Navigating the course

By David Fanshel

Subjects: Biography, World War, 1939-1945, Aerial Military operations, American, American Aerial operations, Anecdotes, History, Jews, Jewish men

Description: "David Fanshel was born in New York City in 1923, the third child of Russian Jewish parents. As a teenager in the midst of the Depression, David watched his father struggle to support the family as a fruit wholesaler. When tragedy struck in 1936, the network of extended relatives saved the family from disaster, but could not spare them from the stresses of their circumstances, which had significant ramifications for the younger generation. A freshman at the City College of New York when war was declared in December 1941, David enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and served three years active duty from 1943 until 1945. He was commissioned as a navigator and flew 39 missions with the 15th Air Force 450th Bomb Group, 722nd Squadron, in Manduria, Italy ... The only Jewish member in an air crew of ten men, the shared experiences in meeting the demands of combat had a transforming influence upon him and helped overcome a xenophobic view of "goyim" brought on by his immigrant framily from oppressive experiences in pogrom-ridden czarist Russia. After the war, David Fanshel received his Masters Degree from the New York School of Social Work and a Doctorate at the Columbia University School of Social Work. His research career began as an associate in 1952 at Cornell University Medical College. In 1961 he joined the faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work and was a professor there until his retirement in 1993. In 1987, he was awarded a Secretary s Commemorative Award from the Department of Health and Human Services in the administration of President Ronald Reagan for his many research studies of vulnerable children."--Page 4 of cover.