Timeline — World War II Letters Home

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Sy is Born on New York City's Lower East Side

October, 1924

Link to Photos
Attends P.S. 147, then Graduates Valedictorian from Public School

1931-1936

Link to Autobiography
Graduates from Stuyvesant High and Begins College at NYU, Age 16

September, 1940

Link to Autobiography
[Attack on Pearl Harbor; USA Enters World War II]; Sy continues College at NYU

December, 1941
US Army Induction

July 5, 1943

Link to Preface
Camp Upton, NY

July, 1943

Link to Postcards
Camp Roberts, CA - Infantry Training (80th Training Battalion, 17th Training Regiment)

July, 1943

Link to Photos
Ohio State - Army Specialized Training in Engineering

December, 1943

Link to Letters
Camp Campbell, KY (14th Armored Division organized)

March, 1944

Link to Photos
(Among topics in letters:) Shabbat services at Camp Campbell

April, 1944

Link to Letter
[D-Day - Allied Invasion of Europe via Northern France at Normandy]

June, 1944
Trip to Chattanooga, TN - to Visit Brother in USAF

July, 1944

Link to Photos
[A Debate Rages in the FDR Cabinet on the Plan for a Post-War Germany]

September, 1944
["Operation Dragoon" Begins the Allied Invasion of Southern France]

September, 1944
Spends Last Furlough Before Going Overseas in NYC

September, 1943

Link to Photos
Attends Yom Kippur Services held at the Camp Campbell Chapel

September, 1944

Link to Letter
Departs from Camp Shanks, NY, as the 14th AD Deploys to Marseilles; Atlantic transport via the SS Santa Rosa

October, 1944

Link to Vmails
Rhineland Campaign of the 14th AD Begins near Marseilles

October, 1944

Link to 14th AD combat history, 14th AD Association website
14th AD Enters Combat Near Rambervillet, France (Sy writes home via Army V-Mails, as possible, during these winter months)

November, 1944

Link to US Army Divisions website
14th AD in Combat Near Strasbourg; Provides support in tank battle at Hatten-Rittershoffen, then counterattacks, sustaining heavy losses.

January, 1945
14th AD Takes Germersheim on the Rhine (Sy's first V-Mail sent from Germany dated March 25)

March, 1945
14th AD Advances across the Rhine and then the Danube near Ingolstadt

April, 1945
After crossing the Isar River, 14th AD liberates over 110,000 Allied Prisoners.

May, 1945
First of Several Visits to Dachau; Sy documents atrocities and provides help to survivors.

May - August, 1945

Link to Photos
[VE Day - the War ends in Europe]

May, 1945
[President Truman approves JCS 1067, US Directive to General Eisenhower regarding Germany, but the details are not yet published]

May, 1945

Link to Text of JCS 1067 (wikisource)
Sy assigned to 14th AD Headquarters in Wasserburg

May, 1945

Link to Photos
At The Berghof, formerly Hitler's Mountain Retreat

June, 1945

Link to Letter
[Potsdam Conference held, the Big 3 address policies for the control of Germany]

July, 1945

Link to National WWII History Museum
Assigned to 9th ID's Signal Co Headquarters in Ingolstadt

July, 1945

Link to Photos
Sy Attends USO Shows in Germany (and photographs Ingrid Bergman, Bob Hope and others)

July and August, 1945

Link to Photos
[VJ Day, World War II Ends]

August, 1945

Link to Letter
Assigned Again to Wasserburg office (US Military Government in Germany)

September, 1945

Link to Photos
[General Truscott assumes Command of the Third Army from General Patton; JCS 1067 Concerning US Policy for Germany is Published by the US State Dept]

October, 1945
Provides Training Sessions to American Troops, incorporating General Truscott's Denazification Directives

November, 1945

Link to Letters
Sy Adopts a Furry Companion; Wolf's Paw is Repaired at Munich Veterinary Hospital

November, 1945

Link to Letters
Corresponds with US Senator Joseph H. Ball, who sends materials to Sy for Orientation / Training Sessions in Bavaria

December, 1945 - January 1946

Link to Letters
Ski Trips from Wasserburg; a Holiday Ski Trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland

December, 1946

Link to Letters
Attends University of Basel, US Army College Program in Switzerland

