Tibor Rubin

(1929- )

On September 23, 2005, 76-year old Tibor Rubin will finally be awarded the nation's highest military accolade for gallantry in combat, the Medal of Honor. It has taken 55 years for Rubin and his supporters to break through the wall of government bureaucracy and prejudice towards minorites who fought in World War II and the Korean War. The Medal of Honor is awarded to those who displayed “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an enemy armed force.” Rubin will be the 18th Jewish recipient of the Medal of Honor since it was created during the Civil War by President Lincoln.

Rubin, known as "Tibi" or "Ted" to his friends, was born in a Hungarian shtetl named Paszto. At age 13, his family was rounded up by the Nazis, and he was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Rubin survived, but his parents and his two sisters perished in the camp. He came to the United States in 1948 to work as a shoemaker, and tried to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1949, only to be turned away because he failed the English test. He finally passed the exam in 1950 and was sent to fight on the frontlines of the Korean War. It was in Korea where Rubin accomplished his courageous acts to earn him recommendations for the Medal of Honor.

When Mauthausen was liberated by Allied troops, Rubin, then 15, swore that he would repay his liberators by going to the United States and fighting against the Germans. "I was going to go the the U.S. and join the U.S. army to show my appreciation...It was my wish to fight alongside them," Rubin said. Not only did Rubin join the army and fight alongside American soldiers, he was instrumental in saving dozens of their lives in Korean POW camps.

At one point in the war, his company needed to find a route of retreat, so Rubin single-handedly defended a hill for 24 hours and held off scores of North Korean troops. This feat alone was enough to earn him four recommendations for the Medal of Honor and numerous other military awards. However, a leader of Rubin's company, First Sgt. Artice Watson, was described by many of Rubin's fellow soldiers as a "vicious anti-Semite," and often volunteered Rubin to go on the most dangerous patrol missions. Watson was also in charge of completing the paperwork to allow Rubin to receive the Medal of Honor. Some of the men in Rubin’s company were present when Watson was ordered to put in for the medals, and they believe that Watson ignored the orders because Rubin was Jewish.

“I believe in my heart that First Sgt. Watson would have jeopardized his own safety rather than assist in any way whatsoever in the awarding of the medal to a person of Jewish descent,” wrote Cpl. Harold Speakman in a notarized affidavit.

In October 1950, Rubin and the survivors of his company were captured by the Koreans and placed into a POW camp. At the risk of being executed if caught, nearly every night Rubin would sneak out of the camp to get food for the desperate GIs. His acts of bravery and compassion kept between 35-40 soldiers alive until they were finally set free.

“He (Rubin) 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,” said Sgt. Leo Cormier Jr., a fellow prisoner.

In the 1980s, nearly 30 years after he had been discharged, Rubin's army friends began protesting the Army's inaction and unfilled promises to recognize Rubin's bravery. The issue quickly reached members of Congress. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a special bill on Rubin’s behalf in 1988. Former Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Calif.) pleaded for recognition of his constituent. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) and former Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.) harassed the Pentagon and government agencies to act. The U.S. Army was forced to reexamine their discrimination policies towards awarding minorities during World War II and the Korean War.

The “Leonard Kravitz Jewish War Veterans Act” was passed in 2001 by Congress to aid in the recognition of minority fighters. Kravitz, the uncle and namesake of rock musician Lenny Kravitz, was killed manning his lone machine gun against attacking Chinese troops during the Korean War, allowing the rest of his platoon to retreat in safety. Kravitz was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but was downgraded to a lower decoration because of military prejudices.

Rubin jokes, “It would have been nice if they had given me the medal when I was a young handsome man,” mused Rubin. “It would have opened a lot of doors.” Now, top military officers will have to call him "Sir" and "Mister," and even five-star generals have to give him a customary salute. Tradition requires that the President will stand when Rubin enters a room. Rubin wanted to receive official recognition for his "Jewish brothers and sisters," and to prove to Americans that there was a "a little shmuck from Hungary, who fought for their beloved country. Now, it’s Mister Shmuck, the hero.”