1 00:00:09,562 --> 00:00:10,162 Speaker 1: Originals. 2 00:00:10,362 --> 00:00:12,522 Speaker 2: This is an iHeart original. 3 00:00:16,602 --> 00:00:20,602 Speaker 1: Welcome to Frankenmuth, Michigan, the charming Bavarian themed town in 4 00:00:20,682 --> 00:00:24,362 Speaker 1: central Michigan where the Christmas spirit is alive three hundred 5 00:00:24,362 --> 00:00:27,962 Speaker 1: and sixty five days a year. Frankenmuth is best known 6 00:00:28,002 --> 00:00:32,122 Speaker 1: as the home of Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, a Midwest Christmas 7 00:00:32,162 --> 00:00:34,482 Speaker 1: decoration mecca since nineteen forty five. 8 00:00:35,042 --> 00:00:38,402 Speaker 3: So we're actually the world's largest Christmas store. We have 9 00:00:38,482 --> 00:00:43,482 Speaker 3: everything from trees, to lights, ornaments, glass, anything you can 10 00:00:43,522 --> 00:00:44,682 Speaker 3: probably think of, we have it. 11 00:00:45,282 --> 00:00:49,482 Speaker 1: That's Noah Johnson, the fresh faced merchandising manager at Bronner's. 12 00:00:49,922 --> 00:00:52,442 Speaker 3: Wally Browner, the originator of the store, opened it in 13 00:00:52,522 --> 00:00:57,042 Speaker 3: nineteen forty five. So we have billboards signs all over 14 00:00:57,042 --> 00:00:59,522 Speaker 3: the United States for visitors to come in. We have 15 00:00:59,562 --> 00:01:01,842 Speaker 3: people actually from all over the world that also come 16 00:01:01,842 --> 00:01:02,322 Speaker 3: in to visit. 17 00:01:02,362 --> 00:01:05,562 Speaker 1: Every single year, the busy season at Broner's kicks in 18 00:01:05,602 --> 00:01:09,322 Speaker 1: a few weeks before thanks Giving. The Christmas superstore welcomes 19 00:01:09,322 --> 00:01:12,522 Speaker 1: as many as twenty five thousand customers a day. 20 00:01:13,002 --> 00:01:15,562 Speaker 3: We're kind of famous for our Christmas cookies. We got 21 00:01:15,562 --> 00:01:18,522 Speaker 3: some really good sugar cookies that have been around since 22 00:01:18,522 --> 00:01:19,722 Speaker 3: I was a kid coming here. 23 00:01:20,082 --> 00:01:23,722 Speaker 1: Noah's worked at Bronar's for seventeen years. He started off 24 00:01:23,762 --> 00:01:26,602 Speaker 1: stocking shelves when he was in ninth grade. Now he 25 00:01:26,722 --> 00:01:30,842 Speaker 1: regularly flies to China to custom order Bronner's latest line 26 00:01:30,842 --> 00:01:35,642 Speaker 1: of artificial Christmas trees. Bronner sells one hundred different varieties 27 00:01:35,642 --> 00:01:40,042 Speaker 1: of artificial trees, from three foot minis to sixteen foot bohemoths. 28 00:01:40,442 --> 00:01:42,562 Speaker 3: Usually, the higher end trees tend to look a lot 29 00:01:42,562 --> 00:01:45,322 Speaker 3: more realistic, have a lot more lights on them, and 30 00:01:45,402 --> 00:01:46,602 Speaker 3: are a lot fuller as well. 31 00:01:47,042 --> 00:01:50,322 Speaker 1: Pre lick Christmas trees are all the rage gone, or 32 00:01:50,362 --> 00:01:54,602 Speaker 1: those hopelessly knotted strings of incandescent lights with one dead 33 00:01:54,642 --> 00:01:58,362 Speaker 1: bulb that's impossible to find. The new artificial Christmas trees 34 00:01:58,402 --> 00:02:02,522 Speaker 1: have built in LEDs that are fully programmable. Noah says 35 00:02:02,602 --> 00:02:05,882 Speaker 1: that some customers even keep their trees up all year. 36 00:02:05,722 --> 00:02:09,202 Speaker 3: Long pretty much program the tree lights however you want 37 00:02:09,242 --> 00:02:11,362 Speaker 3: them to be. But we have a lot of customers 38 00:02:11,402 --> 00:02:13,642 Speaker 3: that come in that do a tree year round and 39 00:02:13,682 --> 00:02:17,962 Speaker 3: do themes, so they'll there a summer, spring, fall, Halloween, 40 00:02:18,042 --> 00:02:19,522 Speaker 3: and then of course Christmas. 41 00:02:20,002 --> 00:02:22,802 Speaker 1: Artificial Christmas trees have come a long way since those 42 00:02:22,882 --> 00:02:26,922 Speaker 1: silver metallic eye sores of the nineteen fifties. Today's high 43 00:02:27,042 --> 00:02:30,842 Speaker 1: end artificial trees are so lifelike they're almost impossible to 44 00:02:30,882 --> 00:02:34,402 Speaker 1: distinguish from the real thing. Even Noah gets fooled sometimes. 45 00:02:34,802 --> 00:02:38,802 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty four, three quarters of all American households 46 00:02:38,802 --> 00:02:41,642 Speaker 1: with a Christmas tree chose an artificial one, and it's 47 00:02:41,682 --> 00:02:44,922 Speaker 1: easy to see the appeal. There are no annoying needles 48 00:02:44,922 --> 00:02:48,162 Speaker 1: to sweep up, no dragging a dried out tree carcass 49 00:02:48,202 --> 00:02:50,762 Speaker 1: to the curb after the holidays. Just pack it up 50 00:02:50,802 --> 00:02:54,642 Speaker 1: and reuse it year after year. Artificial Christmas trees are 51 00:02:54,682 --> 00:02:59,042 Speaker 1: a multi billion dollar global industry, but few people know 52 00:02:59,282 --> 00:03:02,682 Speaker 1: the unlikely story of how it all started. The person 53 00:03:02,722 --> 00:03:06,642 Speaker 1: who pioneered the modern artificial Christmas tree wasn't some Christmas 54 00:03:06,642 --> 00:03:09,682 Speaker 1: crazy inventor from a place like franken Move. In fact, 55 00:03:10,042 --> 00:03:14,282 Speaker 1: he never even celebrated Christmas. Meet Cy Spiegel, a Jewish 56 00:03:14,362 --> 00:03:17,962 Speaker 1: kid from New York City with a remarkable, improbable Christmas story. 57 00:03:20,962 --> 00:03:25,042 Speaker 1: Welcome to Very Special Episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm 58 00:03:25,082 --> 00:03:29,322 Speaker 1: your host, Zaren Burnett, and this is an artificial Christmas. 59 00:03:36,522 --> 00:03:39,882 Speaker 4: Welcome back to Very Special Episodes. My name is Jason English. 60 00:03:40,042 --> 00:03:43,922 Speaker 4: Today's our first holiday episode. I don't know if podcasting 61 00:03:44,002 --> 00:03:47,762 Speaker 4: as a medium is old enough to have established classic 62 00:03:48,122 --> 00:03:51,722 Speaker 4: holiday episodes that people revisit year after year, the way 63 00:03:51,722 --> 00:03:56,362 Speaker 4: they do with Christmas episodes of TV shows or holiday movies. 64 00:03:56,842 --> 00:03:59,402 Speaker 4: Whether you decide this one is worth listening to in 65 00:03:59,442 --> 00:04:01,762 Speaker 4: subsequent years or not, I think it's a good one, 66 00:04:01,882 --> 00:04:04,722 Speaker 4: and especially if you're gonna be seeing older relatives this 67 00:04:04,762 --> 00:04:06,642 Speaker 4: holiday season, Here we go. 68 00:04:13,042 --> 00:04:16,682 Speaker 1: Lori Gwynn Shapiro is a journalist and documentary filmmaker who 69 00:04:16,682 --> 00:04:20,282 Speaker 1: lives in New York City. One day in November twenty nineteen, 70 00:04:20,362 --> 00:04:24,042 Speaker 1: Laurie was walking around Manhattan, enjoying her two favorite hobbies, 71 00:04:24,282 --> 00:04:27,682 Speaker 1: drinking coffee and eavesdropping on other people's conversations. 72 00:04:28,082 --> 00:04:32,842 Speaker 2: I'm a terrible eavesdropper. All journalists are eavesdroppers. 73 00:04:33,602 --> 00:04:36,962 Speaker 1: In Central Park, Laurie overheard an older gentleman talking about 74 00:04:37,002 --> 00:04:40,282 Speaker 1: his military service. The sharply dressed man looked like he 75 00:04:40,282 --> 00:04:42,762 Speaker 1: could be in his nineties. He reminded Laurie of her 76 00:04:42,802 --> 00:04:46,042 Speaker 1: own elderly father when he was in better health. Laurie 77 00:04:46,082 --> 00:04:48,202 Speaker 1: is Jewish and had a hunch that the old man 78 00:04:48,282 --> 00:04:51,362 Speaker 1: was Jewish too. She couldn't help herself. So she butt 79 00:04:51,402 --> 00:04:52,362 Speaker 1: into their conversation. 80 00:04:52,922 --> 00:04:56,322 Speaker 2: I'm like a Buttinski and I said, are you possibly 81 00:04:56,362 --> 00:04:59,722 Speaker 2: talking about World War iiO, Are you a veteran? And 82 00:04:59,722 --> 00:05:02,802 Speaker 2: he said I am. I was in the war. And 83 00:05:02,842 --> 00:05:06,682 Speaker 2: I said, oh, well, were you involved with aviation and 84 00:05:06,722 --> 00:05:11,002 Speaker 2: he said yes, I know a lot about anti Semitism 85 00:05:11,162 --> 00:05:13,882 Speaker 2: during World War Two? And I've never heard of a 86 00:05:14,042 --> 00:05:17,482 Speaker 2: Jewish pilot. What were you during the war. I thought 87 00:05:17,482 --> 00:05:19,922 Speaker 2: he might be a mechanic and he said no, I 88 00:05:20,082 --> 00:05:22,442 Speaker 2: was a pilot. I was just floored. 89 00:05:23,042 --> 00:05:26,962 Speaker 1: Laurie's journalistic instincts kicked in. There was a story here. 90 00:05:27,322 --> 00:05:29,562 Speaker 1: How often do you run into a Jewish World War 91 00:05:29,602 --> 00:05:32,242 Speaker 1: two pilot in the middle of Central Park. So, in 92 00:05:32,322 --> 00:05:35,202 Speaker 1: classic Laurie styles, she convinced the old veteran to sit 93 00:05:35,282 --> 00:05:38,642 Speaker 1: down with her for an interview. If only Laurie knew 94 00:05:38,682 --> 00:05:41,082 Speaker 1: just how wild this story was going to get. 95 00:05:41,482 --> 00:05:44,442 Speaker 2: So when I went and had a doorman apartment, as 96 00:05:44,442 --> 00:05:46,602 Speaker 2: I said, I had no idea where he'd gotten this 97 00:05:46,722 --> 00:05:50,202 Speaker 2: money from. It was a beautiful apartment with a nice 98 00:05:50,682 --> 00:05:54,562 Speaker 2: slice of Central Park in the view. And he just 99 00:05:54,602 --> 00:05:58,162 Speaker 2: sat down talking to me. And I did what you 100 00:05:58,282 --> 00:06:00,602 Speaker 2: do when you start a story, You start at the beginning, 101 00:06:00,642 --> 00:06:01,522 Speaker 2: I said, who are you? 102 00:06:02,242 --> 00:06:04,962 Speaker 1: His name was Cy Spiegel and he was ninety five 103 00:06:05,042 --> 00:06:07,962 Speaker 1: years old. So I was born in nineteen twenty four, 104 00:06:08,162 --> 00:06:11,642 Speaker 1: the very first year of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, 105 00:06:11,922 --> 00:06:14,562 Speaker 1: and also the first year you could use a kleenex. 106 00:06:17,682 --> 00:06:22,322 Speaker 1: SI grew up in Greenwich Village, an immigrant enclave of Jews, Germans, 107 00:06:22,362 --> 00:06:25,922 Speaker 1: Italians and more. SI's father ran a hand laundry on 108 00:06:26,002 --> 00:06:30,282 Speaker 1: West forty third Street, frequented by Broadway stars and occasional gangster. 109 00:06:30,882 --> 00:06:33,322 Speaker 1: After school, Si worked at the laundry and picked up 110 00:06:33,362 --> 00:06:36,642 Speaker 1: odd jobs at small machine shops in the neighborhood. SI 111 00:06:36,802 --> 00:06:39,482 Speaker 1: was always good with his hands. In the nineteen thirties, 112 00:06:39,522 --> 00:06:43,202 Speaker 1: SI's parents read disturbing reports in the local Yiddish papers 113 00:06:43,242 --> 00:06:46,962 Speaker 1: about Adolf Hitler's rise in Germany. They had no clue 114 00:06:47,002 --> 00:06:50,162 Speaker 1: of the horrors that would soon be unleashed on European Jews, 115 00:06:50,482 --> 00:06:54,002 Speaker 1: but they knew enough to worry. SI was just seventeen 116 00:06:54,042 --> 00:06:57,762 Speaker 1: when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and America entered World War Two. 117 00:06:58,322 --> 00:07:01,442 Speaker 1: He was a shy kid, small too, just five seven 118 00:07:01,482 --> 00:07:04,122 Speaker 1: maybe one hundred and fifty pounds. But the day SI 119 00:07:04,242 --> 00:07:07,642 Speaker 1: turned eighteen he enlisted in the army was going to 120 00:07:07,682 --> 00:07:10,082 Speaker 1: war with Hitler. He wanted to be in the fight. 121 00:07:12,202 --> 00:07:15,762 Speaker 5: A lot of these men who were immigrants or the 122 00:07:15,802 --> 00:07:18,922 Speaker 5: sons of immigrants, wanted to prove how American they were. 123 00:07:19,322 --> 00:07:22,922 Speaker 5: They wanted to prove their metal, but they really wanted 124 00:07:22,962 --> 00:07:26,122 Speaker 5: to prove to their friends and family and everywhere else 125 00:07:26,162 --> 00:07:27,922 Speaker 5: around him how American they were. 126 00:07:28,362 --> 00:07:31,402 Speaker 1: That's Kevin Fitzpatrick, an author and New York historian who 127 00:07:31,442 --> 00:07:33,202 Speaker 1: was introduced to Cy through Laurie. 128 00:07:33,642 --> 00:07:37,682 Speaker 5: One of the things that Germany underestimated in World War 129 00:07:37,722 --> 00:07:41,282 Speaker 5: One and World War Two, because remember Germany sent the 130 00:07:41,282 --> 00:07:43,482 Speaker 5: most immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth and 131 00:07:43,562 --> 00:07:46,202 Speaker 5: early twentieth century. They thought all those people were going 132 00:07:46,242 --> 00:07:48,282 Speaker 5: to return to the Motherland and the Lady of the 133 00:07:48,282 --> 00:07:52,162 Speaker 5: Fatherland to fight, and they didn't. They put on American 134 00:07:52,242 --> 00:07:54,562 Speaker 5: uniforms because they're proud to be American now. 135 00:07:54,682 --> 00:07:56,242 Speaker 6: And so that might have been in the back of 136 00:07:56,242 --> 00:07:58,762 Speaker 6: his mind, is you. 137 00:07:58,722 --> 00:08:01,322 Speaker 5: Know, I'm a Jewish American, but I'm American too, and 138 00:08:01,522 --> 00:08:03,402 Speaker 5: I want to do this, and I want this. 139 00:08:03,442 --> 00:08:05,082 Speaker 6: I don't want to miss out on this as well. 140 00:08:05,562 --> 00:08:09,442 Speaker 1: So I enlisted at a outed Army recruitment office. Then 141 00:08:09,482 --> 00:08:12,042 Speaker 1: he was shipped off to Fort Dix in New Jersey 142 00:08:12,082 --> 00:08:15,322 Speaker 1: for basic training. When the Army learned about sized machine 143 00:08:15,322 --> 00:08:18,442 Speaker 1: shop experience, they assigned him to the Army Air Corps 144 00:08:18,562 --> 00:08:21,522 Speaker 1: as an airplane mechanic. So I didn't know a thing 145 00:08:21,562 --> 00:08:25,042 Speaker 1: about planes, So the Army sent him to various mechanic schools, 146 00:08:25,122 --> 00:08:29,082 Speaker 1: winding up at Roosevelt Field on Long Island. This was 147 00:08:29,122 --> 00:08:33,642 Speaker 1: September nineteen forty three, almost two years after Pearl Harbor Side. 148 00:08:33,682 --> 00:08:36,282 Speaker 1: Knew kids from the neighborhood who were already fighting in 149 00:08:36,322 --> 00:08:39,602 Speaker 1: the Pacific or training to jump from planes over Europe, 150 00:08:39,882 --> 00:08:44,082 Speaker 1: and here he was on Long Island reading engine manuals. 151 00:08:44,362 --> 00:08:46,002 Speaker 2: So one of the things he told me is that 152 00:08:46,082 --> 00:08:50,122 Speaker 2: he was frustrated with his role in the military. He 153 00:08:50,242 --> 00:08:54,922 Speaker 2: just said to himself, I can't fight Hitler with a wrench, 154 00:08:54,962 --> 00:08:58,642 Speaker 2: and you have to remember, for Jewish men fighty Hitler 155 00:08:58,722 --> 00:09:00,162 Speaker 2: became a personal mission. 156 00:09:00,802 --> 00:09:03,362 Speaker 1: One of the officers at the mechanic school told Sye 157 00:09:03,362 --> 00:09:05,842 Speaker 1: that if he was really itching for action, he could 158 00:09:05,842 --> 00:09:08,402 Speaker 1: apply to become a pot pilot. There was an Army 159 00:09:08,442 --> 00:09:11,522 Speaker 1: Air Corps recruitment office right up the road at Mitchell Field. 160 00:09:12,122 --> 00:09:15,242 Speaker 1: CI had never dreamt of flying an airplane, and he'd 161 00:09:15,322 --> 00:09:18,602 Speaker 1: certainly never heard of a Jewish pilot. But he had 162 00:09:18,642 --> 00:09:21,002 Speaker 1: to get out of mechanic school, so he put on 163 00:09:21,042 --> 00:09:24,682 Speaker 1: his uniform, stood tall, and marched into the Army Air 164 00:09:24,722 --> 00:09:28,962 Speaker 1: Corps recruitment office like he belonged there. The place was deserted, 165 00:09:29,242 --> 00:09:32,522 Speaker 1: unlike the mob scene at the recruitment office in Times Square, 166 00:09:32,802 --> 00:09:35,722 Speaker 1: there was only one other guy applying for pilot training, 167 00:09:35,722 --> 00:09:38,402 Speaker 1: and he was wearing a thick pair of glasses. With 168 00:09:38,522 --> 00:09:42,042 Speaker 1: his sharp uniform and perfect vision, Si was a shoe in. 169 00:09:42,562 --> 00:09:45,882 Speaker 1: If the recruitment officer recognized Spiegel as a Jewish name, 170 00:09:46,122 --> 00:09:49,562 Speaker 1: he didn't blink. He stamped the papers, shook size hand, 171 00:09:49,602 --> 00:09:53,682 Speaker 1: and shipped him off to California for pilot training. SI 172 00:09:53,802 --> 00:09:56,442 Speaker 1: didn't exactly take to the air like an eagle as 173 00:09:56,482 --> 00:09:58,722 Speaker 1: a trainee. They took Si up as a passenger and 174 00:09:58,762 --> 00:10:02,682 Speaker 1: put him through barrel rolls and loops. SI puked every time, 175 00:10:03,002 --> 00:10:05,362 Speaker 1: but he was a hard worker and definitely not a quitter. 176 00:10:05,562 --> 00:10:08,282 Speaker 1: It wasn't long before Si I was the one putting 177 00:10:08,322 --> 00:10:11,602 Speaker 1: trainees through barrel rolls and making them lose their lunch. 178 00:10:12,202 --> 00:10:14,722 Speaker 1: Zi earned his wings and shipped off for New Mexico 179 00:10:14,802 --> 00:10:17,682 Speaker 1: to train on the B seventeen, the iconic World War 180 00:10:17,722 --> 00:10:20,282 Speaker 1: Two bomber known as the Flying Fortress. 181 00:10:21,002 --> 00:10:24,162 Speaker 5: I mean, the B seventeen is like the classic bomber. 182 00:10:24,322 --> 00:10:26,922 Speaker 5: When you're building scale model kits as a kid, it's 183 00:10:27,002 --> 00:10:29,442 Speaker 5: the B seventeen Flying Fortress you want. 184 00:10:29,842 --> 00:10:32,002 Speaker 1: That's Kevin again. He gets a little excited when he 185 00:10:32,002 --> 00:10:33,882 Speaker 1: talks about size plane, the B seventeen. 186 00:10:34,602 --> 00:10:37,482 Speaker 5: So first four engines, so you got to think about 187 00:10:37,562 --> 00:10:39,322 Speaker 5: the sound of being inside. 188 00:10:38,962 --> 00:10:41,162 Speaker 6: Something like that with four engines to on either side 189 00:10:41,162 --> 00:10:41,362 Speaker 6: of you. 190 00:10:41,802 --> 00:10:46,082 Speaker 5: The nose, it's two levels, has got this plexiglass canopy 191 00:10:46,162 --> 00:10:48,522 Speaker 5: so you can see all around you. So it's like 192 00:10:48,562 --> 00:10:52,122 Speaker 5: you're flying in a greenhouse and it's not pressurized. So 193 00:10:52,162 --> 00:10:55,122 Speaker 5: you're wearing you know, sheepskin jackets, you know, wooll lining 194 00:10:55,242 --> 00:10:58,802 Speaker 5: jackets and mittens, becuts below zero and you got to 195 00:10:58,802 --> 00:11:03,042 Speaker 5: do your job. And you're nineteen years old. It's crazy 196 00:11:03,162 --> 00:11:05,802 Speaker 5: to think about the youth that we sent into World 197 00:11:05,842 --> 00:11:09,242 Speaker 5: War Two and what they were doing with the technology 198 00:11:09,282 --> 00:11:10,722 Speaker 5: of that era eighty years ago. 199 00:11:10,762 --> 00:11:11,842 Speaker 6: It's just mind blowing. 200 00:11:14,842 --> 00:11:18,162 Speaker 1: So here's cy this nineteen year old Jewish kid, thousands 201 00:11:18,202 --> 00:11:20,202 Speaker 1: of miles from home in the middle of nowhere in 202 00:11:20,202 --> 00:11:23,162 Speaker 1: New Mexico. He's spending days in the cockpit of a 203 00:11:23,242 --> 00:11:27,082 Speaker 1: seventy five foot long bomber. On weekends, the other flyboys 204 00:11:27,122 --> 00:11:30,162 Speaker 1: go out to the local bars and brothels beside. Was 205 00:11:30,202 --> 00:11:35,202 Speaker 1: too shy and innocent for all that sort of Apparently, 206 00:11:35,322 --> 00:11:38,802 Speaker 1: there's also something irresistible about a man in uniform. When 207 00:11:38,882 --> 00:11:41,602 Speaker 1: Laurie interviewed Cy at his apartment, he brought out a 208 00:11:41,602 --> 00:11:45,082 Speaker 1: picture of himself at nineteen wearing his black leather bomber 209 00:11:45,202 --> 00:11:47,722 Speaker 1: jacket and a white silk aviator's scarf. 210 00:11:48,042 --> 00:11:51,162 Speaker 2: Then I saw pictures of him in his military outfits 211 00:11:51,202 --> 00:11:53,082 Speaker 2: and it was like, ooh, this is my World War 212 00:11:53,122 --> 00:11:57,642 Speaker 2: two boyfriend. I'm really hot. We all want to have 213 00:11:57,722 --> 00:11:58,322 Speaker 2: a pilot. 214 00:11:58,842 --> 00:12:01,762 Speaker 1: That's how shy and innocent SI. When the heart of 215 00:12:01,962 --> 00:12:06,082 Speaker 1: Frankie Marie Smith, a stunning young beauty from Lovington, New Mexico, 216 00:12:06,362 --> 00:12:11,042 Speaker 1: Frankie's insisted they get married in an evangelical church. Afraid 217 00:12:11,082 --> 00:12:13,882 Speaker 1: to tell his parents, Cy kept his shiks a wife 218 00:12:13,922 --> 00:12:17,162 Speaker 1: a secret. He'd have plenty of time to explain everything 219 00:12:17,202 --> 00:12:19,722 Speaker 1: when he got home from the war. For now, it 220 00:12:19,802 --> 00:12:23,202 Speaker 1: was time for Lieutenant Spiegel B seventeen pilot, to say 221 00:12:23,242 --> 00:12:25,722 Speaker 1: a tearful goodbye to his young bride and fly off 222 00:12:25,762 --> 00:12:28,962 Speaker 1: to Oklahoma, where he would finally meet his crew and 223 00:12:29,042 --> 00:12:32,202 Speaker 1: then together fly on over to Europe to start dropping 224 00:12:32,282 --> 00:12:47,882 Speaker 1: bombs on Hitler. Cy Spiegel was not, as Laurie believed, 225 00:12:48,002 --> 00:12:51,522 Speaker 1: the only Jewish bomber pilot in World War Two. One 226 00:12:51,642 --> 00:12:54,802 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand Jewish people served in the Army 227 00:12:54,842 --> 00:12:58,082 Speaker 1: Air Corps or similar in some capacity during the war. 228 00:12:58,482 --> 00:13:02,282 Speaker 1: In total, over five hundred thousand American Jews served in 229 00:13:02,322 --> 00:13:02,922 Speaker 1: World War II. 230 00:13:03,322 --> 00:13:06,042 Speaker 2: But I can't tell you that anyone who is Jewish 231 00:13:06,082 --> 00:13:10,122 Speaker 2: that served in World War Two had a little H 232 00:13:10,442 --> 00:13:14,362 Speaker 2: on their dog tag for Hebrew, and Protestants had a 233 00:13:14,402 --> 00:13:18,442 Speaker 2: pee and Catholics had a see. And one of the 234 00:13:18,482 --> 00:13:23,642 Speaker 2: fears of many Jewish people serving in Europe was that 235 00:13:23,682 --> 00:13:25,722 Speaker 2: they were going to be taken and they would have 236 00:13:25,762 --> 00:13:28,162 Speaker 2: an H and then the Nazis would find them. 237 00:13:28,602 --> 00:13:31,482 Speaker 1: Jewish soldiers fought bravely in World War Two, but out 238 00:13:31,482 --> 00:13:34,482 Speaker 1: of a total force of more than twelve million Americans, 239 00:13:34,682 --> 00:13:38,682 Speaker 1: even if they were overrepresented, they were still a small minority, 240 00:13:38,922 --> 00:13:42,082 Speaker 1: and anti Semitism was rampant in the military as it 241 00:13:42,202 --> 00:13:46,082 Speaker 1: was in broader American society. PI was lucky that he 242 00:13:46,122 --> 00:13:49,162 Speaker 1: made it through pilot training without being singled out by 243 00:13:49,162 --> 00:13:53,722 Speaker 1: a bigoted officer as Jewish. Other Jewish trainees were intentionally 244 00:13:53,922 --> 00:13:57,762 Speaker 1: washed out before they got their wings, but Ci graduated 245 00:13:57,762 --> 00:14:00,442 Speaker 1: as a lieutenant and was finally ready to captain his 246 00:14:00,522 --> 00:14:02,322 Speaker 1: own plane and meet his crew. 247 00:14:02,602 --> 00:14:05,442 Speaker 2: There were all black units like the Tuskegee Airmen, but 248 00:14:05,882 --> 00:14:09,522 Speaker 2: there was no Jewish unit, and so when they figured 249 00:14:09,562 --> 00:14:11,962 Speaker 2: out that he was Jewish, they kind of sent him 250 00:14:12,282 --> 00:14:15,762 Speaker 2: what he described a motley crew of leftovers. 