Theodore H. Bachenheimer in paratrooper uniform

Theodore H. Bachenheimer

Theodore H Bachenheimer represents the refugee heroes who sacrificed their lives to expand American values - while the ink on their naturalization papers was still wet. He was unfortunately killed in action near Nijmegan, Holland in October 1944, but in the 3 years prior, he achieved legendary status as one of the war's most daring reconnaissance scouts.

He was born in Braunschweig, Germany, the son of musicians who brought him and his brother to Hollywood in 1936. He volunteered for the 82nd Airborne Division and became well known for night patrols on the Anzio beachhead where he infiltrated German lines and chatted with German soldiers in the dark before capturing them.

During Operation Market Garden in Holland, he organized the Dutch underground and was recommended for a field commission before being captured and killed by the Germans.

Bachenheimer's naturalization papers

From 1942-44 he was the subject of articles in Stars and Stripes, Colliers and the LA Times, was befriended by Hemingway's journalist wife Martha Gelhorn, and had his exploits broadcast in radio dispatches.

To this day, the name Ted Bachenheimer elicits immense pride in several, non-Jewish WWII veterans who served with him, Dutch residents of Nijmegan, Holland, as well as enthusiasts of military history. There is a street named for him at Ft Bragg, NC and there is a campaign to win him a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor.