Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II – A Candid Account of a Jewish Teenage Soldier's Survival

by Fred Rochlin

Conceived in a storytelling workshop given by Spalding Gray, Old Man In a Baseball Cap is not your typical story of World War II. Rochlin recounts in gritty detail how he--an ordinary young man--was thrust into outrageous circumstances during an extraordinary time. Whether he's bumping up against the army's bigotry because he's Jewish, aiding in the delivery of a baby by cesarean section, being ordered to obliterate a Hungarian village, or parachuting from his plane in the middle of Yugoslavia and then walking 400 kilometers to safety with an amorous guide, Rochlin captures the Intensely powerful experience of a teenager away from home for the first time. Old Man In a Baseball Cap is an astonishingly fresh, candid look at "the last good war." At once naive, candid, and wise, Fred Rochlin's voice is unforgettable.

Genres: History, Memoir, World War II

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[John Daily]

An assortment of WWII stories from one man's admittedly unreliable memory. The most interesting by far is the titular tale: a ready-for-the-silver-screen adventure filled with lust, violence, tragedy, and triumph that I'm honestly surprised hasn't been made into a movie yet. The afterword is interesting, too. The book is at its best when Rochlin allows himself to be quiet and reflective instead of overtly vulgar and shocking. 3.5 Stars.

[Louis]

An uneven but mostly entertaining short memoir of World War II. Fred Rochlin enrolled in a Spalding Gray storytelling workshop; the monologue he created from that experience was turned into this book. Flunking out of the University of Arizona, would-be engineer Rochlin enlisted in the Army Air Corps because "I got very patriotic." Some of his anecdotes have a shaggy-dog quality to them but are still entertaining. The most entertaining aspect is that of a 70-year-old man looking back on his experiences of 50 years before and reflecting on them. As he admits in the preface, these stories were originally written as monologues to be performed. While I suspect they lose something in the translation to the page, they still pack some emotional punches and make a nice addition to anyone's World War II library.

[John McNair]

A short and very readable memoire of this man's time with the 15th Air Force, USAAF, in Italy 1943-44. Short, vignette-like chapters to mirror the verbal story-telling from which this sprung. Highly embellished tales that are, I'm sure, mostly true. I became a bit suspicious when I read "Augsburg" misspelled, twice, as "Ausburg" but I'll chalk that up to memory and poor editing. Mostly humorous but sometimes tragic, softened by the many years. And downright raunchy in many parts! So if you like some (more or less factual) gratuitous sex scenes sprinkled in with your bombing missions to Romania and southern Germany, this is for you! Otherwise, still a good read but, again, I believe highly embellished over time and many telling of the tales. Fred Rochlin died more than 20 years ago so he won't be disappointed (or delighted?) by my review.

[Esther]

Today is January 28, 2014.

This morning I was reading away--the book being a brief and sometimes facetious memoir by a former B-24 World War II navigator--getting a little weepy at times because the writer's various air combat experiences so closely paralleled those described by my dad.

Downstairs my husband was just about to leave for work when he called up to me. "Sad news," he said. "Pete Seeger died yesterday."

Ouch. Pete and Dad were the same age, born in 1919. Pete, Dad and Fred Rochlin, author of the book I was holding, were all WW II veterans.

I looked down at the book. It was 1944, and Fred had been asked to say a prayer over the coffin of a friend killed in a raid on Munich. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants who were, nonetheless, atheists, the writer knew no prayers. Instead, he recited the words to a song he remembered, inserting the friend's name:

So long Brad, it was so good to know you.
So long, it was so good to know you.
So long, it was so good to know you.
But you gotta be leaving this rotten old world.
And you gotta be moving along.
Amen.

A variation on the well-known Woody Guthrie song, performed often over the years by Pete Seeger.

There is not a spiritual bone in my body, but at that moment, a goose stepped squarely on my grave

[bob walenski]

I expect a lot from a memoir of the war.......WW II...mostly because I've read so many. This one apparently was designed and written to be performed live, each chapter or story an act or segment of a longer play.
But even taken separately, the stories here were truly brilliant! Each one had memorable characters, unbelievable situations and surprises, with plenty of humor, tragedy and heroics.
At times it reminded me of "Catch-22" and at other times episodes of "Mash". Most of the stories focused on pilots flying bombing missions in B-24's into Germany and others nearby targets from bases in Italy. To try to understand that some of the events described were real and actually happened is kind of mind blowing, but the sincerity and empathy of the storyteller makes you realize that the truth is often stranger than any kind of fiction!
This short book was REALLY GOOD!

[Joyce]

.This memoir was in a box of books I found when we were moving. I had no idea what it was about nor do I remember buying it. My reading began on the fly leaf where I discovered it is nothing to do with baseball but it is the written accounts of a WWII vet. Generally, I do not read books that contain f--- as often as this book does but I continued to read because the chapters are short and the stories are interesting, although at times it amazed me the experiences Mr. Rochlin had had.

Having read this book, I am once again reminded how important it is to "Thank" those who are willing to serve in the military. It is equally important to record the memories of those who served so that others may read abut the horror, injustices and extraordinary circumstances that the soldiers endure.

[Lindy]

I appreciate the author's authenticity for admitting he's no longer sure how accurate his memory is when it comes to the stories he tells.

On the other hand, I'm sorry - several of these stories were repetitive. And I'd say 85% was about sex (by him or others), 10% was extra words, and only 5% was about actual military experiences.

Very little is said about the planes he flew in, the training he received, the missions (outside of his intense hatred for BMW runs), etc.

There's some minor reflection and a couple of insights, but overall found the book to be mostly fluff and of little interest.

[Timothy Bazzett]

Profane and proud, Fred Rochlin's told-late-in-life stories of his WWII experiences ring true and absolutely genuine. He makes no excuses for any of his youthful behavior as a young air corps navigator who survived 50 missions, and he makes good on his own personal mantra - before it's too late, "tell your story." This is a terrific little book that I read in just a few hours. Wish I coulda met this guy. Rochlin died of leukemia in 2002.

[John]

Publisher's Promo: "Old Man in a Baseball Cap is a wonderful, hilarious, and haunting memoir. Written when Rochlin was seventy, after he took a storytelling workshop with Spalding Gray, it was originally performed as a monologue and was described by the New York Times as being "about an ordinary man in...."

[Kevin Berent]

Wow! The things those guys did back in the day.

[John]

"Conceived in a storytelling workshop given by Spalding Gray."

[John]

Disappointed. It was hard to tell if this was fiction/non-fiction. The stories were good, but just wasn't sure if it was real.