http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/07/452331.aspx
Covering the story of this Medal of Honor recipient is doing much more than a profile of a heroic American. This is the reunion of two old friends, both of them foot-soldiers from the U.S. Army, and both decorated with the highest military honors this county bestows. I am working with Col. Jack Jacobs (on the left), a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam. Jack was here in Orange County, California to interview another Medal of Honor soldier, 78 year-old Tibor Rubin (on the right), who served in Korea. Rubin had spent almost three years in a Nazi concentration camp before he was liberated by Gen. George Patton's troops. It was then he vowed to "become a GI Joe, 'cause that is what we call the American Army." As Jack Jacobs asks Rubin about his time in combat, the tone is very matter-of-fact. These men take no pleasure in remembering similar shared experiences of escaping death while friends and fellow soldiers lost their lives. It's fascinating to hear Rubin describe times in combat: defending a hill in Korea, for example, as his unit retreats. His Staff Sergeant had ordered him to defend the hill alone. The sergeant had called Ted a "stupid son-of-a-bitch Jew" but promised to come back and get the corporal in two days. It was Rubin's first combat mission, and here is how it is described by the Medal of Honor Foundation: "Rubin single-handedly defended the hill for over 24 hours. He incapacitated or killed a staggering number of Korean troops, and slowed the remaining force to a standstill. His regiment made a successful retreat, but his sergeant never came to relieve him." It was that kind of war for Rubin. A sergeant who assigned him to the most dangerous missions, and never processed the paperwork from the commanding officers who recommended the young Hungarian immigrant for Silver Stars and the Medal of Honor. The day before this video shoot, when Jacobs and I were talking about the upcoming interview, Jack told me that decorated combat veterans often do not elaborate much on their time under fire. He was right. When Jacobs asked Rubin several times how he was able to persevere against such difficult odds, Rubin had two basic replies, "I was young and strong and somehow I made it, I don't know how," and, "You know, I never want to be a hero, I don't know what really a hero means." I got a good idea of what being a hero is during my visit with Ted Rubin. To quote again from the Medal of Honor Foundation: "The sergeant continued to send Rubin on impossible missions. Each time he not only survived, he fought brilliantly, and each time the sergeant deliberately withheld his commendation." On another hill without a name near the border with North Korea, Ted Rubin's days in combat ended. He ran through enemy fire to fill in for a machine-gunner and his mate who had been killed. Rubin was wounded in the leg, arm and chest but kept firing the machine gun until he ran out of ammunition. He was taken prisoner. He was held for two and a half years in a POW camp where the Red Cross was not allowed to visit. Food was scarce, water was dirty and infected, and there was no medicine. It's a time Rubin doesn't like to talk about. Here's the exchange between Rubin and Jacobs about how the young corporal would break out of prison camp - not to escape, but to steal. "I try to steal everything I can." "You stole? You stole from who? From the Chinese and the North Kor.." "From the Chinese." "..and you stole what, food? "Corn. Barley. Millett, ah vegetables, whatever I can." "And then what did you do?" "I come back.. and then I give it to all the rest of the guys, because they was my brothers that needed.. that didn't have food." Here, Rubin pauses a moment. "It was very hard." That Rubin, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, had to deal with anti-Semitism in the Army, even as he served with honor, is a deep injustice. It took 55 years for the Army and the leadership in the Pentagon to recognize his heroism. When President George Bush presented Rubin the Medal of Honor in 2005, there was only one brief reference by the president to the long wait: "By awarding the medal of Honor to Corporal Rubin, the United States acknowledges a debt that time has not diminished." The last photo-op of the day was snapshots of the two Medal of Honor recipients. I got to take the picture, which I hope will take it's place among the many of a truly remarkable life. Jacobs and Rubin wore their medals, and the smiles of men who have performed at the highest level in the worst of circumstances. http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=msnbc&tab=m5&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/&fg=&from=00&vid=bb7a79f7-1525-45a5-9f7d-cc07632ad5a5&playlist=videoByTag:mk:us:vs:0:tag:News_Editors%20Picks:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:ps:10:sd:-1:ind:1:ff:8A I am in awe of this man. xponent Aspire Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
