"What am I doing talking to this Hitler clone—in Yiddish!" (Video Interview, 32:08)

Irwin Robinson

Detail from a photo of Robinson standing at his battle station on the USS Bibb, Atlantic [1943] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Coast Guard Unit: USS Bibb Service Location: Atlantic; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Pacific Theater; European Theater Rank: Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Place of Birth: NY

Irwin "Rocky" Robinson was a shipping clerk when he enlisted in the Coast Guard, sweet-talked into that branch by a clever recruiter who saw him standing in a long line to join the Navy. Robinson became a Pharmacist’s Mate aboard the lead ship in a convoy, with the only doctor for miles and miles around. Their patients ranged from a buddy with an inflamed appendix to a German prisoner whom Robinson, a New York Jew, was able to communicate with in Yiddish. He saw action in North Africa, where he attended services in a historic temple during the High Holy Days; Sicily; and in the Pacific, where they dodged kamikaze planes. In his spare time, Robinson did a little boxing, which is how he earned his nickname.