Private First-Class Philip Benjamin Hartman, born 6 Apr 1919, was the son of Samuel and Pauline (Knuten) Hartman of the Bronx, New York. His parents were born in Russia. He left a wife, Ethel, in New York City.

In the 1920 census 9-month-old Philip is living with his parents and brother Edward 2, at 233 96th Street in Manhattan. His father is a chauffeur.

In the 1930 census 11-year-old Philip is living with his parents and siblings Edward 12, Stella 9, and Helen 5, on Fox Street in the Bronx. His father is a chauffeur for a furniture company.

In the 1940 census 21-year-old Philip is living with his parents and widowed maternal grandmother Freda 70, with siblings Stella 19, and Helen 15, at 124 Featherbed Lane in the Bronx. His father is a taxi driver. Philip is a clerk in a grocery store. Stella is a bookkeeper for an insurance company.

On his Oct 1940 draft registration 21-year-old Philip is living at 124 Featherbed Lane and working for Margolies and Fieur at 4173 Broadway in New York City.

Philip enlisted 26 Nov 1940 in New York City. He’d had two years of high school and was single without dependents. His civil occupation was listed under salesclerks. He was assigned to the 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division.

Philip married Ethel L Kryshka 24 Jun 1941 in the Bronx.

On 22 Jul 1944 the 4th ID was west northwest of Saint Lo and southwest of Pont-Hebert between Thereval and Le Mesnil-Eury facing the elite German Panzer-Lehr Division with the US 9th ID on their right flank and the US 30 ID on their left flank.

The NARA WWII casualty listings by state and county for New York show Hartman, Philip B, Pfc from New York County as killed in action 22 Jul 1944 so we can assumed he was killed just northwest of Saint Lo.

Source: Brian Kueker, Facebook contributor for American Battle Monuments Commission

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Philip B Hartman