251 00:14:15,562 --> 00:14:18,962 Speaker 1: Five Catholics, two Jews, a Mormon, and a Wasp. It 252 00:14:19,002 --> 00:14:21,282 Speaker 1: sounds like a setup to a bad joke, but that 253 00:14:21,522 --> 00:14:24,602 Speaker 1: was SI's crew. Danny Shapiro was the other Jewish guy 254 00:14:24,602 --> 00:14:27,242 Speaker 1: on the plane, and he and Si became close friends. 255 00:14:27,762 --> 00:14:30,642 Speaker 1: Catholics in those days weren't treated much better than Jews, 256 00:14:30,802 --> 00:14:34,962 Speaker 1: so the leftovers bonded quickly. Frank Sanchez was a radio 257 00:14:35,042 --> 00:14:38,882 Speaker 1: operator from Arizona. Sam Navara, the waistgunner, was an Italian 258 00:14:38,922 --> 00:14:42,642 Speaker 1: American from Chicago. Dale Tyler was a tailgunner from Utah 259 00:14:42,722 --> 00:14:45,962 Speaker 1: from a big Mormon family of thirteen. The only wasp 260 00:14:46,002 --> 00:14:49,202 Speaker 1: on board was Frank Stockton, the other tailgunner who got 261 00:14:49,242 --> 00:14:51,282 Speaker 1: into some trouble with the law in Chicago. 262 00:14:51,882 --> 00:14:53,842 Speaker 2: I judge said to him, you have two choices. You 263 00:14:53,842 --> 00:14:56,562 Speaker 2: can go to jail while you could join the army. 264 00:14:56,762 --> 00:14:59,002 Speaker 1: For SI, it didn't matter that they all came from 265 00:14:59,042 --> 00:15:02,642 Speaker 1: different worlds or that the army considered them second class soldiers. 266 00:15:03,082 --> 00:15:05,802 Speaker 1: SI talked about each member of his crew like they 267 00:15:05,802 --> 00:15:06,442 Speaker 1: were brothers. 268 00:15:07,002 --> 00:15:09,522 Speaker 2: I will tell you that he seemed to time travel 269 00:15:10,242 --> 00:15:13,362 Speaker 2: every time he talked about his crew. He was not 270 00:15:13,562 --> 00:15:16,202 Speaker 2: just a member of the crew. This was his crew. 271 00:15:16,402 --> 00:15:17,322 Speaker 2: He was a pilot. 272 00:15:17,682 --> 00:15:20,722 Speaker 1: When Kevin Fitzpatrick met with Cy, he asked to see 273 00:15:20,722 --> 00:15:22,322 Speaker 1: some of SI's photos from the war. 274 00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:25,842 Speaker 5: He pulled out a group photo that you've probably seen. 275 00:15:26,322 --> 00:15:29,122 Speaker 5: I took a photo that too, of his crew. He 276 00:15:29,202 --> 00:15:33,122 Speaker 5: named every single man. He told me his hometown and 277 00:15:33,202 --> 00:15:36,922 Speaker 5: what position he had on the plane. So these are 278 00:15:36,962 --> 00:15:41,562 Speaker 5: photos taken, you know, eighty years ago, and he's rattling 279 00:15:41,642 --> 00:15:43,082 Speaker 5: off the names of all these guys. 280 00:15:43,602 --> 00:15:45,882 Speaker 6: That was incredible, lucky for us. 281 00:15:46,002 --> 00:15:49,522 Speaker 1: Kevin recorded a snippet of that conversation. Here's Cy. 282 00:15:50,362 --> 00:15:54,402 Speaker 7: This is Frank Finley, who was the other waistgunner who 283 00:15:54,442 --> 00:15:59,362 Speaker 7: didn't fly missions with us as Dale Tyler, the tale gunner. 284 00:15:59,882 --> 00:16:06,002 Speaker 7: It's me my copwhile Bill Hole, Patulski, and Shapiro. The Bambajean. 285 00:16:07,202 --> 00:16:11,002 Speaker 1: And his men flew there B seventeen from Nebraska to Labrador, 286 00:16:11,202 --> 00:16:13,962 Speaker 1: then onto England, which served as home base for their 287 00:16:14,002 --> 00:16:17,202 Speaker 1: bombing missions over Germany. They were part of the US 288 00:16:17,202 --> 00:16:20,362 Speaker 1: eighth Air Force, the Mighty eighth and members of the 289 00:16:20,362 --> 00:16:23,802 Speaker 1: four hundred and ninetieth Bomb Group. SI flew over thirty 290 00:16:23,922 --> 00:16:26,642 Speaker 1: bombing missions over the course of nineteen forty four and 291 00:16:26,802 --> 00:16:32,122 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, pummeling German cities and destroying Nazi munitions factories. 292 00:16:32,882 --> 00:16:36,242 Speaker 1: SI flew all of his missions in broad daylight. His 293 00:16:36,402 --> 00:16:39,442 Speaker 1: B seventeen was one of hundreds of planes flying in 294 00:16:39,642 --> 00:16:44,242 Speaker 1: huge formations through a sky exploding with German anti aircraft fire. 295 00:16:44,562 --> 00:16:47,242 Speaker 1: It was one of the most dangerous and deadly jobs 296 00:16:47,242 --> 00:16:48,082 Speaker 1: in World War Two. 297 00:16:48,482 --> 00:16:51,242 Speaker 5: He was with the eighth Air Force, which got, you know, 298 00:16:51,402 --> 00:16:55,602 Speaker 5: just heavily, heavily involved in the conflict bombing Nazi Germany, 299 00:16:55,922 --> 00:16:57,922 Speaker 5: and for the B seventeen, you know, they had a 300 00:16:57,922 --> 00:17:00,162 Speaker 5: loss rate of like something like thirty seven to forty 301 00:17:00,162 --> 00:17:02,202 Speaker 5: percent the crews themselves. 302 00:17:02,842 --> 00:17:04,722 Speaker 6: Only fifty percent of those guys came home. 303 00:17:04,922 --> 00:17:07,562 Speaker 5: If front to be seventeen, it was one of the 304 00:17:07,642 --> 00:17:09,322 Speaker 5: most dangerous jobs you could have had. 305 00:17:09,402 --> 00:17:10,242 Speaker 6: In World War Two. 306 00:17:10,722 --> 00:17:14,442 Speaker 5: He was in one of the heaviest military campaigns and 307 00:17:14,482 --> 00:17:17,962 Speaker 5: definitely the biggest ever air campaign in history. 308 00:17:18,322 --> 00:17:21,562 Speaker 1: That air campaign, what Kevin calls the biggest in history, 309 00:17:22,002 --> 00:17:25,282 Speaker 1: was the bombing of Berlin in nineteen forty five. On 310 00:17:25,322 --> 00:17:29,002 Speaker 1: a frigid February morning, wearing his heavy flak jacket and 311 00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:32,762 Speaker 1: winter gear, Cy boarded his B seventeen for his thirty 312 00:17:32,922 --> 00:17:35,522 Speaker 1: third mission. It was the mission that he would talk 313 00:17:35,562 --> 00:17:38,122 Speaker 1: about for the rest of his life. Ci and his 314 00:17:38,202 --> 00:17:40,962 Speaker 1: crew took off from England and joined an aerial formation 315 00:17:41,042 --> 00:17:44,602 Speaker 1: of more than fourteen hundred bombers and nine hundred and 316 00:17:44,762 --> 00:17:48,562 Speaker 1: forty fighter planes. Their destination was over five hundred miles 317 00:17:48,602 --> 00:17:52,562 Speaker 1: away Berlin. Early into the flight, size plane had an 318 00:17:52,562 --> 00:17:56,162 Speaker 1: engine malfunction, a common problem on the B seventeen. With 319 00:17:56,242 --> 00:17:58,522 Speaker 1: three of the four engines, they could still make it 320 00:17:58,562 --> 00:18:02,002 Speaker 1: to Berlin and back, but things quickly went from bad 321 00:18:02,082 --> 00:18:04,922 Speaker 1: to worse. On the approach to Berlin, size plane was 322 00:18:05,042 --> 00:18:08,082 Speaker 1: rocked by anti aircraft fires. The second engine was blown 323 00:18:08,122 --> 00:18:08,882 Speaker 1: out by flack. 324 00:18:09,802 --> 00:18:10,642 Speaker 6: So what flack is? 325 00:18:11,002 --> 00:18:14,162 Speaker 5: Those are the projectiles that are being fired from very 326 00:18:14,242 --> 00:18:18,282 Speaker 5: long munitions that are fed into the eighty eight millimeter cannons. 327 00:18:18,282 --> 00:18:20,402 Speaker 6: They're being fired straight up at the sky. 328 00:18:20,562 --> 00:18:23,682 Speaker 5: So when those fragment, they're going to create trapnel and 329 00:18:23,722 --> 00:18:27,042 Speaker 5: they're going to rape through those airframes, which are basically 330 00:18:27,042 --> 00:18:27,802 Speaker 5: like a beer can. 331 00:18:27,962 --> 00:18:30,082 Speaker 6: And it says the flacks, the engines, it's all over 332 00:18:30,122 --> 00:18:30,922 Speaker 6: for the airplanes. 