A Jewish War Hero Fights for Justice
Barry Farber
Monday, Feb. 5, 2001
At no point in my experience as a journalist, which I guess began officially upon graduation from college in 1952, would I have dared tell my readers, "This story has a lot of necessary detail I don't feel like fooling with, but, hey, I'll give you the title of a book that has everything I'm going to leave out!"
I have no hesitation, however, at doing precisely that right now in guiding readers not to a book, but to a Web site.

I've got a story to tell. It's a war story that sounds unbelievable. It's about an American soldier in World War II who killed an unbelievable number of enemy troops in an unbelievable way, exhibiting unbelievable heroism and being denied the Medal of Honor for an unbelievable reason.

Well, maybe the reason merely SHOULD be unbelievable. He happens to be Jewish.

Too many unbelievable stories are ruined by oververification. Not this one. The more skeptics investigate, the quicker they become ex-skeptics.

And, by the way, after his near-miraculous survival the same soldier performed another feat on another battlefield that by itself would also have handed any Christian soldier the Medal of Honor.

You may call me lazy. I call myself lean. I'm not going to have this tale sink under the weight of details such as names, places, dates, ranks, military units' names and numbers, latitudes and longitudes, weapons used, and red-tape way stations on the bureaucratic road to bigotry and injustice. It's all there, bull-proof and pig-tight, including photographs and even maps, at www.rubitsky.com, which, for some happy reason, jumps onto my screen faster than any other Web site in my Internet experience.

Frown, purist; go ahead and frown. The 21st century is here. I'm going to use it. I'll give you the tale. For details go to www.rubitsky.com.

David Rubitsky is a career vet, now old and ill, who served America in the Army, the Navy, and even the Merchant Marine. On New Guinea during the war he was ordered to string communications wire to a bunker in a swamp that had been built by the Japanese and fell into American hands. His buddies who accompanied him to the bunker saw FOUR COLUMNS of Japanese troops converging on their position. They wisely decided to retreat to their main force position.

David Rubitsky refused to retreat. He asked them to leave their weapons with him. He told them he intended to try to defend the bunker by himself.

With a grab-bag assortment of machine-gun ammunition, M-1 rifle bullets and hand grenades, Rubitsky opened fire. The ensuing battle lasted 21 hours, during which the Japanese homed in on the bunker with artillery and mortars, and Rubitsky wound up hit and hurt and bleeding from places he didn't realize you could bleed from. But when the fire ceased and his American buddies advanced upon the scene they found BETWEEN 500 and 600 JAPANESE TROOPS DEAD!

Who ever heard of such a thing?
Leyte

The American officers – you'll read their names on the Web site – put Rubitsky in for the Medal of Honor. They were told by a senior officer, however, "We don't give the Medal of Honor to Jews!" Later in the war, during the battle for the Philippine island of Leyte, Rubitsky singlehandedly knocked out a dozen or so Japanese machine-gun nests. An American officer knew all about it. He did nothing. On his deathbed he voiced his regret for not having put Rubitsky in for America's highest military decoration. His wife's affadavit is on the Web site.

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For years Rubitsky couldn't have cared less about whether or not his exploits were duly recognized by the Army. Don't be surprised. Those were the years in which those who scored spectacular touchdowns in football refrained from pyrotechnic gymnastics and merely handed the ball to the nearest official and quickly melted with the dignity of a Libyan camel into the ranks of their teammates.

Now, in declining health, Rubitsky recognizes the importance of trying to have some sense of fairness descend upon his personal history. Why should the modesty that was the fashion of the 1940s abort all official knowledge and memory of one of the most spectacular one-man feats of modern warfare? Excuse me, TWO of the most spectacular feats of modern warfare.

And what does David Rubitsky in Wisconsin get for his quiet effort to achieve justice by having the truth recognized? No, not just anti-Semitic hate mail; he gets DEATH THREATS!

While David Rubitsky was in the jungles of New Guinea performing his unprecedented (I think I was more on target when I said "unbelievable") actions I was an early teen-ager in North Carolina collecting scrap iron and tinfoil for the war effort.

