From Paratrooper to Public Defender: Reflections of a 103-Year-Old World War II Veteran

Born on Straw Hat Day, May 15, in 1919, Morton N. Katz was an original member of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in World War II. He fought in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Naples, Anzio, Southern France, the Battle of the Bulge and Central Europe. He remained in the Reserves and served on the veterans staff of Connecticut Gov. Ella T. Grasso. After earning a law degree under the GI Bill, Morton traded his steel helmet for a straw boater hat and a bow tie, which became his signature attire as a public defender in Hartford, not retiring until he was 100 years old. This memoir is taken in part from a series of interviews by oral historian Aaron Elson, who has interviewed many World War II veterans, and from Morton's previous writings.