333 00:18:31,482 --> 00:18:34,042 Speaker 1: With just two engines, they'd never get their heavy B 334 00:18:34,162 --> 00:18:36,682 Speaker 1: seventeen all the way back to England. They'd be lucky 335 00:18:36,722 --> 00:18:39,602 Speaker 1: if they didn't crash in German territory, a death sentence 336 00:18:39,642 --> 00:18:42,402 Speaker 1: for a Jewish pilot. SI had to make a split 337 00:18:42,442 --> 00:18:46,322 Speaker 1: second decision. His mind flashed to Poland. He'd heard that 338 00:18:46,402 --> 00:18:50,242 Speaker 1: Russians America's allies had taken Warsaw and were swiftly marching 339 00:18:50,282 --> 00:18:53,682 Speaker 1: toward Germany. If CI could get the badly damaged B 340 00:18:53,762 --> 00:18:57,002 Speaker 1: seventeen over the border into Poland, that might be their 341 00:18:57,042 --> 00:19:01,722 Speaker 1: best option, maybe their only option. CI ordered his navigator 342 00:19:01,802 --> 00:19:05,082 Speaker 1: Ray Potolski, to set a course for Warsaw. Meanwhile, the 343 00:19:05,162 --> 00:19:07,922 Speaker 1: crew had to ditch anything that wasn't bolted down. 344 00:19:08,242 --> 00:19:13,522 Speaker 2: They threw out flack suits, extra ammunition, and anything of weight. 345 00:19:13,762 --> 00:19:16,042 Speaker 2: He was screaming, get rid of it, Get rid of it. 346 00:19:16,362 --> 00:19:19,722 Speaker 1: By some miracle, the crippled plane made it to Warsaw, 347 00:19:20,042 --> 00:19:23,682 Speaker 1: but the city was completely destroyed. There were no airfields 348 00:19:23,722 --> 00:19:27,322 Speaker 1: in sight. A small Russian plane spotted the wounded B 349 00:19:27,442 --> 00:19:32,002 Speaker 1: seventeen and guided the Americans over some forested fields, losing 350 00:19:32,122 --> 00:19:36,002 Speaker 1: altitude by the second, Si saw an opening in the trees, 351 00:19:36,402 --> 00:19:38,962 Speaker 1: and he went in for a white knuckle wheels up 352 00:19:39,082 --> 00:19:42,642 Speaker 1: belly landing. The B seventeen skidded to a stop in 353 00:19:42,682 --> 00:19:46,002 Speaker 1: a muddy field. The bottom of the plane was nearly destroyed, 354 00:19:46,442 --> 00:19:50,122 Speaker 1: but no one was hurt. Size men whose lives he 355 00:19:50,202 --> 00:19:53,282 Speaker 1: cared about more than his own, were safe for now 356 00:19:53,402 --> 00:19:56,442 Speaker 1: at least. The problem was they were now at the 357 00:19:56,482 --> 00:19:59,562 Speaker 1: mercy of the Russians. The Russians were allies, but they 358 00:19:59,562 --> 00:20:03,922 Speaker 1: were busy planning an invasion, not babysitting Americans. At the 359 00:20:04,002 --> 00:20:08,202 Speaker 1: Russian base, Si met another American beasts seventeen pilot who 360 00:20:08,202 --> 00:20:11,522 Speaker 1: had also crash landed in the Berlin raid. His name 361 00:20:11,642 --> 00:20:15,602 Speaker 1: was George Ruckman. Altogether there were twenty Americans in Soviet 362 00:20:15,642 --> 00:20:18,882 Speaker 1: custody in Warsaw, but the Russians were in no rush 363 00:20:19,042 --> 00:20:19,802 Speaker 1: to get them home. 364 00:20:20,082 --> 00:20:22,882 Speaker 2: It wasn't like these were the Germans or the Japanese. 365 00:20:22,882 --> 00:20:24,602 Speaker 2: But they just wanted to get out of there, and 366 00:20:24,642 --> 00:20:27,202 Speaker 2: nobody was letting them get out. I wouldn't call it 367 00:20:27,242 --> 00:20:30,882 Speaker 2: a prisoner of war, but they were trapped. 368 00:20:31,682 --> 00:20:34,882 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, the US Army had little idea that two bomber 369 00:20:34,962 --> 00:20:38,842 Speaker 1: crews had crashed behind German lines in Poland. Even worse, 370 00:20:39,322 --> 00:20:41,682 Speaker 1: size family and the families of the rest of the 371 00:20:41,762 --> 00:20:45,442 Speaker 1: crew all received telegrams from the Army informing them that 372 00:20:45,482 --> 00:20:49,882 Speaker 1: their soldier was listed as missing in action. Weeks went by, 373 00:20:50,202 --> 00:20:54,282 Speaker 1: then a month after. Every time Si asked their Russian 374 00:20:54,282 --> 00:20:56,762 Speaker 1: handlers when they could leave, he get the same answer 375 00:20:57,162 --> 00:20:58,402 Speaker 1: with Moscow says so. 376 00:20:58,962 --> 00:21:02,522 Speaker 2: And it got to the point, after weeks and weeks 377 00:21:02,562 --> 00:21:05,362 Speaker 2: of when Moscow said so, that they had to do 378 00:21:05,402 --> 00:21:06,322 Speaker 2: something themselves. 379 00:21:07,042 --> 00:21:09,642 Speaker 1: Cy and Ruckman hatched a plan. Both of their B 380 00:21:09,802 --> 00:21:14,082 Speaker 1: seventeens were unflable, but between the two planes they had 381 00:21:14,202 --> 00:21:17,562 Speaker 1: four working engines. Their best hope of getting home was 382 00:21:17,602 --> 00:21:21,282 Speaker 1: to Frankenstein together that working parts of each plane and 383 00:21:21,442 --> 00:21:22,362 Speaker 1: make their escape. 384 00:21:22,402 --> 00:21:23,442 Speaker 6: So you got to think about this. 385 00:21:23,482 --> 00:21:27,682 Speaker 5: Anybody does any mechanics, You're rebuilding an airplane engine and 386 00:21:27,802 --> 00:21:31,082 Speaker 5: airplane parts with whatever tools. 387 00:21:30,842 --> 00:21:32,162 Speaker 6: You have around. You're not in a garage. 388 00:21:32,162 --> 00:21:34,642 Speaker 5: You're not in a hangar, You're basically in a potato field, 389 00:21:34,682 --> 00:21:38,082 Speaker 5: doing this all under the watchful guns of the Russians. 390 00:21:38,802 --> 00:21:41,442 Speaker 6: So it's just it's crazier than a movie. 391 00:21:42,042 --> 00:21:47,842 Speaker 1: Bribes were exchanged, American watches, whiskey pistols. Enough Russian soldiers 392 00:21:47,882 --> 00:21:50,442 Speaker 1: agreed to look the other way that the Americans were 393 00:21:50,482 --> 00:21:54,882 Speaker 1: able to secretly piece together a functional B seventeen. CI 394 00:21:55,242 --> 00:21:58,842 Speaker 1: would never forget the look on the Russian officers' faces 395 00:21:59,202 --> 00:22:04,082 Speaker 1: as the Frankenstein B seventeen, loaded with twenty giddy Americans, 396 00:22:04,562 --> 00:22:08,962 Speaker 1: roared down the runway. Asked if the Russians chased after them, 397 00:22:09,162 --> 00:22:12,242 Speaker 1: SI joked, they were probably relieved that they didn't have 398 00:22:12,282 --> 00:22:16,482 Speaker 1: to feed us. On Saint Patrick's Day nineteen forty five, 399 00:22:16,602 --> 00:22:20,962 Speaker 1: six weeks after crash landing in Poland, the two American crews, 400 00:22:21,402 --> 00:22:25,122 Speaker 1: piloted by Cy Spiegel and George Ruckman, landed at an 401 00:22:25,162 --> 00:22:29,442 Speaker 1: American base in Italy. They were greeted as heroes. The 402 00:22:29,482 --> 00:22:32,042 Speaker 1: first thing SI did was send a telegram to his 403 00:22:32,082 --> 00:22:34,042 Speaker 1: anxious family, and I'll. 404 00:22:33,842 --> 00:22:37,562 Speaker 2: Tell you I wrote down what the telegram said, said, 405 00:22:38,082 --> 00:22:39,282 Speaker 2: AM safe and well. 406 00:22:39,682 --> 00:22:43,322 Speaker 1: Letters following SI didn't go home right away, though, he 407 00:22:43,402 --> 00:22:47,002 Speaker 1: had unfinished business. After recuperating in Italy, he flew back 408 00:22:47,042 --> 00:22:50,122 Speaker 1: to England and completed his final missions, because that's what 409 00:22:50,202 --> 00:22:54,642 Speaker 1: heroes do. In August nineteen forty five, CI finally sailed 410 00:22:54,682 --> 00:22:57,642 Speaker 1: home on the SS Queen Elizabeth. Over the course of 411 00:22:57,682 --> 00:23:00,602 Speaker 1: the war, he'd grown from an undersized teenager into a 412 00:23:00,642 --> 00:23:04,122 Speaker 1: battle tested man. The post war period was a time 413 00:23:04,162 --> 00:23:09,122 Speaker 1: of tremendous opportunity for American gi and their families, but sadly, 414 00:23:09,642 --> 00:23:13,202 Speaker 1: Cy was about to find out that those opportunities weren't 415 00:23:13,202 --> 00:23:25,962 Speaker 1: available to everyone. Laurie gwyn Shapiro interviewed CI a number 416 00:23:26,042 --> 00:23:29,442 Speaker 1: of times at his nice apartment overlooking Central Park. There 417 00:23:29,482 --> 00:23:32,722 Speaker 1: was always more to talk about, and Si enjoyed the conversations. 