Biography
Raymond N. Born was born on May 11, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the Illinois National Guard and joined the Army in 1941. His stations included Linz and Salzburg, Austria; Kitzingen and Stuttgart, Germany and the Pentagon. He later fought in the Korean War and served two tours in Vietnam. Lt. Col Raymond N. Born retired in May 1971, after 30 years in the service, from Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, where he served as Director of Mobility Training, Ordnance Center & School.
Raymond Born passed away suddenly on January 17, 2006 in Newport News, VA where he lived with Helen, his wife of 64 years. Helen moved to an assisted living residence, and the possessions that didn't go with her or family members were boxed up and taken to the house of the youngest daughter Bonnie Clark. Bonnie started going through the boxes, saving the box containing the contents of her dad's dresser for last, knowing it would be the most personal. She came across 16 B&W photos from WWII with descriptions on the back of each one, some of which were taken in two concentration camps. Shocked, Bonnie felt as though she was holding something sacred in her hands and realized that her father had kept the photos safe through more than a dozen moves. No one in the family had been aware of their existence. Through her work at a heating and air conditioning company, Bonnie made contact with Kol Shalom, a synagogue in Annapolis, MD. Bonnie always spoke with Mary Fortin, the administrative assistant, whose friendly voice eventually prompted Bonnie to call and tell her of the photos. Mary relayed Bonnie's story to the rabbi, Phillip Pohl who expressed interest in seeing the photos. Rabbi Pohl asked Bonnie to consider loaning the photos to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and to come to Kol Shalom before Holocaust Remembrance Day to share her story. Rabbi Pohl later invited Bonnie to the Rosh Hashanah service. His sermon about kindness and doing good things included the story of Raymond Born and the photographs. Bonnie was moved by the way Rabbi Pohl embraced and honored the memory of her father and by the depth of gratitude shown by the members of the congregation. She brought the photographs to the Museum in dedication to the synagogue and to her father's service to the country.f
