Good morning from New York,
I am the daughter of 2nd Lt. Bernard Rosen of the 257th ECB, possibly Company C.
We always knew that my father was with the 257th ECB as he had kept his Army valise with most of what he was supplied with, the pup tent, the eating utensils, the shovel, etc. We have photos of him in his Jeep and printed on the Jeep his title "The Mad Russian".
He said he would not dig himself a foxhole he'd rather sleep on the ground.
He told very few stories of his time in the ETO. He did speak of assisting in the building of a pontoon bridge across the Rhine in record time. He spoke of being in Nuremberg.
We knew he was shot in the leg and as he received a monthly disability check for $25. He never said where he was when he was shot. He was sent to a field hospital in Metz for treatment. He refused the Purple Heart. The reason why-he was the only soldier in the hospital ward who had both arms and legs. There was an army captain next to him who had had both legs amputated and did not want to go home, he was the main reason for refusing the purple heat. We have the photos that he sent home to his mother and sister showing him standing on both legs. In his letters he called the injury a "scratch". Not so as he refused to entertain any thought of an amputation. He said he told the medical staff just keep giving him penicillin.
He spoke about the liberation of a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He spoke of the German commandant. My father understood German. The story goes that the commandant had his aide carrying his bags. My father had someone in the company interview and interpret for him. Through the interpreter he ordered the commandant to pick up his bags he was now a POW. The commandant refused and gave reasons why. My father then spoke in German to the the commandant and let him know that he was Jewish and had less than ten seconds to comply, the commandant complied.
We had all the letters he sent home to his mother and sister. He passed away in 1990.
I am not sure when I began research the 257th. But I did find this website and that marvelous
"letter" about the 257th sent to Marion by Michael Bradley.
It wasn’t until my mom passed in 2020 that I discovered what she had of my father’s. It turns out he had "two original maps” with instructions concerning the journey the battalion was to take: Map1) 19"x 19" the trip from La Haye du Puits to Luneville and Map2) from Luneville to Mohange. The larger map detail is fading and needs to be restored. The orders are signed by CP Bellis, Major, in command of the Motor March. Based on my father's letters and the dates in the "letter" my father was probably shot in the leg when the 257th assisted in the assault on Nuremberg in April 1945. The maps confirm the villages, towns and cities in the "letter ". The larger of the two maps needs to be conserved. I have attached a photo of the smaller one and the instructions:
Many thanks to Marion with helping me to bring this to light.
