More than 300,000 World War II veterans lived in Brooklyn. It is known that a wall with the names of more than 11,500 soldiers who died in this war is located in the Brooklyn Military Memorial. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the memory of all those who contributed to the victory in World War II is honored here.
The story of each Brooklyn veteran is unique, a story of courage, endurance, and heroism that they demonstrated during combat operations, fighting far from home. Each of these veterans is a hero who sacrificed their health and even their lives in the fight against Nazi invaders and Japanese militarists. Read the story of one such hero at brooklyn-yes.com.
Award to a veteran
Norman Wasserman, a resident of Brooklyn Heights, was drafted into the war in 1944 as a young man. He was sent to Europe, where he joined the 286th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, which fought as part of General George S. Patton’s Third Army.
At that time, American soldiers endured a fierce six-week German offensive during one of the harshest winters in Luxembourg’s recorded history. This was the Battle of the Bulge, which Winston Churchill called the greatest American victory of the war. Norman Wasserman was one of the soldiers who made history in the coalition forces’ victory.
In May 2012, Norman Wasserman, 87, a distinguished Brooklynite and war hero, traveled to West Point with 38 other American soldiers to receive the French Legion of Honor. This award was for his bravery during the bloody battle in the Ardennes, symbolizing the French Republic’s boundless gratitude and recognition of American soldiers. The French appreciate that American troops liberated them, even though the price of that liberation was so high.
The award found the hero 68 years after he defended their country. This award is for Norman’s participation in one of the bloodiest battles of that war. For surviving sniper bullets, bombs, and mines, not to mention his post-war career in public relations. According to the Consulate General of France, this award symbolizes France’s boundless gratitude and recognition for his bravery.
During World War II, the very young Norman Wasserman helped the Allied forces by observing flashes of gunfire and using hidden microphones to listen to the sounds of enemy artillery.
Brothers in arms
German troops launched a six-week offensive in winter on frozen ground in Luxembourg, France, and Belgium. Helping the Allies cost the US Army nearly 90,000 casualties. Another World War II veteran, Brooklyn native Ed Marinello, a friend of Norman’s who served in the same battalion as Wasserman, said that such an award, despite its belatedness, is still very important.
Ed Marinello, Norman’s fellow countryman, who also went to war from Brooklyn, where he met Wasserman and became his lifelong friend, said that Wasserman was an elegant young man with a refined sense of humor and unmatched weapon skills. He got his nickname “The Wasp” from his comrades-in-arms because of the first three letters of his surname.
In addition, for many years, Wasserman was a guest of honor at various events for veterans in Brooklyn. In 2009, when the world celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Norman Wasserman was one of six American veterans invited by the Luxembourg government to participate in the commemorative events dedicated to this event.
In an essay the veteran wrote for the Brooklyn Eagle about his visit to that country, Norman pointed out that he was very pleased that the people of Luxembourg had not forgotten his feat and the feat of all American soldiers. These landmark events are reflected in their history, geography, school textbooks, museums, monuments, their December memorial services, and their warm hospitality toward Americans.
Life after the war
Norman A. Wasserman was born in Brooklyn in 1924. He spent his childhood in Gravesend. After the war, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley, under the GI Bill.
He attended a writers’ circle for beginners at the New School, where he often invited his military friend Ed Marinello to join him. Among those who were also members of the circle were William Styron, George Mandel, and Mario Puzo, who was a member of Wasserman’s poker group. Incidentally, among those with whom Wasserman socialized was the abstract expressionist artist Nell Blaine.
In 1963, Norman Wasserman married Nina Horowitz. The couple had two children: an older daughter, Jennifer, and a younger son, Gabriel. The children grew up and were raised in Brooklyn Heights. Jennifer said that she loved playing soccer and Frisbee with her father in the park, along with her brother. Norman Wasserman’s daughter also recalls that he loved to simply walk around his beloved Brooklyn.
Wasserman was a gifted writer who earned a living as a freelancer, writing for various publications. But in 1968, he joined the PR firm Ruder & Finn, where he became vice president, working there until 1986, when he retired. Even in his old age, Norman remained extremely young at heart.
Although the veteran’s greatest passion was writing, it was his life’s hobby, his most difficult work, to which he devoted endless hours of research, gathering materials, writing, and rewriting texts. Or, in a word, the pursuit of perfection — this was the real Norman.
He left behind many files of his poems, plays, memoirs, letters, and essays. Spanning decades, everything is carefully annotated. In his final days, when it became clear that he would not be able to finish his novel, he asked his grandchildren to complete his work.
It is known that his granddaughter Chloe specifically purchased a copy of The Odyssey to read with her grandfather while he was in the hospital. She couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Norman and Odysseus — both were very intelligent, wise, skilled storytellers, loyal, and loved their wives unconditionally. Like Odysseus, Wasserman was a man of many traits, with a certain complexity to him. Every time someone met him, they saw something new in him.
Norman Wasserman was also opposed to war in general. The veteran’s relatives recount the following story. At that time, soldiers were allowed to bring back a pistol from the war as a small souvenir. On his way home from Europe, Norman, standing on the deck of the Queen Mary, took out this souvenir and threw it into the ocean.
Lifelong Brooklynite
Brooklyn Heights resident Norman Wasserman, a World War II veteran known for his sense of humor, intellect, and zest for life, passed away on September 4, 2021. He was 96 years old.
On September 8, 2021, a funeral service with military honors was held at Wellwood Cemetery in Babylon, Long Island, followed immediately by shiva, the Jewish seven-day mourning period that begins after burial.
Norman is survived by his second wife, Tatyana Wasserman, with whom he lived for 16 years, his daughter Jennifer and son Gabriel Wasserman, and five grandchildren: Zamer, Aram, Sasha, Chloe, and Axel.
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