Irving Klein

Early Life (Includes general parent information, sibling information, education): Irving Klein was born on 29 May 1892 to Perla Josepha Lowy (1858-1929) and Peter Klein (1852-1935) in Kassa, Abauj-Torna District, Hungary (now Košice, Abauj-Torna District, Slovakia). Only two siblings are known to have emigrated to the United States, Bernard (1881-1953) and Emma (1884-1961); two brothers and a sister remained in Košice.

“…Klein will go directly to Kosice, a small town now in Czecho-Slovakia, but formerly in Hungary. Kosice is the veteran’s birthplace and from which he migrated at the age of 13 to American shores. In Kosice he will be welcomed by a brother and a sister whom he has not seen since he was a boy. His last reunion will take place in Prague, where his youngest brother is engaged in business. For Klein, the meeting with his brothers abroad will have a strong element of dramatic irony in it, for both fought in the Hungarian army against the Allies.”

According to Klein, he “Left Hungary on Nov 24^th 1908, arrived in this country on Dec 8^th 1908, and went to high school until June 1909. Started to work in June for the Metropolitan Tobacco and remained in their employ as a salesman until drafted on Aug 4^th 1917”.

In the 1910s, Klein lived at 140 W 113^th St., New York., working for Metropolitan Tobacco at 134 Grand St.

Klein was drafted and entered the U.S. Army on 23 September 1917 in New York; he was assigned as a Private to Company A, 308^th Infantry Regiment, 77^th Division. He was promoted to Corporal on 9 January 1918.

Cpl Klein and Co. A left New York aboard the U.S. Army Transport List Lapland on 6 April 1918.

Cpl Klein noted participation in the “Lorraine Sector, Vesle River, Aisne ????, Argonne, Meuse” and reported his wounds as, “On Oct 3^rd 1918 while attacking a machine gun, I was about shot through the elbow, destroying the joint and 1/3 of the lower end of humerous and the head of radius, through this I have a stiff arm.” He was later rated at 25% disabled.

Cpl Klein received the Distinguished Service Cross on 10 January 1919 for his actions near Binarville, France on 29 September 1918,

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Corporal Irving Klein (ASN: 1707558), United States Army, for repeated acts of extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company A, 308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division, A.E.F., near Binarville, France, 29 September 1918, and Charlevaux, France, 3 – 7 October 1918. On 29 September after locating the position of three enemy machine-guns, he succeeded in silencing one, took up a position against the other two under intense shell fire, and sent back information to his company commander which made it possible to clean out the entire nest. On 3 October although wounded seriously, Corporal Klein continued to assist his men in repulsing the attack of an enemy combat patrol.”

He continued recounting his actions when he returned home from service,

“From that midnight when 2500 guns opened up their terrific fire in the Argonne Forest as time moved into the 25^th of September of last year, for full five days as calendars go but an eternity in living, Corporal Klein, a soldier in the 77^th Division, with the 308^th Infantry, A Company, became a fateful figure. It was A Company which was in the lead as the orders came to move up the hill toward the German lines with their hand grenades and wire cutters.

In single file they sallied forth with instructions to keep going. While going Corporal Klein saw his lieutenant and 125 men run straight into a machine gun nest and be wiped out in a twinkling of an eye while he remained not thirty feet from them unscratched and even undazed. Those that were left went on through forest so thick that blouses were torn from their backs and their bodies were left bleeding and sore. Lads fell everywhere. The officers were killed. Finally Corporal Klein crawled back over 100 yards to get orders. He was told to wait until dark and fall back. The first day’s advance was about 300 kilometers. There was no sleep. Nobody was allowed to sleep. The next day the advance was to Dead Man’s hill.

Dead Man’s hill was full of graves, behind the graves were machine guns. The French were to the left of the 77^th Division which had received a part of the 40^th Division made up of California and middle west men. It was on the second day that communication was lost, Corporal Klein was ordered to pick eight men and proceed as a scouting patrol. They crawled to the top of the hill and were busying themselves with glimpses at the first beds they had seen in months when machine guns opened fire upon them. The enemy conquered, two other unsuspected machine guns opened fire.

When thirty men Corporal Klein led against the enemy lines from the right as his lieutenant with sixty men advanced from the left. The left flank was shot to pieces. At the close of the next day of the 600 men there were forty-six left. They buried as many of their comrades as they could. September 30 found the 77^th division cut off with outposts captured by the Germans and communication lost. There was nothing to eat, no water, cries of wounded, groans of dying. But the boys put up their sixteen machine guns and waited for aid. A German patrol came to give themselves up. Corporal Klein was sent out to receive the prisoners but the enemy opened fire. They were overpowered. It was here that he received his wound through the left elbow. Corporal Klein is also left handed. But he cut off the sleeve, with his bayonet, shifted his rifle and got down to business. During the shelling he dropped from loss of blood. He was hit in the leg but he kept on.

