Phil wearing a yellow sweater vest sitting at a table

Phil at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue

In 2018, Phil went to talk to young people taking classes at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. This short classroom talk was recorded on video. Phil at BHS Clip 1 In this first video, Phil talks about his early childhood in the 1920s: how much food he could buy for a nickel, early experiences as a child […]

At the Racetrack in India

On his way to occupied China, Phil traveled through India with some of his friends in the service. (4 mins) Audio transcript: We found out that where we were quartered was short distance from a racetrack and since the Japanese never reached Bombay or bombed Bombay, this racetrack was still in operation, so we rented […]

Foley and Phil’s arrival in India

After some time crossing Africa in the box cars, Phil arrives in Mumbai, India (then called “Bombay”) with a bunch of guys, including one he still remembers 70 years later: Foley. Audio transcript:   There was a guy in my boxcar named Foley, he was a little older than us. If I was 20 by […]

Signing Up for the Air Force and Navy, 1942

In 1942, while a student at Brooklyn College, Phil, (along with some of his friends from the corner) decides to enlist. (4 mins) Audio Transcript At the age of 19 and a half, I believe, on December 4th, 1942, I enlisted in the United States Air Force. I had finished three years at Brooklyn College […]

The Sterling Place Candy Store Crowd Responds to WWII

Phil moved to Crown Heights as a small child, and he and the people he grew up with were all drawn into World War II in one way or another. Audio transcript: I lived in Crown Heights on Sterling Place, just off of Rochester Avenue within one block of an elementary school, which then incorporated […]