Milton Feldman
T/5 in 406th Engineer Combat Co
Military occupational specialty: 345 (truck driver, light)
ASN#32862565
Born 1924 in NY, Died 2010
County of residence at enlistment: Kings County, NY
Other residence(s): Brooklyn, NY; Bronx, NY; Pembroke Pines, FL
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: skilled mechanics and repairmen, n.e.c.
Milton Feldman was born on July 13, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY, the eighth of nine children. His father was a plumber; both of his parents had been born in Russia. His father died while Milton was still a teenager.
He registered for the draft on December 11, 1942; at the time he was working for Sidney Solow in New York City. He enlisted on March 13, 1943, with 2-3 years of high school behind him; his occupation was listed in the category of "skilled mechanics and repairmen."
He was assigned to the 406th Engineer Combat Company, and was known in the unit as "Punchy," due to his boxing prowess. At Camp Forrest, TN, where the 406th did its early training, the unit history document reports that "the company’s representatives in boxing came off a little better, with Punchy Feldman and Bobby Piazza gaining the right to appear in the Golden Gloves tournament in Nashville. Though each put up a gallant fight, neither was successful in the 'big time.'"
He went to Europe with the unit and served as driver for Captain George Rebh, who headed up the 406th. There are several colorful stories about him in the 406th unit history. (See "Sources" below.)
He was discharged from the Army with the rank of T/5, and returned to New York. He married a woman named Laura in 1947; they had two children: Eileen and Neal. Little else is known of his life or work. He was living in the Bronx in 1980 and later in Pembroke Pines, FL. He died on October 11, 2010 in Florida, a year after his wife's death.
Sources
1924 NY birth index (middle initial J.)
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1346949:61457?tid=&pid=&queryId=af3a95e1-1208-4d0f-adcb-f9cb95ae0138&_phsrc=YRk12&_phstart=successSource
1925 NY state census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/21344462:2704?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
1930 census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/122779363:6224?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
1940 census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4901237:2442?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
1942 draft card
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/193165368:2238?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
1943 enlistment record
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4955771:8939?tid=&pid=&queryId=08a59f74-43c4-46a7-a73b-04237dd778e2&_phsrc=CQa1&_phstart=successSource
1980 US public records index
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/35586319:1788?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
2009 wife's death record
2009 wife's obituary in the Miami Herald (FL)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/658053714/?match=1&terms=milton%20feldman
2010 Social Security death index
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/88310124:3693?ssrc=pt&tid=180534962&pid=382350043754
406th Unit History (see especially the Camp Forrest, Operation Brest, and Operation Coblenz sections)
https://ghostarmy.org/thearchive/History-of-the-406th/intro/