WWII Memoir: Michael Halebian, War Veteran Turned Business Magnate
Written by Michael Halebian Sr.
Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Allan J. Cronin/ CC BY 3.0
Making Norden Bombsights
I graduated from the High School of Commerce in New York City in January 1942, just as World War Two was starting for America. I was interested in making money after graduation, so I enrolled at the Delahanty Institute to get training for a job in a machine shop. The course was six weeks long and prepared me for my first real job as an adult. I was 18 years old. I was placed at the Norden Company, which was the manufacturer of a bombsight used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War Two. The company was located on Canal and Varick Streets in lower Manhattan. The bombsight was used to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately and greatly increased the precision bombing in any given area.
Once the bombsight was readied and the aircraft was on its final approach, the system turned on and took control of the aircraft's autopilot. From that point on, the bombsight really flew the aircraft, attempting to keep it on the chosen path and correcting for any last-minute adjustments provided by the bombardier. At the proper moment it automatically dropped the bombs. The aircraft speed was over 350 feet per second (110 m/s), so even smaller interruptions in timing could dramatically affect the aim. Its operation was one of the closely guarded secrets of WW2. Pilots had to take an oath that they would destroy the sight in case of capture or any risk to maintaining secrecy.
I was employed to work on an engine lathe, to make an important part for the sight. The pay for working at Norden was $1.00 per hour, 7:00AM - 6:00PM, with one hour for lunch. I worked 10 hours a day, 60 hours a week but 20 of those hours were overtime at $1.50 per hour. My total pay for a week's work was $70. In 1942. $70 per week was a fortune. Most married men with a family were earning $70 a week or less. My job was extremely well paying and contributed to the war effort. But I felt I needed to do more for America.
Source: Dennis Richards and Hilary St. George Saunders: Royal Air Force 1939–1945. Public Domain.
Enlisting In The Army
Louis Stadler, who was a German by birth, was my foreman at Norden. He took a liking to me and told me he could keep me at my job for the whole war. After a year at the company, I told my foreman that I wanted to leave to join the army. Stadler told me that he had been a Captain in the German army in World War One and that I would be sorry if I enlisted. He begged me to stay at Norden for my own good but I felt it was my patriotic duty to serve in the army and so I volunteered.
I told my mother that I enlisted, but never told my father. I needed to go to war for America. On Christmas night 1943, at the age of 19, I was in basic training, stationed in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. I was on duty guarding an empty warehouse. I was cold, scared, and lonely and I started to cry. I had done it to myself. - there was no turning back.
After basic training, I was shipped to England in a convoy. A convoy is a group of vehicles of any type, but usually motor vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support and protection, often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support. During WW2, German submarines attacked ships coming across the Atlantic which would deliver supplies to the Allies. The trip took 16 days since we moved in a zig-zag pattern to dodge the German submarines. My convoy arrived in Liverpool, England around March 15, 1944
Liverpool served as a vital port during World War Two, never closing despite being the target of repeated bombing raids. While stationed in England, waiting to be deployed Europe for combat, I received a telegram that my father had died. I was devastated by the news which I received just before my shift for KP duty!
Photo by The Empire City Wire
Death In The Family
KP duty stands for "kitchen police" or "kitchen patrol'. It was work that was assigned U.S, enlisted military personnel to do under the kitchen staff. After hearing of my father's death I did not show up for duty. I was so distressed! Our first sergeant sent for me and asked why I did not report for duty. I showed the telegram about my father. He stated that there was a war going on and that it was no excuse. Then started swearing at me. I felt my anger well up in me.
The sergeant, who was from the south, had been in the army for 20 years. Maybe he didn't like boys from the North. He was sitting at his desk swearing at me as I stood in front of him. My fury rose and I kicked the desk which knocked him over and he fell backwards to the floor. Then, I punched him in the face and split his lip. He grabbed me and ordered me back to my tent, saying he was going to get me. I answered that if he fooled around with me again, I would bayonet him.
The Captain of our Unit came in to investigate the noise and he listened to us recount the events. The Captain told the sergeant to go and then he grabbed me. He warned me to never make threats again and told me that if something happened to the sergeant I would be in deep trouble.
Then on June 6, 1944 planes by the thousands bombed Omaha Beach, it was “D-Day". This beach is now known as “Bloody Omaha" because of the 2,200 casualties suffered by the American troops who landed there on "D-Day". The Allied invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the end of World War Two and the eventual liberation of Europe.
Landing ships putting cargo ashore on Omaha Beach at low tide during the early days of the Allied invasion, mid-June 1944. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain.
On July 7, 1944 I was shipped to Southampton, another major seaport in Egland, to join the fighting forces on Omaha Beach. While I was there, the Provost Marshall showed up. The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the Military Police He informed me that I was charged with the following:
Failure to carry out KP Duty
Striking a non-commissioned officer (an enlisted member of an armed force who has been given authority by a commissioned officer)
Injury to a non-commissioned officer
The Provost Marshal ordered me to give him my gun and money and told me that I was going to the guard house, a military facility that serves as the headquarters for the military police and in which military prisoners can be detained.
I was to be on trial for the charges the sergeant had filed against me. An army buddy went to the Chaplain and told him what had happened. Upon hearing the full story, the Chaplain went to the Colonel in charge to assist on my behalf. The Colonel sent for me and asked me to give details of the incident for which I was now on trial. The sergeant was also present.
