Ordinary Heroes
History of a Family in War and Peace
by
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II Childhood and Adolescence Abie’s earliest memories were probably from Cannon Street on the lower east side where Abie remembers going to Public School 66. He remembers having red measles from which he recovered, and getting A’s in school, in spite of his absence. (They had lived on the lower east side near Rivington Street where the Williamsburg Bridge was being built for three years… in a stable? (That was what his mother told him.) She even told him he was like Jesus, although she called him Yeshua. His father Morris was a skilled carpenter who gambled away much of the money he earned. His mother had little for food, child care, and housekeeping. What she could do was sing as could the Baba (The Grandma, who also lived with them). They sang at funerals and thus Abie learned to read music, a hobby he would follow the rest of his life. He remembers the family being in “arrears” and being put out of the Cannon Street apartment. Shortly before this time his mother had another child called Yankov who died of Pneumonia. Abie said his mother cried for a year after his death. He died at home as his mother would not let him go to a hospital. She had a lifelong fear of hospitals, as places where people, including babies, went to die. In the meanwhile Papa Morris decided to build a push cart and sell socks on Orchard Street but this endeavor failed because the socks were not matched! Abie says he went to school with mismatched socks for a year. He also remembers his father causing a small fire trying to make whiskey. In 1930 Marty was born and he too got sick, but his father carried him to the hospital, and he recovered. After being put out of Cannon Street (Abie remembers being on the street) the family moved to Brooklyn, and lived on Sackman Street, briefly , moving near some relatives. After six months they moved to Christopher and Riverdale streets. They were again dispossessed. They then moved back to Sackman Street where Abie would spend much of his boyhood, and where their only daughter Iris Norma was born. Similarly, Izzie spent much of his boyhood there. Abie was twelve years old by this time (1933). They lived near their Aunt and Uncle and cousins, the Gelman family who operated a restaurant on the corner of Sackman St. and Livonia Avenue. There is a story about these relatives, the Gelmans that is not in Abie’s narrative and some of the customers they served. It seems that members of the gang “Murder Incorporated” stopped frequently at this
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About the Book
This brief book tell about the lives of two participants in World War II, Abraham and Isidore Hertzberg and their lives after they returned from this conflagration. There fore it is both a bona fide account of combat plus a family history. There are some unbelievable incidents in this account. If it were not for the navigational knowledge of Abraham Hertzberg, he might not have even made it to his base in England. Isidore Hertzberg might have fought in the Battle of the Bulge, if the Germans had been stronger. The lives of these brothers after the war is unremarkable, except that Abraham became a very successful Civil engineer and Architect, and Isadore, while working as a carpenter sired a fine family who have far exceeded his own academic achievements. This book surveys the lives of both ordinary and extraordinary people and is a reflection of life in the United States in the second half of the 20th century.
About the Author
I am qualified to write this book, "Ordinary Heroes" because I knew the two getlemen, Abraham and Isidore Hertzberg. They were my brother-in-laws. I lived through the time period being discussed (World War II) and thereafter. I am a trained historian with a doctor of Arts degree in History from Carnegie Mellon University. I have already written a book entitled "Its Trying To Teach" published by Outskirts Press. I have wanted to write this book for a long time. Then I received a long treatise from Abraham Hertzberg in December 2011 which contained much information that I did not know. Unfortunately, he died while I waxs involved in writing. (He was over 90) but had enjoyed good health on his 90th birthday. Thus it has become impossible to verify some of the events in this book. Recently, I have received some help from the oldest son of Isidore Hertzberg, Frederic Hertzberg. My own bioghraphy includes having been a teacher and a Professor of History in both public schools, private schools and colleges and Unicersities. I was part of the founding faculty of the American University in Bulgaria, the first "western" Institution in a former communist country. I am married (it is 60 years now) to Martin Hertzberg and we had five children, one of whom had a rare disease. It was my second son who died of a disease few people have even heard of : Dystonia musculorum deformans. This event was definitely the most challenging of our many years together. Of the children who are still alive, two are medical doctors, one is a lawyer, presently a judge, and our fourth son is the head of the US Office of a computer firm. We have seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. We derive much pleasure from seeing them and celebrating with them. We, my husband and I, live in Copper Mountain Colorado. We moved here to enjoy skiing and other recreational opportunities. However recent surgeries may make that more difficult for me, Ruth Hertzberg. I have been a swimmer and a tri-athlete. I may try to run again in a race this June (2012). But now I would like to celebrate the lives of Abraham and Isidore Hertzberg