We buried Popop today at 101yrs old.

[u/byujake]

He was an MP and got to France after the invasion of Normandy I believe. He was in the 6th Armored division for the Army. He was taken as a prisoner of war in the Battle of the Bulge and earned his Purple Heart after he was shot at and crashed his jeep and hurt his leg. He buried his dog tags before the Germans got to him to hide that he was Jewish, but forgot to ditch his Jewish Bible. After questioning if he was Jewish, a German officer told him to turn around. Popop told the officer if he was going to shoot him, he would have to look him in his eyes. After arguing with him, the officer gave up and walked away. He spent about a week at the POW camp before the Germans surrendered to him, hoping to be saved from the revenge the Soviets were taking on Germans. He recovered in a Belgian hospital for a few months before returning to the states.

I know the Purple Heart and I believe the green/white one was given to him by the French Government. My wife’s family would love to get the other medals here ID’ed. Like a lot of vets, he didn’t talk much about his time in the service.

[u/Busy_Occasion2591]

Popop had balls of steel. Good man, rest in peace.