Waffen-SS Mountain Troop patch acquired by a US soldier

Henry Morgenthau III was born on January 11, 1917, to Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and Elinor Fatman Morgenthau. He had a younger brother Robert, born in 1919, and a younger sister Joan, born in 1922. The family lived in Hyde Park, NY. His father (1986-1967) was US Secretary of the Treasury during the Roosevelt administration, 1932 - July 1945. After graduating from Princeton University in 1939, Henry worked for two years on public housing issues in Cleveland, Ohio. The United States declared war on Germany and Japan in December 1941. Morgenthau joined the United States Army. In 1943, he graduated from the 24th Cavalry Officer candidate school as a 2nd Lieutenant. Lt. Morgenthau deployed to the European Theater. At some point, he transferred to the Second Cavalry. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. The war ended in May 1945. After his return to the US, Morgenthau resumed his work on public housing issues. He became involved in theater, working with the New Dramatists, and with public radio and television. In 1962, he married Ruth Schachter, who had fled Austria at age nine with her family in 1940. The couple had three children. They settled in Cambridge, MA, and were involved in many philanthropic endeavors. Henry spent most of his career with public television broadcaster WGBH. Ruth, who held a PhD in African politics, was a professor at Brandeis University. Ruth, 75, passed away in 2006.

The patch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Henry Morgenthau III.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Henry Morgenthau III