And being Jewish, like Rubitsky, I had to smile gamely when the vastly-less-sensitive-than-today's population made snide jokes about Jews in the military finding their way to safe positions in the "Quartermaster Corps" – you know; clothes, supplies, things Jews were good at – while leaving the fighting to others.

To me the most impressive thing about the Rubitsky saga is not the unbelievable toll (500 to 600!) Japanese troops he helped die for the emperor.
macarthur

It's what David Rubitsky said when his incredulous military superiors asked him why he did such a damn-fool thing as stay behind all alone in a jungle bunker under attack by four columns of Japanese infantry.

"I got tired," said Rubitsky, "of hearing Jews don't fight."

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Called a hoax

March 7, 2001

Editor
Letters to the Editor
WORLDNETDAILY
[email-masked], [email-masked]

I would like to make just an additional comment or two about
Wisconsin's notorious World War II hoaxer.

After two years of intensive research and investigation, the
United States Army in Tab H of its official conclusion released
on December 15, 1989 stated uniquivocally that the engagement
of December 1-2, 1942 in which Rubitsky claimed to be involved
"DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED."

The Jewish War Veterans of America and B'nai B'rith's Anti
Defamation League both backed Rubitisky originally during
the two years culminating in the Army's December 15, 1989
report. Nevertheless, after reading the Army report both
Jewish organizations accepted the Army conclusion that the
engagement "DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED." Abe Foxman
even congratuled Lt. Col. Terrance Adkins, head of the Army
Awards Branch at that time, for the thoroughness with which
it pursued its investigation of Rubitsky's claims of valor and
charges of anti-Semitism against the Army.

Moreover, all of Rubitsky's 92 congressional supporters -in-
cluding Wisconsin's Senator Herbert Kohl-all accepted the Army
conclusion that the engagement "DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED."

It should not be forgotten that the Army was prevailed upon
again in 1992 and 1998 to investigate Rubitsky's Walter Mitty
fantasy. The conclusion was the same as the 1989 result:
The engagement "DID NOT OCCUR AS ALLEGED."

One final question which only David Rubitsky can answer:
Why didn't he demand that his 32nd Division comrades-in-
arms come and see the results of his alleged heroism
immediately after he said it occurred.

The only honest answer Rubitsky can make is that there were
no bodies of Japanese dead to witness because the engagement,
as the Army said on December 15, 1989 "DID NOT OCCUR AS
ALLEGED."

It should be noted that the Army never investigated Rubitsky's
claim that he was denied the Medal of Honor on another
occasion for killing another 200 Japanese soldiers while
allegedly destroying seven machine-gun nests two years
later in Leyte in the Philippine Islands.

Also, in a 1990 taped interview, Mrs. Eveleyn Smith denied
that she had signed any document attesting that her husband
supported Rubitsky's alleged Leyte exploit.

Mr. Farah certainly owes his readers an apology for spreading
Rubitsky's baseless claims of heroism when a little research
and work on his part would have shown him that Rubitsky
is simply one of the greatest liars since the late eighteenth
century German nobleman Baron von Munchhausen.

William Gartland
[email-masked]
5634 Hanna Road
Rio, WI 53960

Telephone: 920 882 3503

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The David Rubitsky story

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Posted: February 26, 2001
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Sgt. David Rubitsky was asked to lay a communications wire connecting his battalion command post to a rat-infested, enemy-threatened outpost in a New Guinea swamp on Dec. 1, 1942.

The outpost was actually a former Japanese bunker won by American troops in recent fighting. Built with coconut logs and concrete reinforced with steel plate, it was four to five feet in height, 30-feet long and 10-feet wide.
retreat

When Rubitsky and an officer traveling with him arrived at the remote bunker, the three U.S. soldiers manning it said Japanese troops were moving into the area. They decided to flee and advised Rubitsky and Capt. Joseph Stehling to do the same.

