave on a ship the day before the Japanese attacked.

Marvin Krumholz

Marvin was in the US Coast Guard serving in Norfolk, Virginia during WWII.

Stan Glabman

S tan (On the Krumholz side of the family - Enid Rosenthals husband) was in the US Army stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona during WWII.

John Kohn

John (Helen Pollners husband) was a veteran of WWI and served from 1917-1918 as part of the US Army 1st Infantry Division. He was gassed while there, but returned home safely just before the war ended.