Harry Weber (July 11, 1917–March 18, 1994)

Edith Weber (November 4, 1921–May 9, 2009)

By Abigail Padfield

Early Life

Harry Weber was born on July 11, 1917,¹ in New York City, a place where about half of American Jews called home,² to Abraham Weber and Eva Elbling.³ His parents immigrated from Russia. His father arrived in 1910 and his mother arrived in 1915. His parents were married on April 9, 1916 in Saint Louis, Missouri. They did not live in Saint Louis, but for unknown reasons they specifically traveled there to get married.⁴ Abraham Weber worked as a tailor, and Eva Weber worked as a clerk.⁵ Harry had one sibling, Charles Weber, who died in March 1942.⁶ Harry passed away in Florida on March 18, 1994⁷ and was interred at Florida National Cemetery four days later.⁸ As an American Jew, Weber faced discrimination, but Harry’s world was far removed from the violence and insecurity spreading throughout Europe in 1939.⁹ Harry Weber went to school and later worked for the city.

Service

Wedding Photograph of Harry Weber and Edith Chizefsky

In January 1943, at the age of 25, Harry joined the Army.¹⁰ By this time, Harry had completed at least two years of college and had worked as a clerk in the city office.¹¹ Unfortunately, it is not known if he enlisted or was drafted because his records were destroyed in an 1973 fire.¹² The surviving records say he was inactive in the reserve corp for a week and then become active.¹³ During this time, Weber served as a private for three months and then was promoted to corporal.¹⁴ Ten months after entering the Army, on November 10, 1943, Weber married Edith Chizefsky.¹⁵ Here is a picture of their wedding day.

Letter from Pierre about Harry Weber's Time in France

While in the Army, Weber served with the 554th Quartermaster Railhead Company.¹⁶ Harry worked as a clerk typist where his duties included keeping files and records on company personnel, preparing payroll, morning reports, duty rosters, bonds, and typing statements and charge sheets for court martials.¹⁷ He was stationed in England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria.¹⁸ During his time in France, he was stationed by Omaha Beach. After the D-Day invasion, his unit set up camp on a local farm. Weber and the farm family adopted each other, and Weber helped feed them.¹⁹ Like many soldiers, Weber did not talk a lot about what he did in Europe; however, Pierre--one of the farm family members who was nine years old at the time--wrote a letter describing how Weber and other American soldiers saved his life. During this time, the Germans would boobytrap the roads and hide explosives in cans. Pierre found one and showed it to the Americans. They knew what it was from the start and detonated the grenade before Pierre or other curious children could be harmed.²⁰

While Harry Weber was “winning the war with his typewriter,” Edith Weber was teaching high school English classes in New York City, earning her teaching certificate while Harry was in France.²¹ On December 18, 1945 in Fort Dix, New Jersey, Harry received his discharge papers.²²

Post Service

After being discharged, Weber became a salesman. He sold everything from sewing machines to televisions. He became a manager of a shoe store. Because of the GI Bill, Weber was able to go back to college and finish his degree. Eventually he received a Master's in library science becoming a reference librarian. During this time Harry and Edith had three daughters.²³

In 1984, the Webers, like many Americans, moved to Florida for retirement. Harry died March 18, 1994 and Edith died May 9, 2009. Both Harry and Edith Weber are interred at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.²⁴

© 2017, University of Central Florida