I remember well when at a Memorial Day Observance in New Rochelle made a speech with words to the effect that he was grateful that the US Army had liberated his family. This was about seven or eight years ago, just after Noam became Mayor of New Rochelle.
Rod O’Shea, a former adjutant of American Legion Post 8, was the Military Affairs Editor for the Westchester Legionnaire at the time. O’Shea published Noam’s words in the Westchester Legionnaire, and later the Post 8 Sentinel.
After the article was first published, Bramson called O’Shea to say he had misspoken about his family’s involvement with Hitler’s Death Camps.
I have been unable to find a copy of either print version but I did reach out to the author who this week provided the following statement.
Rod O’Shea:
At a Memorial Day celebration eight or nine years ago, Noam Bramson was the guest speaker. He had just entered the Mayor’s office. All the Vets from the New Rochelle American Legion Post, the High School band and residents gathered and listened to his speech.
I broke into tears as he told us how his grandfather was stunned by the GI’s coming across the ocean to free the Jews from Hitler’s Camps.
His Grandfather found it so incredible that American soldiers from a nation across the world would come into a fight not theirs to free him and his wife.
I wept hearing the Mayor tell this story.
I was an editor and writer for The Legionnaire our Westchester County Monthly Newspaper. I called his office during that week and I asked for a copy of the speech to print it in The Legionnaire’s next issue. He told me he was sorry to confess to me that what he said was not true. He said to me he was sorry he exaggerated the story.
His grandparents had escaped from Germany before the war in the 1930s. They weren’t freed at all from any camps, he told me. They had escaped through Russia through Mongolia and Japan to California and on the New York. They were in USA when the GI’s freed the camps.
He said to me “forgive me, Rod for getting carried away in my speech”.
He grabbed our hearts with his speech and it turned out not to be true. He became just another politician who would say anything to advance his needs for future votes.
