Don Greenbaum was born in Philadelphia and was one of three children. His father was a leather manufacturer in the Wynnefield neighborhood. In 1943, Don graduated from a military school in Georgia and joined the American Army. He was 18 years old. He served as a Forward Observer for the 283rd Field Artillery Battalion. On November 9th, 1944 he was wounded in Aachen, Germany and was awarded the Purple Heart. After he was released from the army hospital, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945. On April 29th, 1945, Don and other troops from the Third Army were on their way to seize a Germany army supply depot but stumbled across the Dachau concentration camp. They were not prepared for what they witnessed.
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