MrBern
I'll Lock Up
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http://www.pennlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1164247815307510.xml?pennnews&coll=1
Thursday, November 23, 2006
BY MATT MILLER
Of Our Carlisle Bureau
CARLISLE - Sixty-two years ago, Stanley Orlowitz was more concerned about surviving than winning medals.
As a soldier in the Army's 42nd "Rainbow" Division, he was caught up in the Battle of the Bulge and some of the most vicious fighting of World War II.
"I was only 18," said Orlowitz, now 80, of Harrisburg. "All I cared about was not to get popped.
He finished the war as a prisoner of the Germans.
In the process, Orlowitz was awarded a Bronze Star for valor, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Prisoner of War Medal.
But he never received them.
Yesterday, Orlowitz relished the moment as, with three generations of his family watching, the U.S. Army War College's commandant belatedly pinned those awards, plus the Good Conduct Medal, on his brown sport coat.
"This will set right something that should have been done many years ago," Maj. Gen. David Huntoon told Orlowitz's family. "He served with great courage, with valor ... with all the qualities that are so dear to us in the United States Army."
Orlowitz, a Philadelphia native, was 17 when he enlisted in 1944. By year's end, he was in combat.
In early April 1945, he was captured during an ambush in which four of his fellow soldiers were killed. Freedom came weeks later when American tanks crashed through the gates of his POW camp at Hammelberg.
"I tried many times to get these medals," said Orlowitz, who moved to the midstate after retiring from the steel pipe and plumbing supply business.
"Every time, they told me they didn't have my records, so in disgust, I hung up," he said. "Eight years later, I would try again."
His persistence was rewarded this year when he received his medals by mail.
His daughter, Neysa Maisel of Susquehanna Twp., wanted to take things further. A letter that accompanied the medals stated they should be awarded at a proper ceremony.
"So I called the war college," Maisel said.
Although he experienced the war as a soldier, he sought the medals as a father and a grandfather, Orlowitz said.
"You get these medals for your grandchildren and your children," he said. "I want to place them in a frame so my five grandchildren know there is honor in the family. I hope I've left an impression on them."
The war left an impression on him.
"I saw certain things that really shook me up," Orlowitz said. "Sometimes, I just shake my head and say, 'Did I do this?'"
MATT MILLER: 249-2006 or mmiller@patriot-news.com
Thursday, November 23, 2006
BY MATT MILLER
Of Our Carlisle Bureau
CARLISLE - Sixty-two years ago, Stanley Orlowitz was more concerned about surviving than winning medals.
As a soldier in the Army's 42nd "Rainbow" Division, he was caught up in the Battle of the Bulge and some of the most vicious fighting of World War II.
"I was only 18," said Orlowitz, now 80, of Harrisburg. "All I cared about was not to get popped.
He finished the war as a prisoner of the Germans.
In the process, Orlowitz was awarded a Bronze Star for valor, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Prisoner of War Medal.
But he never received them.
Yesterday, Orlowitz relished the moment as, with three generations of his family watching, the U.S. Army War College's commandant belatedly pinned those awards, plus the Good Conduct Medal, on his brown sport coat.
"This will set right something that should have been done many years ago," Maj. Gen. David Huntoon told Orlowitz's family. "He served with great courage, with valor ... with all the qualities that are so dear to us in the United States Army."
Orlowitz, a Philadelphia native, was 17 when he enlisted in 1944. By year's end, he was in combat.
In early April 1945, he was captured during an ambush in which four of his fellow soldiers were killed. Freedom came weeks later when American tanks crashed through the gates of his POW camp at Hammelberg.
"I tried many times to get these medals," said Orlowitz, who moved to the midstate after retiring from the steel pipe and plumbing supply business.
"Every time, they told me they didn't have my records, so in disgust, I hung up," he said. "Eight years later, I would try again."
His persistence was rewarded this year when he received his medals by mail.
His daughter, Neysa Maisel of Susquehanna Twp., wanted to take things further. A letter that accompanied the medals stated they should be awarded at a proper ceremony.
"So I called the war college," Maisel said.
Although he experienced the war as a soldier, he sought the medals as a father and a grandfather, Orlowitz said.
"You get these medals for your grandchildren and your children," he said. "I want to place them in a frame so my five grandchildren know there is honor in the family. I hope I've left an impression on them."
The war left an impression on him.
"I saw certain things that really shook me up," Orlowitz said. "Sometimes, I just shake my head and say, 'Did I do this?'"
MATT MILLER: 249-2006 or mmiller@patriot-news.com
