According to the family tale, my grandfather’s father Bernard Salzberg was kicked out of his home in Lvov (located in Poland at the time) in 1910 when he was sixteen for organizing his father’s workers against him. He went to America in search of a better life. In 1918, a newspaper wrote an obituary for Bernard after he was reported as killed in action in World War I. According to the obituary, “Salzberg could have avoided service, but instead … took out his first citizen papers before joining the American fighting forces in September 1917.” Thankfully, the obituary was wrong: Bernard was severely injured by poison gas, but he didn't die. He returned home from the war, married, and raised my grandfather. The obituary provided me with a meaningful link to my past that I am proud of. As a young immigrant, my great-grandfather fought valiantly for his new country when he didn’t have to, and almost died. My family’s immigrant roots quickly produced professors, doctors, and lawyers only a generation later. I hold great admiration for Bernard’s bravery and ability to take on a new life in a foreign land.

– Caleb Smith-Salzberg

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