418 00:23:33,162 --> 00:23:35,762 Speaker 1: One day, he brought out a small dusty box to 419 00:23:35,802 --> 00:23:39,322 Speaker 1: show Laurie. Inside were ribbons and medals from the Army 420 00:23:39,322 --> 00:23:42,442 Speaker 1: that he'd received for his war service. Laurie wondered why 421 00:23:42,482 --> 00:23:43,482 Speaker 1: they weren't on display. 422 00:23:43,962 --> 00:23:47,282 Speaker 2: Yeah, so this is something that I talked to him 423 00:23:47,322 --> 00:23:51,362 Speaker 2: at length about the antisemitism that he faced despite a 424 00:23:51,402 --> 00:23:54,642 Speaker 2: being a hero, which was quite shocking to me. And 425 00:23:54,882 --> 00:23:58,282 Speaker 2: he did thirty six missions and he had multiple awards, 426 00:23:58,762 --> 00:24:03,202 Speaker 2: and he wanted me to have the army hear this 427 00:24:03,922 --> 00:24:07,562 Speaker 2: that he felt strongly that many Jewish soldiers for denied 428 00:24:07,562 --> 00:24:11,402 Speaker 2: a promotion and rank because of anti Semitism at that time. 429 00:24:11,842 --> 00:24:15,362 Speaker 1: Historian Kevin Fitzpatrick is a veteran himself, and it's hard 430 00:24:15,402 --> 00:24:17,642 Speaker 1: for him to hear how Si was treated. In the 431 00:24:17,722 --> 00:24:18,602 Speaker 1: nineteen forties. 432 00:24:18,922 --> 00:24:22,722 Speaker 5: Our American military was a reflection of what American society 433 00:24:22,842 --> 00:24:27,242 Speaker 5: was like at the time, so racial discrimination, religious discrimination. 434 00:24:28,162 --> 00:24:31,002 Speaker 5: It wasn't similar to what we have in twenty twenty 435 00:24:31,002 --> 00:24:34,962 Speaker 5: four at all. But I definitely I believe what Sis saying. 436 00:24:35,002 --> 00:24:38,642 Speaker 5: He was denied promotion, who had denied advancements other men 437 00:24:38,722 --> 00:24:41,562 Speaker 5: who had less missions in him and did less than 438 00:24:41,642 --> 00:24:45,802 Speaker 5: he did. We're getting to advance. He certainly should have gotten. 439 00:24:45,482 --> 00:24:49,042 Speaker 6: More valor and bravery awards than he was awarded. 440 00:24:48,922 --> 00:24:52,282 Speaker 1: Like millions of other gis Cy Spiegel was proud of 441 00:24:52,322 --> 00:24:55,082 Speaker 1: his service, but also ready to put the war behind 442 00:24:55,162 --> 00:24:58,562 Speaker 1: him and get on with his life. Remember Frankie Marie Smith, 443 00:24:58,882 --> 00:25:01,882 Speaker 1: SI's young bride in New Mexico. The couple moved to 444 00:25:01,962 --> 00:25:04,482 Speaker 1: Texas and tried to make it work. Si even got 445 00:25:04,522 --> 00:25:07,362 Speaker 1: a job as a radio announcer at a country West 446 00:25:07,842 --> 00:25:11,322 Speaker 1: his DJ name was Muddy Boots. But try as they might, 447 00:25:11,482 --> 00:25:15,002 Speaker 1: the spark just wasn't there anymore. Frankie and Ci split up, 448 00:25:17,842 --> 00:25:21,122 Speaker 1: but Si wasn't disheartened. He heard that airlines were looking 449 00:25:21,162 --> 00:25:23,762 Speaker 1: for pilots. All of his Army Air Corps buddies were 450 00:25:23,762 --> 00:25:26,522 Speaker 1: being hired by the commercial airline industry, which was just 451 00:25:26,602 --> 00:25:29,802 Speaker 1: taking off, so to speak. So Si moved back to 452 00:25:29,842 --> 00:25:32,722 Speaker 1: New York, hoping to finally cash in on his heroic 453 00:25:32,762 --> 00:25:35,762 Speaker 1: war record. He was in for a rude awakening. 454 00:25:36,282 --> 00:25:39,242 Speaker 2: New York City was the center of the aviation world. 455 00:25:39,282 --> 00:25:42,682 Speaker 2: The big buildings like the PanAm Tower come later, but 456 00:25:42,722 --> 00:25:46,482 Speaker 2: you know, like the airlines were all based in midtown Manhattan. 457 00:25:46,842 --> 00:25:50,522 Speaker 2: There were jobs, and there were lots of jobs for 458 00:25:50,642 --> 00:25:52,682 Speaker 2: everyone except him. 459 00:25:52,802 --> 00:25:55,682 Speaker 6: He's a well trained pilot and he can't get a job. 460 00:25:56,082 --> 00:25:58,362 Speaker 5: And other men that he flew with were getting these nice, 461 00:25:58,402 --> 00:26:02,442 Speaker 5: cushy commercial airline jobs in the forties and fifties, and 462 00:26:02,482 --> 00:26:04,562 Speaker 5: he was denied because he was a Jew. 463 00:26:04,962 --> 00:26:08,282 Speaker 1: This was a real low point inside life. The country 464 00:26:08,322 --> 00:26:11,762 Speaker 1: that he'd served so bravely and selflessly was turning its 465 00:26:11,802 --> 00:26:15,522 Speaker 1: back on him. Luckily, Si was still good with his hands, 466 00:26:15,762 --> 00:26:18,242 Speaker 1: so he was able to get jobs as a machinist, 467 00:26:18,562 --> 00:26:21,802 Speaker 1: he joined a union. In nineteen forty nine, Si attended 468 00:26:21,802 --> 00:26:25,322 Speaker 1: a politically progressive summer camp in upstate New York called 469 00:26:25,602 --> 00:26:29,082 Speaker 1: Camp Unity. Think of it like that resort in Dirty Dancing, 470 00:26:29,322 --> 00:26:32,882 Speaker 1: if it was full of Greenwich village types, poets, jazz musicians, 471 00:26:32,922 --> 00:26:37,042 Speaker 1: communist and at least one disgruntled Jewish bomber pilot. It 472 00:26:37,122 --> 00:26:40,082 Speaker 1: was at Camp Unity that Si met a young Japanese 473 00:26:40,162 --> 00:26:45,762 Speaker 1: American woman named Motoko Ikeda. Like Si, Motoko was struggling 474 00:26:45,762 --> 00:26:47,962 Speaker 1: to find her place in postwar America. 475 00:26:48,322 --> 00:26:51,682 Speaker 2: When he met Motoko at Camp Unity, she told him 476 00:26:51,722 --> 00:26:55,082 Speaker 2: that she had a family of six that had been 477 00:26:55,122 --> 00:26:58,762 Speaker 2: forcibly sent from Los Angeles to in a Chairman camp 478 00:26:59,002 --> 00:27:02,482 Speaker 2: in Wyoming. This is someone who had been fighting the 479 00:27:02,562 --> 00:27:06,402 Speaker 2: Germans in the Japanese So think about how extraordinary this 480 00:27:06,962 --> 00:27:11,682 Speaker 2: conversation might have been. At fourteen, she was kept behind 481 00:27:11,802 --> 00:27:17,562 Speaker 2: barbed wire and watched by armed American guards at sentry posts, 482 00:27:17,962 --> 00:27:21,082 Speaker 2: and they were ready to shoot her or her family 483 00:27:21,362 --> 00:27:25,002 Speaker 2: if she escaped. When Motoko left the intermy camps, I 484 00:27:25,122 --> 00:27:27,722 Speaker 2: told me they gave her not a lot of money. 485 00:27:28,322 --> 00:27:30,682 Speaker 2: They have her twenty five dollars and a one way 486 00:27:30,722 --> 00:27:33,602 Speaker 2: ticket and you could choose where the ticket was two 487 00:27:33,842 --> 00:27:36,522 Speaker 2: and she chose New York. She wanted far away from 488 00:27:36,522 --> 00:27:37,602 Speaker 2: the West Coast. 489 00:27:38,282 --> 00:27:41,962 Speaker 1: Motoko and Side bonded instantly. Maybe it was their shared 490 00:27:42,002 --> 00:27:45,322 Speaker 1: war trauma, or their outsider status in their own country. 491 00:27:45,722 --> 00:27:48,762 Speaker 1: Whatever it was, they fell in love, got married, and 492 00:27:48,802 --> 00:27:52,282 Speaker 1: started a beautiful family together. The fact that they came 493 00:27:52,322 --> 00:27:55,962 Speaker 1: from different backgrounds and religions was never an issue. Side 494 00:27:56,122 --> 00:27:59,482 Speaker 1: joked that quote, Buttoko was better at making Jewish food 495 00:27:59,522 --> 00:28:01,922 Speaker 1: than my mother. She could cook in any language. 