Tibor Rubin
Tibor Rubin | |
---|---|
8th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division | |
Battles/wars | Korean War |
Awards | Medal of Honor Purple Heart (2) |
Spouse(s) |
Yvonne Meyers (m. 1963) |
Children | 2 |
Tibor "Ted" Rubin (June 18, 1929 – December 5, 2015) was a Hungarian-American
Rubin received the award from President
Early life
Rubin was born on June 18, 1929, in
When Tibor was 13, Ferenc and Rosa Rubin (Tibor's stepmother
Emigration to the United States
Rubin entered the United States in 1948, settled in New York and worked first as a shoemaker. He then apprenticed as a butcher at Michael Bela Wilhelm's Hungarian butcher shop on Third Avenue in the Yorkville neighborhood for about a year.
In 1949, he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army. He failed the English language test, but tried again in 1950 and passed with some judicious help from two fellow test-takers.[8]
Antisemitism in the army
By July 1950,
During one mission, according to the testimonies of his comrades, Rubin secured a needed route of retreat for his rifle company by single-handedly defending a hill for 24 hours against waves of North Korean soldiers. For this and other acts of bravery, Rubin was recommended four times for the Medal of Honor by two of his commanding officers. Both officers were killed in action shortly afterwards, but not before ordering Rubin's sergeant to begin the necessary paperwork recommending Rubin for the Medal of Honor. Some of Rubin's comrades were present and witnessed the order being issued, and all are convinced that Peyton deliberately ignored his orders. "I really believe, in my heart, that [the sergeant] would have jeopardized his own safety rather than assist in any way whatsoever in the awarding of the Medal of Honor to a person of Jewish descent", wrote Corporal Harold Speakman in a notarized affidavit.[12]
Chinese POW camp
Towards the end of October 1950, massive Chinese troop concentrations had crossed the border into North Korea and were attacking the unprepared American troops now trapped far inside North Korea. Most of Rubin's regiment had been killed or captured. Rubin, severely wounded, was captured and spent the next 30 months in a prisoner of war camp.
Faced with constant hunger, filth, and disease, most of the GIs simply gave up. "No one wanted to help anyone. Everybody was for himself", wrote Leo A. Cormier Jr., a former sergeant and POW. The exception was Rubin. Almost every evening, Rubin would sneak out of the prison camp to steal food from the Chinese and North Korean supply depots, knowing that he would be shot if caught. "He shared the food evenly among the GIs," Cormier wrote. "He also took care of us, nursed us, carried us to the latrine..., he did many good deeds, which he told us were mitzvahs in the Jewish tradition... he was a very religious Jew and helping his fellow men was the most important thing to him". The survivors of the prison war camp credited Rubin with keeping them alive and saving at least 40 American soldiers.[2]
Rubin refused his captors' repeated offers of repatriation to Hungary, by then behind the Iron Curtain.
Awards and decorations
Combat Infantryman Badge | |||||||||||
Medal of Honor | Purple Heart w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster | ||||||||||
Prisoner of War Medal | Army of Occupation Medal w/ 'Japan' clasp |
National Defense Service Medal | |||||||||
campaign stars
|
United Nations Korea Medal
|
Korean War Service Medal |
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (Army Version) |
Medal of Honor
In 1993, a study was commissioned by the United States Army to investigate racial discrimination in the awarding of medals. In 2001, after considering the case of Leonard M. Kravitz, Congress directed the military to further review certain cases. The ensuing investigation showed that Rubin had been the subject of discrimination due to his religion and should have received the Medal of Honor.[6][13]
In 2005, President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Rubin in a ceremony at the White House, for his actions in 1950 during the Korean War.[1]
Citation
Later life and death
After his military service, he worked in his brother's Long Beach liquor store.[7] Rubin was a resident of Garden Grove, California.[14]
He regularly volunteered at the Long Beach Veterans Hospital; having earned an award for more than 20,000 hours of volunteer work. On May 10, 2017, the Medical Center was renamed in his honor as the "Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center".[15]
Rubin died December 5, 2015, at his home in Garden Grove.[7] He was survived by his wife Yvonne and their two children, Frank and Rosie.[7]
Finnigan's War
Tibor Rubin is one of the Korean War heroes honored in the 2013 documentary Finnigan's War, directed by Conor Timmis. Rubin recalls his Holocaust experience and Korean War POW experience. Rubin's interview is intercut with footage of President George W. Bush telling Rubin's life story during his 2005 Medal of Honor ceremony. Actor Mark Hamill narrates Rubin's Medal of Honor citation in the film. Filmmaker Conor Timmis was greatly impressed by Rubin's positive attitude and sense of humor despite all the suffering he endured during his life.[16]
See also
- List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Jewish Medal of Honor recipients
- Single Handed (book) by Daniel M. Cohen
References
- ^ a b "President Presents Medal of Honor to Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin". Presidential Archive for George W. Bush. September 23, 2005. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ a b Beth Reece. "An American Hero". Army.mil. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Erica Werner (September 23, 2005). "Jewish Vet Gets Medal of Honor 55 Years On". Associated Press. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "President Obama Signs Legislation Renaming Long Beach VA Medical Center After SoCal War Hero".
- Washington Post.
- ^ a b Tom Tugend (May 16, 2002). "Pentagon Reviews Jewish Veteran Files: Were Tibor Rubin and 137 other soldiers denied the Medal of Honor because of anti-Semitism?". The Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on October 27, 2005.
- ^ a b c d "Medal of Honor recipient Tibor Rubin dies at 86". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2015.
- ^ Lewis LaMaster (April 30, 2008). "Tibor Rubin: An Evening of Remembrance". Prescott eNews. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ a b "Medal of Honor Recipients – Korean War: Tibor Rubin". United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ISBN 978-0425279755.
- ^ Lynne LaMaster (May 2, 2008). "Corporal Tibor Rubin visits the VA Medical Center in Prescott". Prescott eNews. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Holocaust Survivor Awarded Medal of Honor". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ "Tibor Rubin". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
- Orange County Register. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
Mr. Rubin recommends not harboring hatred even with all his suffering and loss: "If you feel hate for your fellow man ... you'll only hurt yourself..."
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Timmis, Conor. "Finnigan's War". IMDb.
Further reading
- OCLC 900559301
External links
- Jewish Vet Gets Medal of Honor 55 Years On Josh White, The Washington Post, September 24, 2005
- Tibor Rubin: An Unusual Hero of The Korean War
Videos
- Video of Medal of Honor Presentation by George W. Bush, September 23, 2005, from C-SPAN
- List of Videos for Medal of Honor Recipient Corporal Tibor Rubin, U.S. Army website
- Tibor Rubin – Medal of Honor, Korean War, Artisan Booksand the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.