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Home > News & Columns > Dave Henderson > In Search of Freedom

In Search of Freedom

By Dave Henderson
Sunday, July 6, 2008

Rubin Tibor was born in Hungary in 1929. During the Second World War, the Nazi's overran his town of Pásztó. The town was predominantly a Jewish community consisting of about 120 persons. Virtually the entire town was sent to the concentration camps as part of the Nazi's final solution.

The Nazis separated Rubin from the rest of his family. His father was sent to Auschwitz and later to Buchenwald where he died. His mother, uncle, and 10-year-old sister were murdered in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Rubin was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria where he survived under incredibly cruel conditions. The lessons of survival he learned as a prisoner in the concentration camps would serve him later in life.

After 2 years, the US Army liberated the Mauthausen camp and he credits Army medics for saving the lives of many concentration camp survivors. It was at this point he made a commitment to become a "GI Joe" and an American citizen.

In 1948, Rubin immigrated to the United States where he settled in New York and worked first as a shoemaker and then as a butcher. He felt a strong desire to serve the country that had saved him. In 1949, he tried to keep his commitment by joining the Army. He was denied service because of his English language skills. In 1950, he tried once again and with the help of some fellow volunteers managed to pass the test and enlist.

Once in the Army he found that antisemitism was rampant in the military where his sergeant consistently "volunteered" Rubin for the most dangerous patrols and missions.

In 1950, massive formations of Korean troops crossed into South Korea and caught the American forces off guard. While his unit was retreating to the Pusan Perimeter, Corporal Rubin was assigned to stay behind to keep open a vital road link used by his withdrawing unit. During the ensuing battle, overwhelming numbers of North Korean troops assaulted a hill defended solely by Corporal Rubin. He inflicted a staggering number of casualties on the attacking force during his personal 24-hour battle, single-handedly slowing the enemy advance and allowing the 8th Cavalry Regiment to complete its withdrawal successfully.

Army photo of Rubin Tibor (Photo by US Army.)

Following the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, the 8th Cavalry Regiment proceeded northward and advanced into North Korea. During the advance, he helped capture several hundred North Korean soldiers. On October 30, 1950, Chinese forces attacked his unit at Unsan, North Korea, during a massive nighttime assault. That night and throughout the next day, he manned a .30 caliber machine gun at the south end of the unit's line after three previous gunners became casualties. He continued to man his machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted. His determined stand slowed the pace of the enemy advance in his sector, permitting the remnants of his unit to retreat southward. As the battle raged, Corporal Rubin was severely wounded and captured by the Chinese.

Choosing to remain in the prison camp despite offers from the Chinese to return him to his native Hungary, Corporal Rubin disregarded his own personal safety and immediately began sneaking out of the camp at night in search of food for his comrades. Breaking into enemy food storehouses and gardens, he risked certain torture or death if caught. Corporal Rubin provided not only food to the starving Soldiers, but also desperately needed medical care and moral support for the sick and wounded of the POW camp. His brave, selfless efforts were directly attributed to saving the lives of as many as forty of his fellow prisoners.

One fellow prisoner, Cormier, wrote, "He took care of us, nursed us, carried us to the latrine.... He did many good deeds, which he told us were "mitzvahs" in the Jewish tradition.... He was a very religious Jew and helping his fellow men was the most important thing to him." The survivors of the camp credited Rubin with keeping them alive.

For acts of bravery, two of his commanding officers three times recommended Rubin for the Medal of Honor. Time after time recommendations for awards were ignored by senior command because of his Jewish decent.

After the Korean War, Rubin was released from the POW camp and joined his only surviving relative, his brother who had also survived the Concentration camps. Together, the two brothers managed a liquor store and Rubin became an American citizen in about 1953. Like many veterans, he just wanted to live his life and be a good American.

In the 1990s, the Department of Defense set out to review recommendations for awards from past years. Their mission was to identify and right the wrongs of the past. Rubin was identified as a hero who had been denied our nation's highest award simply because he was a Jew.

In 2005, President Bush awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Rubin Tibor. Rubin said, "I always wanted to become a citizen of the United States and when I became a citizen it was one of the happiest days in my life. I think about the United States and I am a lucky person to live here. When I came to America, it was the first time I was free. It was one of the reasons I joined the Army because I wanted to show my appreciation."

Rubin Tibor when presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor (Photo by US Army.)

After being deprived of freedom twice, Rubin found freedom in America. He has shown a love for his adopted country even when it did not love him. We can all learn from Rubin and his sacrifice.

Too many Americans take freedom for granted.

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Dave Henderson is the Vice-President of Operations for RIMOFTHEWORLD.net and it's parent company Vicinitas, LLC. Dave is the commercial and operational manager for the site.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Dave Henderson.