Henry Rittenberg, Interview by Jack Bass, 28 November 2008
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- Title:
- Henry Rittenberg, Interview by Jack Bass, 28 November 2008
- Date:
- 2008
- Interviewer:
- Bass, Jack
- Interviewee:
- Rittenberg, Henry
- Description:
- Henry Rittenberg was born and raised in Charleston, SC, only a few blocks away from the Citadel campus. In 1934 after winning the City of Charleston Scholarship, he had the means to attend The Citadel and entered that fall semester. After repeatedly failing to pass the physical examination for various commissioning programs, he was accepted for the OCS Limited Service but found there were no vacancies. Afterwards, he was assigned to the coast artillery near Boston as an enlisted soldier. When coast artillery troops were taken for field artillery assignments in 1943, Rittenberg volunteered and was deployed to England, later serving as a forward observer. He took part in the crossing of the Rhine and the battle of the Ruhr pocket in which thousands of Germans were taken as prisoners of war. He was present at the Elbe River on VE Day, May 8, 1945, and returned home in February 1946. After working as a pharmacist, Rittenberg went to medical school, which he completed in 1955. He worked as a general practitioner until he retired. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus and received an honorary degree from the Citadel. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the AOA Medical Honor Society, and the Hebrew Orphan Society.
- Collection Title:
- The Charleston Oral History Program
- Contributing Institution:
- The Citadel Archives & Museum
- Media Type:
- Oral Histories
- Note:
- This interview is a part of the "Citadel WWII Alumni History Project." With generous support from the Humanities Council of South Carolina (http://www.schumanities.org/), the Citadel Oral History Program collected thirty interviews with Citadel alumni regarding their experiences during WWII. Journalist and historian Jack Bass conducted the interviews during the Fall of 2008.They serve as a powerful testament to the veterans' experiences and their critical contributions to the war effort. The digital recordings and transcripts are part of The Citadel Oral History Program Collection at The Citadel Archives & Museum.
- Series:
- The Citadel in War and in Peace
- Sub-Series:
- World War II
- Personal or Corporate Subject:
- Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, United States. Army--Artillery, Coast, Hebrew Benevolent Society (Charleston, S.C.)
- Topical Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Societies, medical, Jews--South Carolina--Charleston--Charities
- Geographic Subject:
- Ruhr Pocket, Battle of the, Germany, 1945
- S.C. County:
- Charleston County (S.C.)
- Language:
- English
- Shelving Locator:
- The Citadel Oral History Program--World War II Alumni Services 2009.13.24
- Date Digital:
- 2010-04-07
- Digitization Specifications:
- Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival masters are .wav files.
- Internet Media Type:
- audio/mpeg
- Copyright Status Statement:
- Digital resource copyright 2011, The Citadel Archives
- Admin ID:
- 220941
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