Sent Home

Volunteers returning home after defeat

In 1938, Osheroff returned to the United States; as many as half of his Lincoln Brigade comrades had died. Franco sealed his victory in 1939 and ruled Spain for the next 36 years.  With the defeat of Republican Spain, the obstacles of a world war were largely unfolded.

Back in Brooklyn, Osheroff, like his father, worked as a carpenter. He also re-entered politics, running unsuccessfully in 1940 as a Communist Party candidate for the Legislature. After Pearl Harbor, he volunteered with the U.S. Army in World War II.

To us (the Lincoln Brigade veterans), this was nothing but an extension of the same war, with much more favorable conditions, he said.

Serving in the world war to me was a lark compared to Spain. I never missed a meal, I had good shoes, I had tremendous medical attention ... and we had none of that in Spain.