DOB/DOD: August 1, 1916 (Stamford, CT) – November 12, 1944; 28 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Edith Hoffman (1919-2016) on September 17, 1940, in New Haven, CT
LOCAL ADDRESS: 23 Ohio Avenue
ENLISTMENT: November 13, 1942; commissioned July 16, 1943
SERVICE NUMBER: O-1322483
UNIT: 395th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division
FAMILY: Born to Michael (1890-1985) and Rachel H. Osmansky Steinberg (1892-1959). Two sisters, Jeanette Steinberg Regenstreif (1919-2015) and Miriam “Mimi” Steinberg Edlin (1924-2017). Two brothers, Clifford (1921-2003) and Harold (1927-2016).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Killed in action in Germany
Norwalk High School, Class of ‘33
Yale University, Class of ’37 Intercollegiate Fencing Team
Harvard Law School, Class of ’40 yearbook
From The Norwalk Hour November 30, 1944
Lieutenant Gerald R. Steinberg, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Steinberg of Rock Ridge, was recently killed in action in Germany, according to the War Department telegram received last night by his wife, the former Edith Hoffman of New Haven. Lieutenant Steinberg, who had been in the service for about two years, was a platoon leader with the 90th Division of General Patton’s Third Army and had been in action for several months. Before going into the Army, he was with the firm of Keogh and Candee, and on Monday, Judge John Keogh had received a card from him stating that his outfit had just been pulled back for a little rest in a former French barracks. Prior to the rest period, he had been on the line for almost six weeks. Evidently, the rest period had ended shortly after he sent the card. Lieutenant Steinberg was a graduate of the local public and high schools and matriculated at Yale College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Following his graduation from Yale, he took up the study of law at Harvard Law School. After receiving his law degree and passing the Connecticut Bar exams, he was with a prominent law firm where he practiced until August 1941, when he became an associate with Keogh and Candee.
April 26, 1945, from an unknown newspaper
New Haven, April 25 – (AP) – the gift of $6,000 which is to be used to establish the Gerald Robert Steinberg Scholarship Fund in memory of First Lieutenant Gerald R. Steinberg of Bridgeport, Yale, 1937, who was killed in action last November. Income from the fund, presented by members of the family of Lieutenant Steinberg and by his friends, is to be used “at the discretion of the Undergraduate Scholarship Committee to provide aid and assistance to needy and undergraduate students.” The fund will be added to in the near future. Lieutenant Steinberg graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1940. Prior to his enlistment in the Army on November 13, 1942, he practiced law both in Bridgeport and South Norwalk.
From the Yale University obituary book
Gerald Robert Steinberg, B.A. 1937
Born August 1, 1916 in Stamford, Connecticut
Died November 12, 1944 in France
Father, Michael Steinberg, president Musante, Berman & Steinberg Company, Inc, wholesale fruit and produce, Bridgeport, Conn.; Son of Jacob and Ida (Cohen) Steinberg of Springfield, Mass. Mother, Rae Harriet (Osmansky) Steinberg; daughter of Solomon and Jeanette (Glassner) Osmansky of Stamford.
Norwalk (Conn.) High School. Scholar of the second rank Freshman year and of the first rank Sophomore and Junior years; high oration appointment Junior year; philosophical oration appointment Senior year; honors, with exceptional distinction, in history at Commencement; Freshman Fencing Team; University Fencing Team Junior and Senior years (winner intercollegiate fencing championship medal 1935); member Jonathan Edwards College (captain fencing team Sophomore year, football team three years) and Phi Beta Kappa.
Attended Harvard Law School 1937-1940 (LL B. 1940); associate Melitz & Weingarten, lawyers, Bridgeport, 1940-41 and Keogh [John, ’97 L] & Candee [Nehemiah, ’93], South Norwalk, 1941-42; member Beth Israel Society, South Norwalk.
Married September 17, 1940, in New Haven, Conn., Edith Hoffman (BA Smith Coll. 1940), daughter of Israel J. Hoffman, ’11 L., and Minnie (Bronfin) Hoffman. Son Gerald Robert (born February 20, 1945).
Enlisted as a Private, Army of the United States, November 13, 1942; received basic training at Cap Croft, promoted to Corporal March 27, 1943; attended Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning [Fort Moore as of 2023], March – July 1943; commissioned Second Lieutenant, Infantry, July 16, 1943; assigned to Camp Wheeler August 1, 1943, Camp Rucker May 1944, and Fort George G. Meade, June 1944, went overseas in August 1944; stationed in England August-September 1944; sent to France September 7, 1944; promoted to First Lieutenant November 2, 1944; served with 90th Division, Third Army; commanded a rifle platoon in France.
Lieutenant Steinberg was killed in action in France. Buried in an American Cemetery in eastern France. Survived by wife, son, parents, two sisters, Mrs. Samuel Regenstreif of South Norwalk and Miriam Steinberg (BA, Connecticut Coll for Women 1946), and two brothers, Clifford Steinberg, ’42, and Harold Steinberg, ’48.
Buried in Independent Hebrew Temple Shalom, 135 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut; Plot CC 4. Photos by webmaster.
Through the hands of such as these, God speaks, and from behind their eyes, he smiles upon the earth. – Khalil Gibran
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