Rabbi Ari's Papa
Ari Moffic’s Grandpa, Seymour Matuson
1. During basic training, a fellow soldier said some anti-Semitic things and they got into a fight - Papa wound up in the stockade.
2. Papa was going to be sent behind enemy lines. The night before he was going to leave, his assignment got changed for him to go to Trinidad. Grandma and Papa guessed it might be because his father, Morris, might have been identified as a communist. Papa never knew for sure why his assignment got changed at the very last minute.
3. Papa was very proud that he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
4. Papa’s unit had the responsibility to restock our submarines. He was riding in a jeep on his way to a submarine when the jeep overturned. Papa had over one hundred stitches across his forehead. He spent time in the base hospital.
5. During the WWII, Papa took many photos of his life in Trinidad. He bought jewelry for my Grandma, Ruth Rosen Matuson. He also had a pet dog named Duffy. This was the first Duffy in our family. Papa wanted to take Duffy with him at the end of the war, but he was not allowed to do this.
6. At the end of the war, all of Papa’s unit received their discharge papers, but not Papa! It turned out that the Unit secretary was sitting on some files so she could better reach the typewriter. One of the files held Papa’s discharge papers! 7. Papa was a proud member of the Jewish War Veterans. He raised funds to purchase wheelchairs for veterans with mobility issues.