Rubitsky decided to stay. And thus began his amazing story of heroism that has yet to be fully rewarded and recognized by his country even 59 years later.

Rubitsky watched the Japanese soldiers move small artillery pieces, heavy machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft armaments into the area. He watched as more and more soldiers gathered. Anticipating a surprise attack by the Japanese on his 2nd Battalion, Rubitsky decided to lead his own surprise attack.

He opened fire. As Japanese soldiers advanced toward his bunker, Rubitsky used every weapon in his arsenal for nine grueling hours of intense fighting. He alternated between firing his .30-caliber water-cooled machine gun with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, a Browning automatic rifle with close to 600 rounds, his M-1 rifle, a pistol and tossing some of his 35 hand grenades.

Rubitsky spent a total of 21 hours in the bunker -- including nine under heavy siege. The Japanese army attacked from three different directions -- the north, south and west. His bunker had slits on all sides, making it possible for him to respond to an attack from any direction. He switched from gun to gun and threw grenades at the enemy, while the Japanese alternately charged his position and shelled it with light artillery.

When the fighting was over, Rubitsky was bleeding from the mouth, nose and elsewhere and suffering from multiple concussions from the shelling. But the Japanese were a lot worse off.

When Lt. Col. Herbert Smith came up to the bunker the next day, he estimated that Rubitsky had single-handedly killed 500 to 600 Japanese soldiers, thereby saving his own battalion from being decimated in a surprise attack.

That same month, Smith and Stehling recommended Rubitsky for the Medal of Honor.

But Rubitsky didn't get the medal. The late Maj. Gen. Smith, Brig. Gen. Stehling and three other soldiers from the 128th Infantry, the 2nd Battalion and the 32nd Division in New Guinea all concluded that the reason Rubitsky did not get the award was anti-Semitism.

Smith stated, before he died in 1989, that after referring the recommendation up the chain of command he was told by a lieutenant colonel: "We don't give Jews the Congressional Medal of Honor."

But the story doesn't end there.

Today Rubitsky is 82 years old. He spent a total of 40 years in active military service. He is currently a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans.

He and those who love him want to see this injustice righted.
smith's widow

Evelyn Smith, the widow of Gen. Smith, has written a notarized statement regarding her husband's support of Rubitsky: "My husband told me that Sgt. David Rubitsky deserved to win the Congressional Medal a second time in Leyte, Philippines, for knocking out seven machine gun nests, killing nearly 200 or more Japanese soldiers. …"

As for Rubitsky, himself, he says his lobbying for the medal at this stage is simply a matter of principle.

"What really matters is why I didn't get the medal," he says. "I'm doing it for the principle and the truth, not the medal and not the money. It's for every man, whether black, green, or purple. If he wears the uniform, he should get what's coming to him. He shouldn't have to fight for it."
Movie

There's talk of a movie being made about David Rubitsky. But before the full story can really be told -- on the big screen or elsewhere -- it needs a happy ending.

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A hero without honor?

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Posted: March 29, 2001
1:00 a.m. Eastern

WASHINGTON -- They say a prophet hath no honor in his own country. It must be true of heroes, too.

A few weeks ago, I told you the story of Sgt. David Rubitsky, who single-handedly held off 21 hours of Japanese army assaults on his position in a New Guinea swamp in December 1942. When the smoke cleared, there were between 500 and 600 Japanese troops dead -- and David Rubitsky was still standing.

Lt. Col. Herbert Smith and Capt. Joseph Stehling, Rubitsky's commanding officers concluded that his heroic actions saved his own battalion from being decimated in a surprise attack. That same month, Smith and Stehling recommended Rubitsky for the Medal of Honor.

But Rubitsky didn't get the medal.

Smith ultimately became a major general and Stehling a brigadier general. They both concluded that the reason Rubitsky did not get the award was anti-Semitism.

Smith stated, before he died in 1989, that after referring the recommendation up the chain of command he was told by a lieutenant colonel: "We don't give Jews the Congressional Medal of Honor."