The men were discouraged. They were hungry and cold and could hear rifle fire. Ammunition was low. They had buried more than 100 of their comrades on top of the hill. A boy who had been taken prisoner came with a note from the Germans to surrender. “We have too many wounded soldiers,” replied the commander, “We can die like soldiers”…Cries of ‘Americans coming’ meant to the little stranded band only more Germans. But five companies of the 307^th Infantry had broken through with reserve rations and mud water. Ambulances the next day made the way out for the handful of the Lost Battalion, Corporal Klein has suffered four operations on his arm…”

—

“There are humorous incidents in war service that stand out in the memories of most veterans and are far more pleasant to recall ’20 years after’ than the horrors and suffering of combat. One of my most amusing experiences occurred while I was a member of the Lost Battalion on the dawn of October 3, when we first found that we were entirely surrounded by the enemy. It deals with food, about which a soldier probably does more thinking than he does of life and limb.

Our last hot meal prior to the October 3 morning was on the eve of September 25. During the nine days’ interim we’d had nothing but ‘small iron’ rations, well known to army men. About 10:30am on the morning of the third, some four hours after we had received the ‘bad news’ that we were completely cut off, a private, Johnson by name, hurried over to tell me that the machine gun company guarding the lower part of the hill had a sackful of canned corn beef, but also that he had been afraid to take any of it.

There’s an old Jewish proverb that ‘God forgives you during war time-‘ so I decided to attempt the theft. Pulling my mess-kid out of my knapsack, I then crawled down the hill with Johnson. While I remained flat on the ground, Johnson slipped a big fivepound can of corn beef into my knapsack. We then crawled back to our fox holes and started to go to work on the corned beef. I’d opened the can and we were slicing up the meat, passing it out to our boys. As I looked up, I saw a lieutenant standing over me- there wasn’t much that I could say so I asked him:

‘Care for a slice of meat, Lieutenant?’

He introduced himself as Lieutenant Williamson, an attorney from Chicago and said that he had been assigned to Company A in my regiment. I informed him that was my company, much to his surprise. He joined us and that ended the corn beef episode, humorous in that dark day. But half an hour later, I received my dessert- my elbow was shot away in battle. So there’s an experience- from skylarking petty larceny to disability in half an hour”.

Corporal Klein also received the Italian War Merit Cross (full citation unknown), the Purple Heart, and supposedly a level of the French Croix de Guerre. Cpl Klein was Honorably Discharged on 20 October 1919, and returned to the United States on 5 December.

In the early 1920s, Klein lived with his sister, Emma Klein Scheibner and her children in Oakland, California (Taft Ave). Klein married Rachel Molaczyk (1897-1987) at some point in the decade, they had one son, Glenn Nielan (1930-2004). In the 1930s, the family lived in Santa Rosa, California (251 Carrillo St.), where Klein worked as an automobile parts salesman. According to his son, Glenn, “[Klein]…lost his business in the early part of the Great Depression, his friend, Martin Legerini, who had an ice cream store…invited him to use the space next door to open a cigar store.”

In 1932, Klein opened the Classic Cigar Store at 438 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, selling liquor, cigars, magazines, and candy. In 1935, the store celebrated their anniversary with the purchase of a Frigidaire beer cooler and dispenser.

“The Cigar Store manager has made his home in Santa Rosa for the past 15 years. He came to Oakland to take charge of an electrical business when a relative died, and later came to Santa Rosa, where he established an automotive supply house and auto electrical shop. On retirement from this business he became manager of the Classic, and to quote Klein, himself, his only regret is that he didn’t go into the latter line several years earlier”.

In 1937, Klein and his wife went on a tour of Europe, at one point, allowing Klein to visit with his siblings, “At Debrecen, Hungary, Klein met a sister whom he had not seen for 30 years. A second sister joined the reunion there and the Santa Rosans then entrained for Klein’s birthplace, formerly known as Kassa, Hungary, now known as Kosic, Czecho-Slovakia. A visit to the tomb of his late parents followed. Then another big moment of the trip! He met two brothers, both of whom fought against he Allies as members of the Austro-Hungarian military forces in the World War, seeing service against America while Klein was on the front for his adopted country”.

In the 1940s, the family lived at 251 Carrillo St., the 1950s, 251 Lake Side Drive. Klein was involved in (and served in several elected positions) the American Legion, Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, Aahmes Temple of the Shrine, and National Emergency of the Department of California American Legion.

Klein died on 12 December 1977 in Sonoma County after being hospitalized in November. Klein is buried at Beth Ami Cemetery, Santa Rosa, California.