Hero #9 Tibor Rubin

Born in Hungary in 1929, Tibor "Ted" Rubin and his family were sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp at age 13. Upon liberation of the camp by the U.S. Army on May 5, 1945, Rubin vowed that if he ever made it to America, he would show his appreciation by enlisting in the U.S. Army. He got his wish in 1948.

Though still not a citizen, he kept his word and joined the First Cavalry Division. Seven months later, following the outbreak of the Korean War, he was sent to Korea. ¹

Rubin's superior was an anti-Semite who "volunteered" Rubin for the most dangerous missions, hoping to get him killed. One night, during a retreat back to the Pusan Perimeter, Rubin was assigned to hold a hill that was essential his regiment's safe withdrawal. In spite of the danger, he defended the hill for 24 hours against an overwhelming number of North Korean forces.²

On October 30, 1950, during the Chinese counterattack, Rubin stayed behind to man a machine gun -- where three men had already fallen -- so the 3rd regiment could escape. After running out of ammunition, he was captured by Chinese forces and taken to a prisoner of war camp. Offered a chance to repatriate to by then-Communist Hungary, he refused. Instead, he dedicated himself to helping his fellow prisoners, risking death by sneaking out at night and stealing food for the sick and dying. [Ibid]

Though he was recommended for the Medal of Honor three times by two commanding officers, his first sergeant ignored orders to process the paperwork. It was only after the passage of the Leonard Kravitz Jewish War Veterans Act of 2001 that a review of 138 Jewish war veterans' records were reexamined.³ President George W. Bush personally awarded him the Medal of Honor on September 23, 2005.

When asked if he felt any animosity about being overlooked and discriminated against for 54 years, he answered,

"I don't hate nobody because life is so short. If you feel hate for your fellow man ... you'll only hurt yourself. You hate yourself inside and accomplish nothing. I have nothing against the Germans - they killed 98 percent of my family - or the North Koreans and nothing against the Chinese. Because I do believe in God. He is the only one that's going to take care of it." ⁴

Among his heroes, Rubin talked about his family.

"My father was a hero. My mother, Rosa, was always a hero. She taught me that we are all brothers and sisters. She had so many good qualities. She taught me to treat people the way you want to be treated....

My little sister Ilonka was in Auschwitz and taken into the gas chamber, and my mother went along. She didn't have to but she couldn't leave the little one. I think about what my mother did, and I would have done the same." [Ibid]

1 Army citation page
2 White House award ceremony
3 JewishJournal.com
4 Orange County Register