Today Rubitsky is 82 years old. He spent a total of 40 years in active military service. He is currently a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans. But, believe it or not, there is still an organized opposition to conferring the award on Rubitsky.

Since I wrote this column last month, I have been inundated with letters from people questioning Rubitsky's story, pointing out that the Pentagon conducted an investigation at the behest of Congress and refused to grant the award.

Let me tell you something. I know a little about such government investigations. I trust my own research into this matter much more than I trust the self-policing action of the Pentagon.

What's clear to me is that the people on the ground at the time -- including the commanding officers responsible for review, soldier eyewitnesses with no axes to grind and even civilians in New Guinea -- believe Rubitsky performed heroic actions 59 years ago in a remote swamp during World War II.

Queen

The good news? Rubitsky is now being recognized by the government of Papua New Guinea and Queen Elizabeth in London with a medal of their own.

That award came after yet another investigation of Rubitsky's story on the ground, where it happened.

It was conducted under the auspices of Sir Nagora Y. Bogan, Papua New Guinea's ambassador to the United States, who commissioned a noted historian to interview civilians, review original documents and research other primary sources. The process took several months.

"I really believe that much of David's story just fell through the cracks," explained Bogan. "More and more, as I looked into this, I came to the conclusion that David is telling the truth."

Bogan blames the lack of recognition on a comedy of errors, in addition to prejudice.

"His story is fully consistent with the documentation we found and the primary sources we looked at," said Bogan. "I am convinced of the authenticity of his story."

In fact, Bogan was so persuaded, he invited Rubitsky and his wife to Papua New Guinea to receive the honor in an investiture ceremony. Hundreds of ordinary people turned out to meet the hero -- the man "who made the river turn red with the blood of their enemies."

Still, there's an active effort out there to undermine Rubitsky's claims -- to suggest he doesn't deserve the Medal of Honor. There is no question that at least some of those people trashing Rubitsky -- not all, mind you, but some -- spend an inordinate amount of time promoting other anti-Jewish causes. Some deny the Holocaust ever happened. Some label Israel an aggressor in the Middle East. Some see Zionist conspiracies under every bed. Others actually suggest he should be charged with war crimes for killing so many Japanese soldiers.

Meanwhile, Rubitsky -- frail and elderly -- carries on in good humor, despite being haunted by the shadows of anti-Semitism.

Realistically, Rubitsky may never see his Medal of Honor. But he will always be a man of honor -- even in his own country.

Honored from afar
Milton WW II veteran to get British medal
By JESSICA HANSEN
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: May 21, 2001
An 84-year-old Rock County veteran will receive a British medal of honor today for single-handedly gunning down more than 500 Japanese soldiers during a battle in World War II.

This is all a hoax, a great hoax. I'm sure he is lying.

- Robert E. Nordlander,
rebuffing a claim by veteran David Rubitsky (below) that he single-handedly killed hundreds of Japanese soldiers during World War II

We reached the conclusion that there is strong evidence, not in terms of actual witnesses, but strong circumstantial evidence, supporting what David said.

- Nagora Y. Bogan,
ambassador from Papua New Guinea, whose country conducted a two-month investigation into Rubitsky's claims

However, while the Queen of England has signed a letter officially recognizing David Rubitsky for his actions, debate rages in certain American circles as to the validity of this soldier's story.

In fact, so clouded is the issue of Rubitsky's heroism that the U.S. Congress has refused to award the World War II veteran the Medal of Honor, despite two recommendations by superior officers to do so.

"I will never get that medal," said Rubitsky, a Milton resident who been trying for the honor for more than a decade. "But what does the Medal of Honor mean to me? Not one darn thing. It's long lost its luster for me."

Rubitsky's supporters believe the World War II veteran earned the United States' highest military honor for his efforts during the Dec. 1, 1942, Battle of Buna in New Guinea.

While no official record of the events at Buna exists, Rubitsky said he arrived at an outpost there with another soldier just as an officer and two soldiers were abandoning it. The man with Rubitsky left to get supplies, and Rubitsky said he was left alone.

