WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 25, 2018 25
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Then he thought of the hammer.
Rushing to the supply closet, he
seized the 12-inch claw hammer and
began pounding frantically on the
south wall. The plaster fell away, and
soon he had smashed a hole the size of
his fi st.
As he was pounding, the fi re came
closer and closer, and he was choked
by the smoke. The girl was screaming
for help and as he smashed his way out,
he attempted to quiet her.
Finally, he smashed a hole big
enough to escape through and pulled
the girl aft er him with Palmer following.
They made their way to a fi re stairway
in the middle of the building and came
out on the 66th fl oor, where the elevators
were running.
A veteran of World War I, Norden
was overseas 18 months and was
awarded the Purple Heart for wounds
he received at St. Mihiel. When he was
discharged aft er 28 months of service,
he held the rank of corporal.
He and his wife and son, Dale, 12,
have lived in Middle Village for four
years.
Norden’s remarkable tale was not
the only story of heroism on the front
page of the Ridgewood Times on Aug.
3, 1945. The paper published a list of
local medal recipients for their service
during World War II.
The honorees included Private First
Class William R. Machol of Ridgewood,
a scout and observer with the 35th
Infantry Division, who earned the
Bronze Star for his participation in
the campaigns at Normandy, Northern
France, Rhineland, Ardennes and
Central Europe.
Private First Class Howard Teichmann
of Irving Avenue in Bushwick
also earned the Bronze Star for clearing
an enemy-held bridge in France, allowing
for Allied troops and vehicles
to advance.
One other Bronze Star recipient
we’ll note is Technical Sergeant Albert
F. Thielmann of Glendale, who earned
the medal for meritorious service in
support of combat operations in the
Apennine Mountains and Po Valley,
Italy.
As noted in the citation mentioned
in the article, Thielmann worked
“under conditions of extreme cold and
dampness” to eff ect “the prompt and
effi cient handling of administrative
matters pertaining to a unit in constant
contact with the enemy” aft er
two superior offi cers wound up being
hospitalized.
Additional sources: History.com and
Time magazine.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or old
photographs of “Our Neighborhood: The
Way It Was” that you would like to share
with our readers, please write to the Old
Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell
Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, or send an
email to editorial@ridgewood-times.
com. Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you upon
request.
The gash left by the plane that crashed into the Empire State Building
(photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The wreckage of the Empire State Building plane crash in 1945. (photo via Wikimedia Commons)