World War II Army veteran from Pittsburgh's Overbrook neighborhood recorded court history
Knowing shorthand most likely helped Cyril Emmerich return from World War II alive.
The 96-year-old Army veteran from Overbrook left the U.S. on D-Day — 77 years ago today, on June 6, 1944. Shortly after he arrived in Normandy, France, on June 17, there was an announcement looking for any soldier who knew shorthand, a method of rapid writing using abbreviations and symbols.
Emmerich had taken a class one year at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School in Oakland.
“I believe that saved my life,” Emmerich said Thursday as he sat in a wheelchair, holding his World War II hat. “I decided then I better brush up on my shorthand. I don’t think anyone wanted to go to war. But they needed us to go.”
He said he chose the Army because he wasn’t “keen on water” and “I thought I had a better chance staying on the ground.”
Emmerich still has an injured left ankle from carrying 50-plus-pound mortar base plates through basic training in Mississippi.
Recording history
Emmerich said when he was first assigned the stenographer position, he was going to be used as a spy against the Germans.
But Emmerich was given a different job when his sergeant’s brother, who had the assignment, was wounded. Emmerich worked for the Inspector General’s office, which investigated reports of officers mistreating soldiers.
Emmerich would record proceedings, similar to a court reporter. He was part of a group that would follow behind the troops who were fighting.
“These soldiers were dedicating their lives to save their country, and if an officer hurt a soldier, he was court-martialed,” Emmerich said.
Emmerich is one of six boys born to Cyril Urban Emmerich and Ethel Clare Murrin Emmerich. Cyril and his brother, Norman, served in France, and Harry was in the Pacific. Rege served in the Korean War. Another died as a toddler, and the other was not in the military.
Their mother attended church every day during World War II and wrote letters to her sons. The family grew up in Homewood on Bennett Street.
Emmerich said he wanted to go to Westinghouse High School, but his mother said he would attend Central Catholic.
When he returned from the war, he studied at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh’s Uptown on the G.I. Bill and earned a business degree. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for more than three decades, advancing to become a supervisor.
“I did a lot of training, and the people I trained respected me because I treated them like family,” Emmerich said. “The people I trained appreciated that. People remember how you treat them.”
Love of his life
Emmerich met his wife, Marie, on a blind date. They had five children — Karen Bender of the North Side, Kathy Emmerich of Baldwin, Kenny Emmerich of Overbrook, Maureen Yvorra of Jefferson Hills and Denise Sauter of Whitehall.
They were married almost 52 years. Marie died April 29, 2005.
“Marie was wonderful,” Emmerich said. “She took such good care of our children. She did a lot of work. I miss her dearly.”
Emmerich’s mind is still sharp from playing cards and checkers and doing crossword puzzles. He enjoys going out to dinner with his children to Armstrong’s, Eat’n Park, Gianna Via’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Atria’s.
“My dad is certainly a character,” Sauter said. “He has spunk.”
Sauter said she took her dad to one of his high school reunions. Many of his classmates had died decades earlier in the war.
“He didn’t really talk about World War II much until recently,” Yvorra said. “I think it brings back a lot of bad memories of the soldiers who never came back.”
Emmerich said he thinks of all the lives lost on D-Day and throughout the war.
“We don’t celebrate D-Day,” he said. “I remember all those parents and all those families separated. It didn’t seem right. It definitely impacted me. I think the fellow upstairs had a little something to do with me surviving.”
And, possibly, his shorthand ability.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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