I recounted the events, starting from when I received a telegram that my father had died. I told him that I had showed the sergeant the telegram revealing the extreme distress over the loss of my father, who was very close to me. I disclosed that the sergeant, had said the following: “There's a war going on my father is dead too, so what?" He then swore at me and I punched him in the face!
After hearing my account the Colonel asked the sergeant if he was capable of any compassion. He informed the sergeant that if he proceeded and signed the complaint, there would be a court martial. These military courts can determine punishments for members of the military subject to military law who are found guilty. However, he also warned the sergeant that the minute he signed the compliant, the sergeant would lose his rank and return to being a private. The sergeant cancelled the charges! l was then released and posted at a replacement depot.
In late 1944, a severe problem in the U.S. Army in general was the manpower shortage. Infantry divisions saw 100 percent losses in rifle strength in the two months following D-Day. The lack of Infantry replacements soon approached near disastrous proportions. Soldiers were trained for combat at replacement depots and shipped to a Theater of war to replace the dead or injured soldiers. If 20 soldiers were killed the replacement depot was called on for 20 men to fill the ranks.
American soldiers of the 289th Infantry Regiment march along the snow-covered road on their way to cut off the Saint Vith-Houffalize road in Belgium. Source: U.S. National Archives And Records Administration.
Combat In Europe
I was assigned to the Fifth Infantry Division, a Combat Engineer unit which was much worse than the regular infantry. The Combat Engineer's tasks involve facilitating movement and support of friendly forces while impeding that of the enemy. Usually, a combat engineer is also trained as an infantry rifleman. I belonged to the infantry division called the "Red Diamond", which was an identifying army patch of a red diamond, sewn onto our uniforms.
My division got as far as the Rhine River in Germany. Then the Battle of the Bulge started the week before Christmas on December 16, 1944. The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 - 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War Two. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and to destroy their ability to supply themselves. He ordered a massive attack against what were primarily American forces.
I fought from a foxhole exposed to the cold, snow and sleet 24 hours a day for a week at a time. Soldiers dug in below ground level, they were protected against anything except a direct hit on their small hole in the ground. Cans of franks, and beans were distributed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then troops were moved to the north where they were needed. We traveled in trucks and even ambulances (which is an illegal means of transport in war).
I developed a bad case of “Trench Foot” from the weeks I spent in the cold and wet conditions on the battlefield. "Trench Foot" is a Medical condition, caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions. My feet were swollen, with open sores and my big toes developed gangrene which can require amputation I was flown back to England for medical attention and experienced my first airplane ride. At the hospital in England I could hear the doctors talking about amputating the big toes on my feet. It was decided that they would try penicillin first. I received injections of penicillin every 3 hours and after 3 months of treatment I was healed.
You will not believe it, but I am standing in front of a hotel in Metz, France. Note the wool knitted gloves, rubber Gl boots and light jacket. This was all we had to wear in sub-freezing weather during the "Battle of the Bulge!" Photo by Empire City Wire
While in the hospital, the Red Cross would bring us a pack of cigarettes or a cigar at no charge. I never smoked before, but I tried a cigarette and started to cough. The next time I tried a cigar. This started my life-long habit of cigar smoking. The war in Europe was over in May of 1945, just as I became well enough to return to duty. To this day I still believe that the “Trench Foot" saved my life.
I was to be discharged from the army and scheduled to return home. But a sudden appendicitis attack delayed my return home. Under orders from the Captain, (and against my bad judgment), I had life-saving surgery before finally returning home. After recovering in the hospital, I was discharged from the Army and sailed back home.
My father, now gone, had been in the provisions business. He had lost most of his money before the war in Real Estate and Stock Market investments. I returned home at the age of 20, knowing I was responsible to support my mother and two sisters, but I was jobless. My uncle, Sarkis Halebian, was ready to retire. He offered me his business for the cost of the inventory which was $18,000 which adjusted for inflation is about $300k in 2020. I told my uncle that I had no money and he told me to take over the business and to pay him back using the profits.
It took me 5 years to pay the debt to my uncle, after that, the business was mine. There were many young men that came back from the war after 1945, trying to start a new life. This eagerness rebuilt our country!
In my business I had one employee. A girl who answered the phone and did the accounting. My jobs included that Ibe a salesman, a delivery boy, a purchasing agent, the manager, a problem solver and also the floor sweeper! We had 750 square feet of loft space at 245 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The business grew from my uncle’s original Oriental rug business to accessories and flooring.
Photo by Empire City Wire
Key Takeaways
So, a poor soldier, who returned from the war in 1945 with determination and effort moved his post-war business to New Jersey in '1970 and built a warehouse of 27,000 square feet and took in a tenant to help with costs. By 1980, I got rid of the tenant, took over the whole warehouse and added two more warehouses. I now have 44 employees!
Michael Halebian Sr. Passed away in 2014. A visionary in his own right, his legacy and entrepreneurial spirit continue to thrive through the capable hands of his son, Michael Halebian Jr. Inheriting the reins of the business, Michael Halebian Jr. carries forward the rich heritage and values instilled by his father. Under his leadership, the business has continued to evolve, adapting to the changing times while preserving the core principles that have defined its success.
In honoring Michael Halebian Sr.'s legacy, we not only pay tribute to a distinguished entrepreneur but also celebrate the enduring impact of a life dedicated to pushing boundaries, fostering innovation, and leaving an indelible mark on the business landscape. His legacy serves as a guiding light for future generations, inspiring them to approach business not merely as a commercial venture but as a means to create a lasting and positive impact on the world around them.
