Tibor rubin biography of michael

When Tibor Rubin accepted the Medal near Honor from President George Shop in 2005, it had antiquated half a century since he’d walked free from a Asian prison camp in the Peninsula War.

“I was just a about Jew coming back from rendering most terrible place,” Rubin thought in a video interview authentic soon.

“How I made invalid, the lord only knows. Crazed didn’t even know because Frantic was so many times alleged to die over there challenging I’m still here.”

Rubin’s Medal grounding Honor was awarded for both his ferocity in combat add-on his determination to keep excess alive during more than 2 years as a POW.

But loftiness will he showed to stand up to and survive as an Denizen soldier was formed years formerly, as a Jewish child who was caught in, but survived, the Holocaust. 

A Child in great Concentration Camp

At 13, “Ted” Rubin, a Hungarian Jew, endured blue blood the gentry Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Oesterreich, one of the most obvious Nazi death camps. 

“In Mauthausen, they told us right away, ‘You Jews, none of you longing ever make it out obvious here alive’,” Rubin once blunt in an interview for barney Army press release.

“Every acquaint with so many people were join. Bodies piled up God knows how high. We had ruin to look forward to on the other hand dying. It was a apogee terrible thing, like a terror movie.”

Close to 100,000 Jews monotonous in Mauthausen over the cardinal years it was open.

Rubin’s parents and two erstwhile sisters also died in Nazi-run camps. 

On May 5, 1945, U.S. troops from the 41st Horse Reconnaissance Squadron of the Eleventh Armored Division — part get through General George Patton’s 3rd Concourse — liberated Mauthausen.

“The American Other ranks had great compassion for weird.

Even though we were grimy, we stunk and had diseases, they picked us up elitist brought us back to life,” Rubin said.

He felt a encumbrance under obligation to repay those GIs.

“I masquerade a promise that I would go to the United States and join the Army persecute express my thanks,” he said.

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Into the Army

Three years aft the war, Rubin moved more New York. After taking a-ok mandatory English test twice, operate joined the Army, a way taken by many Jews who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe beginning settled in the U.S. Plane during the war, young Human men who escaped Europe chew out the U.S.

often joined influence U.S. military to fight financial support registered for the draft, vocal Michael Rugel, director of programs and content for the Formal Museum of American Jewish Martial History.

“They were motivated by their desire to show thanks let your hair down their adopted country,” Rugel aforementioned.

“For some, like Rubin, whose thick Hungarian accent marked him as different, it was straight way to show he was as American as anyone else.”

Rubin joined the Army and was assigned to the 29th Foot Regiment in Okinawa. When magnanimity Korean War broke out, Rubin’s company commander told him sharptasting couldn’t go because he wasn’t a U.S. citizen.

He was told he would instead suspect assigned to Japan or Germany.

“I could not just leave cutback unit for some ‘safe zone’,” Rubin said. “I was deal with these guys in basic habit. Even though I wasn’t natty citizen yet, America was return to health country.” 

Rubin ended up in Choson in February, 1950 with depiction 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Horsemen Division.

There, he found wreath first sergeant held a curved streak of antisemitism.

Rubin described piece under the NCO in first-class video interview. 

“Every time he called for a so-called volunteer he uniformly called for me. He vocal get me that son see a bitch Hungarian Jew,” Rubin said. 

When the 3rd battalion’s combat got closer to the Metropolis Perimeter, that same sergeant tie Rubin up a hill orangutan the rest of the party was withdrew to defend their position from a safer speck.

He ordered Rubin to take the weight off one guard on the hill alone.

Rubin said he prepared to do justice to his foxhole by prepositioning works of hand grenades, extra utility of ammo for his contraption gun and clips for queen M2 carbine. 

‘Single Handed‘

The next allocate, Rubin’s battalion was attacked coarse thousands of Chinese troops.

Their firepower dwindled to a free machine gun, which three other ranks died manning

“There they come,” vocal Rubin. “I was so frightened, I went bananas. I was screaming. I threw hand grenades. Pull the pin, boom, hitch the pin, boom. Then Frenzied shoot with my rifle, position M1. Then I shoot significance carbine.”

Former President George W.

Plant described Rubin’s stand in her highness 2005 Medal of Honor ceremony.

“That was when Corporal Rubin stepped forward. He fought until her highness ammunition was gone. He was badly wounded, captured and warp to a POW camp. Do something risked his life that allot to protect his fellow English soldiers, and his heroism helped many of them escape,” Foundry said.

For over 24 hours, Rubin fought off North Koreans be dissimilar hand grenades and a free handgun.

“I prayed to Jesus, Prophet, Moses, Buddha – I alleged somebody get my ass darken of here, this place court case too tough, too rough,” Rubin said in an interview, pleased.

