Herbert Sobel was a World War II officer who served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Before his death, he was a lieutenant colonel and was well decorated with several medals, including the World War II Victory Medal, among others.
Sobel’s time in the military was recreated by a miniseries titled Band of Brothers. However, one of his sons, Michael Sobel, ridiculed the series, saying the expression of his father’s actions and service to the country was not entirely true.
Herbert Sobel Biography
Herbert Sobel was born on January 22, 1912. He was born into the Jewish family of Max H. Sobel and Dora Friedman. His parents’ occupations are not known and Herbert had two siblings, named Julian and Ruth, as well as a brother named Maxine. He was born in Illinois and raised there as well. When he was a young boy, one of his favorite times was swimming – he loved to swim. He attended Culver Military Academy for his high school education and later earned a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois.
He worked briefly as a salesman in a clothing company before enlisting in the army on March 7, 1941. While in the army, he volunteered to join the paratroopers at the start of World War II. Admitted as a second lieutenant, he soon rose to the rank of first lieutenant, then captain. His rise is due to his ability to intensively train young soldiers under Easy Company, where he supervises and trains other soldiers in basic combat skills. These trainings took place at Camp Toccoa in Georgia.
Prior to working in Georgia, he served in the National Guard, Military Police, and the 101st Airborne Division. After his work in Georgia, he traveled to the United Kingdom to continue his military training before the invasion of Normandy. At that time he was reassigned to Chilton Foliat Jumping School.
Herbert was involved in the Normandy invasion combat as a member of the regimental headquarters company. However, before leaving the army after the war, he was reassigned to the position of regimental officer S-4 (logistics) on March 8, 1945.
When the war ended, Herbert Sobel returned to America in 1946, having been honorably discharged and entered the corporate sector as an accountant. But the military service was not yet finished, he enlisted again, but this time in the Korean War. He finally retired in 1953 after achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel and working in the Army National Guard.
life after retirement
He married Reeva Sobel after retirement and had three sons – Herbert Jr., Michael and Rick Sobel. He also had a daughter who died in infancy, a few days after her birth. Sobel got a job with AC McClurg & Co. in Chicago as a credit officer, then with Mathias Klein Company. He was a very dedicated worker, always punctual, well dressed and never missing a day of work. When he was married, he led a life of luxury and owned a metropolitan cylinder car – a luxury car of its day.
However, in the 1960s, his life took a turn for the worse when his wife divorced him and his family moved away from him. He grew up alone and sought to take his life. He attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head. However, this attempt failed as it could only blind him, as the bullet, which passed behind his eyes and on the other side of his head, damaged his optic nerves.
Unfortunately, Herbert spent his last 17 years in an institution that cared for American veterans in Waukegan, Illinois. He died on September 30, 1987 from malnutrition, due to the poor condition of the premises. No service was held for him and no family members attended his funeral. His life in the military was later recreated by HBO in the Band of Brothers television series. His character was played by American actor, David Schwimmer.
5 facts about Herbert Sobel
1. Herbert Sobel was despised and hated by the young soldiers who worked with him and were trained by him. The soldiers under his command complained of his petty, vindictive and inflexible character.
2. As a military man, he had a lot of shortcomings that led to the death of a couple of soldiers. He had a penchant for poor military decisions and did not listen to the advice of others. He was also bad at reading maps, however, he was a strategist who helped get his troops into shape.
3. His wife, Reeva, was a nurse who worked at HinesVA Hospital in Chicago. She was also American and was born in 1921. According to some sources, he loved Reeva and gave her a lot of attention. With Reeva, Herbert had three sons – Michael, Herbert Jr. and Rick.
4. Although he likes to live in luxury, he has never spent huge expenses on his children’s education. He would have saved a lot for the education of his children.
5. Herbert Sobel earned the combat infantry badge. He also received a Bronze Star Medal, Euro-African-Middle Eastern Campaign, Paratrooper Badge, and the World War II Victory Medal.