Fearing a surprise attack, Rubitsky claims to have opened fire on Japanese troops as they trickled through a narrow peninsula and made their way slowly through the swamp. Using a variety of weapons, Rubitsky said, he waged a roughly 91/2-hour gunfight.

"They just kept coming," he recalled. "I had such a concussion to the head. I was bleeding like a stuck pig. Another half-hour longer and I would have been dead."

At a military reunion in 1986, Rubitsky learned he had been recommended twice for the Medal of Honor. He was told two former commanding officers signed affidavits saying Rubitsky killed between 500 and 600 Japanese soldiers, and saved two infantries of American soldiers from being overrun.

But some, including Robert E. Nordlander of Menasha, reject Rubitsky's account.

"This is all a hoax, a great hoax. I'm sure he is lying," said Nordlander, who has waged a letter-writing campaign opposing Rubitsky's bid for the Medal of Honor.

Once a self-described Rubitsky supporter, Nordlander said he began to change his mind about the World War II veteran's heroics after meeting with Rubitsky and investigating his claims.

Among the elements of Rubitsky's story that Nordlander disputes are the number of soldiers Rubitsky is said to have killed. Nordlander claims Japanese military records show only 150 troops were in the area during the December 1942 attack, not 500 to 600.

Rubitsky, however, says he did not estimate the number of dead Japanese, but that his superior officers did after surveying the situation the next day.

Yet, despite notarized statements from superior officers regarding his wartime accomplishments, Congress declined to give Rubitsky the Medal of Honor after reviewing the case in 1987.

Rubitsky and his supporters say a superior officer blocked the awarding of the medal because Rubitsky is Jewish, but the Army denied that was the case.

Although the American government has determined there is not enough evidence to support Rubitsky's claims, the British government has taken a quite different stance.

"When your first get hold of his story, it's too good to be true," said Nagora Y. Bogan, the Papua New Guinean ambassador to the U.S., who is coming to Milton today to honor Rubitsky. "But nobody has gone back and traced the story, except to say nothing is on file."

Rubitsky
In 1999, a historian with the University of Papua New Guinea conducted a two-month inquiry into the matter, which included interviews with villagers and a review of the battle site.

"We reached the conclusion that there is strong evidence, not in terms of actual witnesses, but strong circumstantial evidence, supporting what David said," Bogan said.

Rubitsky is being named an honorary Member of the British Empire, one of five honors that Great Britain confers on civilians and service personnel for outstanding public service. About 150 people are expected to attend tonight's ceremony where the award will be presented.

Papua New Guinea is an independent nation but remains a member of the British Commonwealth. Rubitsky was asked to go to Buckingham Palace in London for the special ceremony, but a recent operation prevented him from doing so. Instead, Bogan will travel from Washington, D.C., to Milton, where he will present Rubitsky with a decree signed by the queen and a medal.

"I'm so proud," he said. "This medal I'm receiving means more to me than the Medal of Honor. I do love my country, and I'd give my life up for my country today, even at my age. But this medal means 10 times more to me than the Medal of Honor.

"I no longer seek the Medal of Honor," he added. "All I want is them (the American government) to say I deserved it and I didn't get it because of discrimination. I don't want the medal. It's the principle."

March
· With PNG’s Minister for Mineral Resources, Hon. Sam Akoitai and his delegation, Ambassador Paki attend meetings on mining and related issues at the World Bank Headquarters.

· The Ambassador delivers a speech at a reception in honor of Sgt. David S. Rubitsky, MBE (retired) in Milton, Wisconsin. The PNG Government honored Mr. Rubitsky for his heroic actions and bravery in the “Battle of Buna” during World War 2, one of the bloodiest battles in the entire war in the Pacific.

Mr. Rubitsky – who was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II and the PNG Government is the most courageous American soldier ever to have served his country in wartime New Guinea. Sgt. Rubitsky single-handedly killed in battle over 500 Japanese soldiers in the “Battle of Buna” on December 1 and 2, 1942. Read the amazing