Skip to main content

Bertram Moskowitz

T/5 in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : HQ & Service Co

Military occupational specialty: 405 (clerk-typist)

ASN#32109483

Born 1919 in PA, Died 1977

County of residence at enlistment: Kings County, NY
Other residence(s): Brooklyn, NY; Los Angeles, CA
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: stenographers and typists
College education before the war: 3 years
Notes: "Mosky"
Source: 603rd Camouflage Engineer Roster provided by W. Anderson; Unit Shipment 10143-B, 23d HQ, from le Havre 23 June 1945; HQ & Service Company List of Men and Jobs; militaryyearbookproject.org/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army...

Bert Moskowitz was born on February 1, 1919, in Scranton, PA. He was the oldest of two children; his father was a postal clerk. By the following year, the family had moved to Brooklyn, NY. His mother died when he was five years old; his father remarried two years later.

He attended college for at least three years, with his studies likely interrupted by the war, as happened to many young men in the early 1940s. He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, and enlisted on March 25, 1941, giving his profession as stenographer/typist. When he was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, he was given a role as a clerk-typist in the HQ and Service Company.

“Mosky,” as he was known by his fellow soldiers, went to Europe with the unit, and was discharged on August 28, 1945. After returning to the states, he went back to work as a stenographer/typist at an army base near Brooklyn.

At some point, Bert moved to California, likely in the early 1950s. Little else is known of his life or work.

He died on September 6, 1977 in Los Angeles, CA.

Sources:

1920 census

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/32140562?tid=&pid=&queryId=fea04359-afbd-4c2f-8fc8-54ff4d1f8985&_phsrc=iHp4&_phstart=successSource

1930 census

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/39215046?tid=&pid=&queryId=3de2b9f6-91da-4e22-9765-694029e5d3de&_phsrc=LoW17&_phstart=successSource

1940 draft card

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/records/193334655?tid=&pid=&queryId=26006a15-2140-4da6-941e-29271989764b&_phsrc=LoW3&_phstart=successSource

1941 enlistment record

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8939/records/7876314?tid=&pid=&queryId=60fea756-e8c5-4281-8957-52481f4e8538&_phsrc=LoW1&_phstart=successSource

1945 WW2 hospital admission card files

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61817/records/2596683?tid=&pid=&queryId=39ad8f08-f110-4b15-93ff-cff0c5739e5d&_phsrc=LoW5&_phstart=successSource

1950 census

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/283334978?tid=&pid=&queryId=65eab126-195f-489e-9862-836131fced13&_phsrc=iHp6&_phstart=successSource

1977 VA death record

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441/records/1993490?tid=&pid=&queryId=926f0efc-18af-4127-a3a1-805cf71596af&_phsrc=LoW23&_phstart=successSource

1977 California death index

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5180/records/5187990?tid=&pid=&queryId=c8b496e9-064f-4572-afe3-0533598e4e14&_phsrc=LoW26&_phstart=successSource

Please Support Our Ongoing Efforts

The soldiers of The Ghost Army used inflatable tanks, sound effects, and imagination to fool the Germans on the battlefields of Europe. The Ghost Army Legacy Project is ensuring that these men and their accomplishments are never forgotten.

Give via credit card by clicking the yellow “Donate” button.

Or, send a check to:

Ghost Army Legacy Project
1305 S. Michigan Ave. #1104
Chicago, IL 60605

All donations are tax-deductible!