496 00:28:02,042 --> 00:28:04,882 Speaker 2: Buttko was the love of his life, and he told 497 00:28:04,922 --> 00:28:05,642 Speaker 2: me that often. 498 00:28:06,002 --> 00:28:08,802 Speaker 1: Now that Si had a wife and young family to support, 499 00:28:08,882 --> 00:28:11,562 Speaker 1: he needed to think about his career. Si was working 500 00:28:11,602 --> 00:28:14,042 Speaker 1: as a machinist for a dollar eighty an hour at 501 00:28:14,082 --> 00:28:19,442 Speaker 1: a brush factory. These weren't hair brushes. They were industrial brushes, wiry, 502 00:28:19,642 --> 00:28:23,922 Speaker 1: pointy things for scouring wood or finishing metal. As it happens, 503 00:28:24,402 --> 00:28:26,842 Speaker 1: there was a fad in the late nineteen fifties for 504 00:28:26,882 --> 00:28:31,402 Speaker 1: something called spray brushes, tinsel like metallic brushes that were 505 00:28:31,482 --> 00:28:35,362 Speaker 1: used as holiday decorations in storefront windows like Macy's and 506 00:28:35,442 --> 00:28:39,602 Speaker 1: Sacksmith Avenue. The company Si worked for the American Brush 507 00:28:39,682 --> 00:28:44,322 Speaker 1: Machinery Company fabricated and sold machines that made spray brushes 508 00:28:44,402 --> 00:28:48,482 Speaker 1: for twelve thousand dollars a machine, which was good money. 509 00:28:48,882 --> 00:28:52,482 Speaker 1: But just like that, the spray brush fad died out. 510 00:28:52,562 --> 00:28:55,602 Speaker 1: What was American Brush supposed to do with those expensive, 511 00:28:55,842 --> 00:28:59,322 Speaker 1: useless contraptions. One of the higher ups had the bright 512 00:28:59,402 --> 00:29:03,562 Speaker 1: idea of repurposing the spray brush machines to make artificial 513 00:29:03,682 --> 00:29:07,162 Speaker 1: Christmas trees. It wasn't too much of a stretch. After all, 514 00:29:07,242 --> 00:29:09,442 Speaker 1: a pine tree kind of looks like a bunch of 515 00:29:09,482 --> 00:29:14,122 Speaker 1: green plastic brushes glued together, So that's exactly what they did. 516 00:29:14,442 --> 00:29:16,962 Speaker 1: The initial results were less than inspiring. 517 00:29:17,242 --> 00:29:20,602 Speaker 2: If you look at the artificial Christmas trees from this era, 518 00:29:20,682 --> 00:29:25,322 Speaker 2: they're horrifying. They don't, I mean, they're just really sad. 519 00:29:25,882 --> 00:29:28,882 Speaker 1: American Brush was ready to cut its losses. In fact, 520 00:29:28,962 --> 00:29:32,642 Speaker 1: they sent Si Now, a senior machinist, to shut down 521 00:29:32,682 --> 00:29:37,842 Speaker 1: the whole Christmas tree operation. But where American Brush saw 522 00:29:37,882 --> 00:29:41,242 Speaker 1: a dead end, Si saw an opportunity to change the 523 00:29:41,322 --> 00:29:42,322 Speaker 1: Christmas tree game. 524 00:29:42,722 --> 00:29:47,042 Speaker 2: And he had this idea that he could make them 525 00:29:47,562 --> 00:29:50,962 Speaker 2: look more realistic. You know, the more realistic they were, 526 00:29:51,082 --> 00:29:52,322 Speaker 2: the more people would buy them. 527 00:29:52,882 --> 00:29:56,482 Speaker 1: Cy brought in real trees, Scotch pines and Douglas firs 528 00:29:56,562 --> 00:29:59,882 Speaker 1: to study their branch spacing and pine needle patterns. He 529 00:30:00,042 --> 00:30:04,682 Speaker 1: spent months tweaking the industrial brush machines to new specifications 530 00:30:04,962 --> 00:30:08,322 Speaker 1: and finally convinced his boss is to give Christmas trees 531 00:30:08,442 --> 00:30:11,562 Speaker 1: a second chance. Now it was all up to sigh 532 00:30:12,042 --> 00:30:15,362 Speaker 1: if the artificial Christmas tree sold, SI would be a 533 00:30:15,402 --> 00:30:19,762 Speaker 1: hero if they sunk. So at his career, American Brush 534 00:30:19,962 --> 00:30:23,402 Speaker 1: spun off a new division called American Tree in Wreath, 535 00:30:23,682 --> 00:30:27,082 Speaker 1: and they made Sigh the President. Things got off to 536 00:30:27,362 --> 00:30:31,642 Speaker 1: a rough start. Size new plastic trees looked incredibly realistic, 537 00:30:31,722 --> 00:30:35,362 Speaker 1: but mid century America wasn't interested. If people were going 538 00:30:35,402 --> 00:30:38,242 Speaker 1: to buy a fake tree in the early nineteen sixties, 539 00:30:38,562 --> 00:30:41,842 Speaker 1: they wanted one of those funky space age aluminum ones. 540 00:30:42,322 --> 00:30:45,922 Speaker 1: Size division lost tens of thousands of dollars a year 541 00:30:46,282 --> 00:30:49,122 Speaker 1: as he struggled to find a market for his realistic 542 00:30:49,162 --> 00:30:53,202 Speaker 1: fake trees. The turning point came on December sixth, nineteen 543 00:30:53,322 --> 00:30:56,322 Speaker 1: sixty four, with the premiere of A little Thing called 544 00:30:56,482 --> 00:30:57,922 Speaker 1: a Charlie Brown Christmas. 545 00:30:58,882 --> 00:31:01,722 Speaker 2: The story gets tree a little bit nuts, and I 546 00:31:01,762 --> 00:31:04,882 Speaker 2: think that anyone who's gen X like me or younger 547 00:31:04,962 --> 00:31:08,962 Speaker 2: will know that Charlie Brown Christmas Special. And if you remember, 548 00:31:09,042 --> 00:31:13,122 Speaker 2: if you've seen Charlie Brown Christmas, there's this real appeal 549 00:31:13,202 --> 00:31:16,562 Speaker 2: to come back to the meaning of Christmas. And during 550 00:31:16,602 --> 00:31:21,082 Speaker 2: this period of time, mid century, there were futuristic aluminum 551 00:31:21,122 --> 00:31:25,442 Speaker 2: trees with color wheels were dominating the market. And there's 552 00:31:25,522 --> 00:31:29,482 Speaker 2: a line in the Charlie Brown Special which is get 553 00:31:29,522 --> 00:31:33,122 Speaker 2: the most enormous aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown 554 00:31:33,602 --> 00:31:37,322 Speaker 2: and maybe painted pink, and that's Lucy van Pelt. That's 555 00:31:37,322 --> 00:31:42,322 Speaker 2: what Lucy told Charlie. And he chose a different kind 556 00:31:42,322 --> 00:31:47,002 Speaker 2: of tree. He chose a scraggly tree. And you know, 557 00:31:47,482 --> 00:31:52,962 Speaker 2: Americans tuned in and they took heart. They were like, 558 00:31:53,002 --> 00:31:54,922 Speaker 2: what is Christmas? 559 00:31:55,162 --> 00:31:55,362 Speaker 3: You know? 560 00:31:56,282 --> 00:32:01,402 Speaker 2: Why do we have this like futuristic aluminum tree representing 561 00:32:01,882 --> 00:32:06,722 Speaker 2: what we love? And that's when, if you're following along 562 00:32:06,722 --> 00:32:11,962 Speaker 2: with me here, the aluminum tree business took a nose dive. So, 563 00:32:12,482 --> 00:32:16,282 Speaker 2: of course, is now an opportunity for sy with his 564 00:32:16,442 --> 00:32:18,922 Speaker 2: scheme that he's been trying to push all along, which 565 00:32:18,922 --> 00:32:22,402 Speaker 2: is that artificial Christmas trees should look more like Christmas trees. 566 00:32:23,602 --> 00:32:27,162 Speaker 1: Whether the end of aluminum trees. Can truly be credited 567 00:32:27,162 --> 00:32:30,522 Speaker 1: to Charlie Brown is perhaps debatable, but it's fair to 568 00:32:30,602 --> 00:32:35,522 Speaker 1: say it accelerated a dying trend. Another factor was the 569 00:32:35,642 --> 00:32:39,682 Speaker 1: fake roots of polyvinyl chloride, which allowed trees to look 570 00:32:39,802 --> 00:32:44,722 Speaker 1: like well trees instead of large wire brushes, new technology, 571 00:32:44,922 --> 00:32:48,682 Speaker 1: new trends, kids cartoons. It all combines to make Size 572 00:32:48,762 --> 00:32:53,482 Speaker 1: Christmas Tree Division explode. After the Charlie Brown Christmas special 573 00:32:53,642 --> 00:32:57,522 Speaker 1: sales from Size Christmas Tree Division shot up. American Tree 574 00:32:57,562 --> 00:33:01,962 Speaker 1: and Wreath experienced sixty five percent annual growth. Soon they 575 00:33:02,002 --> 00:33:06,362 Speaker 1: were producing eight hundred thousand artificial trees a year. SI 576 00:33:06,522 --> 00:33:09,882 Speaker 1: and a worker decided to start their own company, Hudson 577 00:33:09,962 --> 00:33:14,042 Speaker 1: Valley Tree. With Size, hard work and expertise, they built 578 00:33:14,042 --> 00:33:18,042 Speaker 1: the business into a Christmas tree juggernaut. By the nineteen eighties, 579 00:33:18,122 --> 00:33:21,362 Speaker 1: SI was being called quote the Henry Ford of artificial 580 00:33:21,402 --> 00:33:22,202 Speaker 1: Christmas trees. 