January - March, 1946

Link to Letters
Ski Trips to Engelberg, Waldenburg and Arosa, in Switzerland

February - March, 1946

Link to Photos
Sy Meets and Befriends Mickey Lehmann, former Swiss Olympic athlete, who teaches Sy Swiss Ski Technique on Several Ski Trips

February - March, 1946

Link to Letter
From Switzerland, Return Voyage through France and Belgium via Freight Car

March, 1946

Link to Photos
Departs Europe from the Port of Le Havre

March, 1946

Link to Photos
Sails Home on the SS Frederick Victory

April, 1946

Link to Photos
Back Home in NYC for Passover and Easter

April, 1946

Link to Photos
Discharge Issued at Fort Dix on the day before Easter Sunday

April 20, 1946
Sy graduates from NYU and becomes a Teacher of Industrial Arts in NYC

1947-1948

Link to photos

Sy is Born on New York City's Lower East Side

Attends P.S. 147, then Graduates Valedictorian from Public School

Graduates from Stuyvesant High and Begins College at NYU, Age 16

[Attack on Pearl Harbor; USA Enters World War II]; Sy continues College at NYU

US Army Induction

Camp Upton, NY

Camp Roberts, CA - Infantry Training (80th Training Battalion, 17th Training Regiment)

Ohio State - Army Specialized Training in Engineering

Camp Campbell, KY (14th Armored Division organized)

(Among topics in letters:) Shabbat services at Camp Campbell

[D-Day - Allied Invasion of Europe via Northern France at Normandy]

Trip to Chattanooga, TN - to Visit Brother in USAF

[A Debate Rages in the FDR Cabinet on the Plan for a Post-War Germany]

["Operation Dragoon" Begins the Allied Invasion of Southern France]

Spends Last Furlough Before Going Overseas in NYC

Attends Yom Kippur Services held at the Camp Campbell Chapel

Departs from Camp Shanks, NY, as the 14th AD Deploys to Marseilles; Atlantic transport via the SS Santa Rosa

Rhineland Campaign of the 14th AD Begins near Marseilles

14th AD Enters Combat Near Rambervillet, France (Sy writes home via Army V-Mails, as possible, during these winter months)

14th AD in Combat Near Strasbourg; Provides support in tank battle at Hatten-Rittershoffen, then counterattacks, sustaining heavy losses.

14th AD Takes Germersheim on the Rhine (Sy's first V-Mail sent from Germany dated March 25)

14th AD Advances across the Rhine and then the Danube near Ingolstadt

After crossing the Isar River, 14th AD liberates over 110,000 Allied Prisoners.

First of Several Visits to Dachau; Sy documents atrocities and provides help to survivors.

[VE Day - the War ends in Europe]

[President Truman approves JCS 1067, US Directive to General Eisenhower regarding Germany, but the details are not yet published]

Sy assigned to 14th AD Headquarters in Wasserburg

At The Berghof, formerly Hitler's Mountain Retreat

[Potsdam Conference held, the Big 3 address policies for the control of Germany]

Assigned to 9th ID's Signal Co Headquarters in Ingolstadt

Sy Attends USO Shows in Germany (and photographs Ingrid Bergman, Bob Hope and others)

[VJ Day, World War II Ends]

Assigned Again to Wasserburg office (US Military Government in Germany)

[General Truscott assumes Command of the Third Army from General Patton; JCS 1067 Concerning US Policy for Germany is Published by the US State Dept]

Provides Training Sessions to American Troops, incorporating General Truscott's Denazification Directives

Sy Adopts a Furry Companion; Wolf's Paw is Repaired at Munich Veterinary Hospital

Corresponds with US Senator Joseph H. Ball, who sends materials to Sy for Orientation / Training Sessions in Bavaria

Ski Trips from Wasserburg; a Holiday Ski Trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland

Attends University of Basel, US Army College Program in Switzerland

Ski Trips to Engelberg, Waldenburg and Arosa, in Switzerland

Sy Meets and Befriends Mickey Lehmann, former Swiss Olympic athlete, who teaches Sy Swiss Ski Technique on Several Ski Trips

From Switzerland, Return Voyage through France and Belgium via Freight Car

Departs Europe from the Port of Le Havre

Sails Home on the SS Frederick Victory

Back Home in NYC for Passover and Easter

Discharge Issued at Fort Dix on the day before Easter Sunday

Sy graduates from NYU and becomes a Teacher of Industrial Arts in NYC

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