Story Summary:
Alex Spieler was born in Brooklyn, the son of a mother from Austria and a Russian father. He was a shoe salesman when he registered for the Army. He became an artillery expert and was stationed at Fort Sill, where his only son Robert was born. At thirty, he was sent to the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded by shrapnel and sent back to the field. He was killed on January 20, 1945, and received the Purple Heart. His body came home in 1948. Robert was raised by his grandparents. He later joined the ROTC at Hofstra in honor of his father. Alex Spieler rests at Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Alex Spieler, was born in Brooklyn. His mother was from Austria and his father was Russian Slavic. He worked as a shoe salesman and registered for Army. He was an artillery expert. He was station at Fort Sill and his only son Robert was born there and when Robert was 2 1⁄2 years old he was sent to a Fort in California. He went from California and sent to the Battle of the Bulge at age 30. Since he was artillery and a private, he was most likely on the front line of the battle in the 3rd Army during the battle. He was wounded with a shrapnel November 12, 1948 and sent back to the field. He was killed on January 20, 1945. His body was repatriated and his burial was September 7, 1948. He was a Purple Heart recipient. He is located on Block 57, Referenced 9, Line 7, Grave 16, on the grounds of the Minnie Friedman Frauen society.
His son, Robert was an only child raised by his grandparents. He was raised with them until age 14 and then went to live with his mother and her new husband. He went to Hofstra University on a scholarship and studied Chemistry. While at Hofstra he joined the ROTC, in honor of his father’s legacy. He registered for Vietnam even though he did not have to since he was an only child. He trained at Fort Dix. He joined the Edgewood Arsenal and did research in the field of chemistry .
