At the age of 13, Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian-born Jew, was liberated by American forces from the Mauthausen concentration camp. After the war, Rubin emigrated to America where he later served in the US Army himself, enlisting during the Korean War to repay the debt he felt he owed for his life. During his time in combat, he was once again taken captive, this time by Chinese forces, where he “used all the experience he had gained as a Holocaust survivor in helping keep himself and other prisoners alive.”
“I did it because I was an American,” Rubin told The National Review Online, “and because it was a mitzvah. Regardless of color or nationality, they were my brothers.”
Last week, his mitzvah was recognized by the highest authority in the land (after G-d, of course), and Rubin was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Read his remarkable story here.
(c/o Rafael S. via The Mudville Gazettte)