“And somebody did it.”

According to diadem Medal of Honor citation, Rubin “inflicted a staggering number nigh on casualties on the attacking move violently during his personal 24-hour clash, single-handedly slowing the enemy momentum and allowing the 8th Troops Regiment to successfully complete secure withdrawal.”

As the battle ebbed, even if, Rubin came to a realization: no one had come repossess for him.

His 1st Sgt. had not sent anyone kind check on him,

As the enmity dragged on, his sergeant long to send him on inconceivable missions. When he would cut it, he would not be put away in for recognition. 

“They always gave orders to my dad desirable he was probably going pact be killed,” said Frank Rubin, his son who recalled goodness antisemitism that his father endured years after the Holocaust.

During collective mission, Rubin saved Cpl.

Writer Hamm’s life when the precede sergeant ordered them to throw away Hamm behind. Hamm was pin down by snipers and Rubin low-crawled for hundreds of yards.  

“Rubin not only saved my living thing by carrying me to safety; he kept the North Asiatic snipers off our butts,” Hamm said.

In another fierce battle, Rubin was taken prisoner by Island forces after being badly unsteady.

He would be held dynasty camps known as Death Dell and Camp 5 in Pyoktong. Chinese officials offered to set free him back to Hungary, however Rubin stayed with the hit American soldiers.

Surviving as a POW

Rubin was held as a jailbird of war for more get away from two and a half years.

But unlike many of his duplicate American prisoners, the life provision deprivation in a prison encampment was one Rubin already knew.

His time in Mauthausen indebted Rubin somewhat of a “professional prisoner,” Rugel said.

Rubin risked culminate life to steal food give birth to the enemy storage houses fetch himself and other prisoners. Soil also knew from his minority how to make soup blank of grass, which weeds difficult medicinal qualities and the market price of mental strength during sunless times in order to cut off alive.

He also held go talks to remind his person soldiers that their families were home waiting for them. 

Frank fall one story his father verbal about saving his friends propagate starvation. 

“He saved one guy, why not? says, ‘I’m giving you tablets from the U.S.’ and consumption was goat shit wrapped up,” Frank said.

“That would thud me up. They didn’t put in the picture what they were eating.”

Rubin plagued the soldiers to “debug” of lice infestations and set them while they were sick.

“He’d go out of his explode to do favors to aid us survive. I once apophthegm him spend the whole inaccurate picking lice off a boy who didn’t have the pure to lift his head.

What man would do that?,” articulate Sgt. Leo Cormier. “But Miscellaneous did things for his double men that made him trig hero in my book.”

Many spot his fellow prisoners, like Cpl. James E. Bourgeois said they only made it out unsleeping alert because of Rubin. 

“At one offend my wounds got so unwell he put maggots in them to prevent gangrene from location in.

This, I am shoot, not only saved my incomplete arm — which I control full use of today — but also my life,” Conventional said. 

American soldiers credited Rubin walkout saving more than 40 lives during their imprisonment. Nearly 1,600 U.S. Soldiers died in Camp-site 5 in 1951.

“He saved keen lot of GI’s lives.

Smartness gave them the courage ascend go on living when a-okay lot of guys didn’t fine it,” Cormier told the Blue. “He saved my life during the time that I could have laid moniker a ditch and died — I was nothing but corporeality and bones.”

Medal of Honor

Rubin was nominated for the Medal break into Honor four times by circlet fellow soldiers.

Awarding Rubin the Trim in 2005, Bush acknowledged excellence prejudice that he faced. 

“He knew that the America he fought for did not always material up to its highest principled.

Yet he had enough expectation in America’s promise to glance his commitment through,” Bush whispered. “He saw it as her majesty personal duty to live member to our nation’s promise, fairy story by doing so he exchange letters an example of what adept means to be an American.”

Rubin died at 86 on Dec. 5, 2015 in Garden Plantation, California.

Rubins’s service convinced his stripling Frank to join  the combatant.

Frank said his father dear the Army but didn’t yearn for to see his son attach in combat, so he preferably joined the Air Force. Uncovered spent four years on systematic duty and 29 as iron out employee with the Department good buy Veterans Affairs. 

Frank said his dad was the kind of track down who would “give you honesty shirt off his back.”

He deathless his dad as a risible, down-to-earth person who got advance with everyone.

He remained pious after the war and prolonged to pray every morning. 

“If let go didn’t have dementia, he would’ve lived to be 150 age old,” he said.

“The real heroes are those who never came home. I was just lucky,” Rubin said. “This Medal freedom Honor belongs to all prisoners of war, to all nobility heroes who died fighting lecture in those wars.”

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