The Ritchie Boys
Well, the Fourth of July just whizzed by, I ate my traditional hot dog and watched all the war movies and other TCM favorites I could crowd in. I was alone, but it didn’t matter because I never gave up my teenage years and am constantly on the phone. Oh, for the days of a long cord and my ponytail and living in a “no wrinkle” zone. So, yes, I have wrinkles and am older and have settled down to watching mucho Turner Classic Movies, but this is what I worked all those many years for—to be able to do just what I want, when I want.
This year as on every 4th of July, I thought of my forbears (an old word I like) who actually fought in the American Revolution, and there were quite a few. There is the story of my 4th great-grandmother and grandfather. They came from Belfast on the same boat, and their families bonded and made their way on down to Georgia, traveling together. She grew up to be interesting to him as one of the female gender –just about the time the Revolution drew near. So, like any young man headed off to war he proposed. But she kindly refused saying she did not want to be a widow—yep, that’s my grandmother, a pragmatist to the end. But he beat the British and returned home to his true love and . . . voila, here I am.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
And I tell you with great pride, that their same blood flows through these veins of mine. That same patriotism still makes my heart beat faster when I see a flag or hear a few bars of a George M. Cohan patriotic tune. And while I have never fought for my country, I so love and admire all the men and women who have—those who have fought and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Well, on the 3rd of July a good friend called me and let me know there was something that I MUST add to my TV playlist. And she was right! Side note here: It is so nice to have good friends, who really know you, your faults and virtues, your likes and dislikes, your passions and peccadilloes—wait a minute, I have to check and see if I have those?! ; )
So, my good friend told me that 60 MINUTES was about to air a segment on THE RITCHIE BOYS. So I watched and now will never think of WWII history without including these men.
According to WIKIPEDIA here’s a description: “The Ritchie Boys was a special collection of soldiers, primarily German-Austrian units, of Military Intelligence Service officers and enlisted men of World War II who were trained at Camp Ritchie in Washington County, Maryland. Many of them were German-speaking immigrants to the United States, often Jews who fled Nazi persecution. They were used primarily for interrogation of prisoners on the front lines and counter-intelligence in Europe because of their knowledge of the German language and culture. They were also involved in the Nuremberg trials as prosecutors and translators.”
They were the bravest of the brave, from what I could deduce, young men of high intelligence who wanted to fight for America against the Nazi regime. Their feats are mind-boggling. It seems they fought in every engagement one could imagine from D-Day to helping track down the men who were tried at Nuremberg. The Ritchie Boys were fascinating men, fearless men who joined up and saw the war to its very end at those very trials.
And they are still around, and very much alive—highly intelligent, well spoken, all had high level jobs or were professors, etc. The oldest of the group is 100 and I only wish I could be as mentally nimble as he is and present myself without missing a beat or a memory as he does. Besides, he was cute while sporting a hot pink blazer—yes, and rocking it too!
So, I found new heroes in a time when epic tales of valor are not as rampant as the were in the 40’s. Granted these men did not help form this country, fight in that Revolution of yore, follow Washington—but I still thought of them on the 4th because they helped perpetuate the Republic, risking all to do so. God Bless Them Everyone!
PS Be sure to check out YOUTUBE for the CBS 60 minutes presentation on these heroes.