581 00:33:22,762 --> 00:33:25,402 Speaker 2: So this is the person that was not allowed to 582 00:33:25,522 --> 00:33:31,042 Speaker 2: fly for the American Airlines, a Jewish man from Greenwich 583 00:33:31,122 --> 00:33:35,082 Speaker 2: Village who was now the Artificial Christmas tree King of 584 00:33:35,162 --> 00:33:38,082 Speaker 2: the United States. So I just said I wasn't Christian, 585 00:33:38,122 --> 00:33:40,522 Speaker 2: but even I knew that didn't looked like a Christmas tree. 586 00:33:40,642 --> 00:33:43,682 Speaker 2: Think of an artificial Christmas tree today. It's pretty. Sometimes 587 00:33:43,682 --> 00:33:46,082 Speaker 2: you have to double check to see if it's real 588 00:33:46,162 --> 00:33:48,882 Speaker 2: or if it's not real. That's all Size doing. That 589 00:33:49,042 --> 00:33:51,802 Speaker 2: was his vision that he had, that we can make 590 00:33:51,842 --> 00:33:52,882 Speaker 2: these trees better. 591 00:33:53,362 --> 00:33:56,482 Speaker 1: Sai devoted his life to his Christmas tree business, and 592 00:33:56,522 --> 00:34:00,002 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety two he was finally ready to retire. 593 00:34:00,642 --> 00:34:04,522 Speaker 1: Si sold Hudson Valley Tree and walked away a multi millionaire. 594 00:34:05,082 --> 00:34:09,842 Speaker 1: It's the American Dream Christmas edition. Ci and Motoko were 595 00:34:09,882 --> 00:34:13,562 Speaker 1: married for fifty wonderful years, but Toko passed away on 596 00:34:13,682 --> 00:34:17,602 Speaker 1: Valentine's Day two thousand, suddenly alone in his big house 597 00:34:17,642 --> 00:34:21,002 Speaker 1: that Christmas trees built. Ci started thinking more about his 598 00:34:21,082 --> 00:34:23,962 Speaker 1: time as a bomber pilot in World War Two. He 599 00:34:24,042 --> 00:34:27,522 Speaker 1: began attending reunions of the four hundred and ninetieth Bomb 600 00:34:27,522 --> 00:34:32,082 Speaker 1: Group Historical Association and found great comfort and camaraderie among 601 00:34:32,162 --> 00:34:35,842 Speaker 1: his fellow veterans. By this point, Size Jewishness no longer 602 00:34:35,922 --> 00:34:39,562 Speaker 1: made him an outsider. He was embraced as an equal. 603 00:34:40,042 --> 00:34:44,642 Speaker 6: And so for decades he went to the reunions, and 604 00:34:44,682 --> 00:34:47,002 Speaker 6: so he knew all these men from the Eighth Air 605 00:34:47,082 --> 00:34:50,322 Speaker 6: Force for years and years, and their spouses and then 606 00:34:50,322 --> 00:34:53,642 Speaker 6: their children, but then slowly they all started, you know, 607 00:34:53,722 --> 00:34:56,242 Speaker 6: passing away, and so he's like the last of the last. 608 00:34:57,042 --> 00:34:59,282 Speaker 2: For him. He was very happy that he was able 609 00:34:59,322 --> 00:35:02,442 Speaker 2: to provide for his family. That was certainly not something 610 00:35:02,442 --> 00:35:05,402 Speaker 2: that he took lightly, but he said that it was 611 00:35:05,482 --> 00:35:09,722 Speaker 2: unequivocal in his mind that the most important part of 612 00:35:09,762 --> 00:35:16,802 Speaker 2: his life was serving the American people fighting fascism, fighting Hitler. 613 00:35:17,322 --> 00:35:20,082 Speaker 2: And I think also the fact that he was the 614 00:35:20,202 --> 00:35:23,642 Speaker 2: last one standing and that he was the person that 615 00:35:23,762 --> 00:35:26,402 Speaker 2: had to tell the story with. 616 00:35:26,482 --> 00:35:30,722 Speaker 1: Laurie Shapiro, bodinskied her way into size conversation that day 617 00:35:30,762 --> 00:35:33,242 Speaker 1: in Central Park. She didn't know she was about to 618 00:35:33,282 --> 00:35:35,882 Speaker 1: meet one of the last living World War two bomber 619 00:35:35,962 --> 00:35:40,202 Speaker 1: pilots or the artificial Christmas Tree King of America, and 620 00:35:40,242 --> 00:35:43,162 Speaker 1: she certainly didn't expect to be making a friend. 621 00:35:45,202 --> 00:35:48,882 Speaker 2: I think what listeners will probably know is that Si 622 00:35:49,042 --> 00:35:51,562 Speaker 2: is no longer with us. I mean, that's part of 623 00:35:51,602 --> 00:35:55,042 Speaker 2: the story too, that you know he passed away. I 624 00:35:55,082 --> 00:35:58,282 Speaker 2: will say that I was able to see him about 625 00:35:58,322 --> 00:36:01,162 Speaker 2: a week or two before he passed away. He was 626 00:36:01,242 --> 00:36:04,442 Speaker 2: very thin, he was not going to the gym. He 627 00:36:04,522 --> 00:36:07,962 Speaker 2: had some health issues that he didn't have before, and 628 00:36:08,082 --> 00:36:11,642 Speaker 2: he was still clear of mind, and he just said 629 00:36:12,322 --> 00:36:15,082 Speaker 2: thank you, and I said thank you, and it was 630 00:36:15,362 --> 00:36:18,122 Speaker 2: a genuine friendship. And I think that that's something that 631 00:36:18,202 --> 00:36:21,522 Speaker 2: is also what I hope listeners can take away with 632 00:36:21,722 --> 00:36:25,602 Speaker 2: is that don't look at older people as invisible. Look 633 00:36:25,642 --> 00:36:28,002 Speaker 2: at them even if they weren't in World War Two, 634 00:36:28,522 --> 00:36:31,242 Speaker 2: as long as they're living and of a certain age, 635 00:36:31,242 --> 00:36:34,282 Speaker 2: they are history. Sit down and talk to people. 636 00:36:34,922 --> 00:36:37,402 Speaker 1: Twenty twenty four will be the first time in almost 637 00:36:37,402 --> 00:36:40,282 Speaker 1: twenty years that Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah 638 00:36:40,442 --> 00:36:43,282 Speaker 1: fall on the same day. It feels like an appropriate 639 00:36:43,362 --> 00:36:47,122 Speaker 1: time to salute the Jewish bomber pilot who changed the 640 00:36:47,162 --> 00:36:51,202 Speaker 1: way people celebrate Christmas. This one's for you, SI. 641 00:36:57,562 --> 00:37:00,322 Speaker 4: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 642 00:37:00,962 --> 00:37:04,162 Speaker 4: This show is hosted by Danish Schwartz, Sarren Burnett, and 643 00:37:04,282 --> 00:37:08,882 Speaker 4: Jason English. Today's episode was written by Dave Rouse. Our 644 00:37:08,922 --> 00:37:13,282 Speaker 4: producer is Josh Fisher. Editing and sam designed by Jonathan 645 00:37:13,442 --> 00:37:17,962 Speaker 4: Washington and Josh Fisher. Fixing and mastering by Beheth Frasier. 646 00:37:18,842 --> 00:37:23,402 Speaker 4: Original music by Elise McCoy. Research impact checking by Dave 647 00:37:23,482 --> 00:37:28,642 Speaker 4: rus and Austin Thompson. Show logo by Lucy Quintanilla. Our 648 00:37:28,682 --> 00:37:32,242 Speaker 4: executive producer is Jason English. If you're looking to do 649 00:37:32,282 --> 00:37:35,282 Speaker 4: something nice for us this holiday season, Blenny, head over 650 00:37:35,322 --> 00:37:38,482 Speaker 4: to Apple or Spotify, give us a nice rating, click 651 00:37:38,522 --> 00:37:41,282 Speaker 4: those stars. You can always reach us at Very Special 652 00:37:41,322 --> 00:37:44,842 Speaker 4: Episodes at gmail dot com. We've got two more episodes 653 00:37:44,882 --> 00:37:48,242 Speaker 4: coming this month, including a special Monday episode to get 654 00:37:48,242 --> 00:37:50,962 Speaker 4: ahead of the Christmas on Wednesday. We'll see you back 655 00:37:51,002 --> 00:37:54,322 Speaker 4: here on Monday. Very Special Episodes is a production of 656 00:37:54,362 --> 00:37:55,522 Speaker 4: iHeart Podcasts.