Memories of five major battles scar local veteran's soul
By Judi Uthus Special to The Acorn

THANK YOU- David Goldberg receives a hug from Brenda Hans, Agoura Hills Senior Retreat administrator, during a Veterans Day ceremony for residents.

David Goldberg says he never suffered a scratch in World War II, yet the memories have left a lasting mark on his soul.

At 20 years old, the young man drafted from a poor New York family had no expectations of heroics as he landed at Normandy, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, liberated Buchenwald and Saint Lo concentration camps, and protected Gen. Omar Bradley from attack.

He claims he is no hero. "I was just doing my duty as master sergeant," says the former communications squad leader of the United States Army's 79th Field Artillery.

Among his many medals, certificates and plaques is the fiveStar Silver medal from President Dwight Eisenhower for bravery, courage and service in five prominent European battles against the German invasion.

Goldberg and his 12 men laid the two-way communication wires wherever needed on the battlefront and afterwards removed them as if they were never there. Among his warchest of memories were wires laid between Bradley's field headquarters to a post 300 yards away when combat struck.

"It was just three of us. One of my men was fatally hit and the other severely wounded," he recalls. "Under heavy fire, I had to belly crawl to continue getting the wires laid when I saw four Germans trying to scale the wall to the general's headquarters." With only a .45-caliber handgun, he killed one of them, preventing the capture of the commanding general's headquarters. "Trying to belly crawl back I collapsed and woke up in a hospital."

Stories like these have been included in a book, "Men of Honor: American GIs in Jewish Holocaust" by Jeff Donaldson. A member of the Jewish War Veterans, Goldberg often shares his firstperson account of the particular day in 1945 when he was among the first to storm Buchenwald concentration camp, breaking down the entry door:

"We went into the first barrack. The odor was unbelievable! There were hundreds of men, five to one bunk, and to say they were skin and bones were not the words for it. As they carried one man out on a stretcher I grabbed a blanket and covered him with it and he started to cry. I cried with him."

The softspoken Goldberg says that a day rarely goes by, even throughout his successful career as a fabric wholesaler in the movie industry, in which he doesn't reflect on the events he witnessed during the five years of service to his country.

He keeps all his mementos and memories in a special photo album. On the war vet's 75th birthday in 1992, President Bill Clinton and former Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan and George H.W. Bush as well as Colin Powell sent birthday letters.

Also extending their best wishes were celebrities he met during his career, including Frank Sinatra, AnnMargret, Kirk Douglas, Clint Eastwood and Gregory Peck, who he says was one of his best friends. And in his album, the widower keeps a picture of his wife of 50 years, Joyce, and their two children and grandchildren.

At 89, Goldberg resides at Agoura Hills Senior Retreat, but he must continue to make room for the plaques, medals and certificates that are still being presented to him, one just last year by the Jewish War Veterans.

He joined other residents in a special ceremony that the senior retreat presents each year for their veterans.

Activities Director Adriana Roa told the gathering of residents, friends and families, "This is a tribute to their glory and their devotion of duty. God bless you who came here today to share in this tribute. Because of our veterans' service and the service of those in the armed forces today, the United States is still the land of the free and the home of the brave."