{"id":37129,"date":"2025-11-12T14:58:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T14:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/37129\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T14:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T14:58:17","slug":"brooklyn-born-wwii-army-vet-murray-kaner-reflects-on-battle-of-baguio-at-98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/37129\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn-born WWII Army vet Murray Kaner reflects on Battle of Baguio at 98"},"content":{"rendered":"

As many continue to celebrate Veteran\u2019s Day this week, residents of The Sinclair<\/a> in Port Washington are celebrating the life of Murray Kaner, a 98-year-old World War II infantry platoon sergeant whose story spans the Pacific battlefield and decades of civic and professional achievement.<\/p>\n

Kaner, originally from Borough Park, Brooklyn, enlisted in the Army<\/a> at 17, just out of high school at New Utrecht, driven by patriotism and a desire to serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother had to sign the papers for me to go in,\u201d he recalled. Initially, he hoped to join the Air Corps, but he was rejected for flat feet. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m going to end up sitting in an airplane,\u2019\u201d he said, laughing. Instead, he entered the Army Specialized Training Program and attended Norwich University<\/a> in Vermont before being called to active duty. \u201cThey needed men,\u201d he said, explaining that the Army overlooked his age to fill its ranks. He knew he had a better chance at a better assignment if he had volunteered instead of waiting to be drafted.<\/p>\n

Kaner\u2019s military journey began with 17 weeks of basic training, followed by a short furlough home and then transit from Fort Dix to Camp Kilmer. From there, he boarded a liberty ship bound for the Pacific.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went through the Panama Canal into the Pacific and ended up in Hawaii,\u201d he said. After advanced infantry training in Hawaii, Kaner was sent to the 33rd Division in the Philippines, where the Battle of Baguio awaited.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaguio was in the mountains in the Philippines, where Luzon is,\u201d he said. \u201cMy introduction to battle was house-to-house patrol; if we got gunfire from the buildings, we brought the tanks in and blew the building down.\u201d Kaner and his fellow soldiers navigated dense, tropical terrain, often under heavy Japanese fire. \u201cThere was a lot of walking,\u201d he said. \u201cThe jungle was very dense. We had to be very careful; there were poisonous snakes everywhere. We used machetes to cut through the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Battle of Baguio<\/a>, part of the larger Luzon campaign, was critical for American forces seeking to liberate northern Philippines from Japanese occupation. Baguio, then a hill station and summer retreat for wealthy Filipinos and Japanese administrators, presented unique challenges: steep terrain, fortified enemy positions and civilians trapped in urban areas.<\/p>\n

\"MurrayMurray Kaner recalls his WWII experienceChristy Hinko<\/p>\n

Kaner, a young recruit from Borough Park, learned quickly under the tutelage of seasoned veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went into fighting right away. There was no learning curve,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to learn quickly.\u201d He credited the experience with teaching resilience, teamwork and leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned to pay attention to other people\u2019s problems. You never leave anybody behind,\u201d he said. His unit consisted mostly of men from the South and Kaner was promoted to squad leader due to his prior military training. \u201cI had 12 guys with me. We were all from different backgrounds, but we worked together.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his six months in the Philippines, Kaner endured tropical heat, monsoon rains and relentless combat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got there in February and stayed until the end of the war in August,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no fall there. It was summer, hot and humid. But in the mountains, it was cool.\u201d Kaner remembered the Filipino people and guerrillas who fought alongside American forces. \u201cThey fought alongside us. They were a great help,\u201d he said. English was widely spoken, easing communication, but the daily realities of war \u2014 hunger, exhaustion and constant danger \u2014 were ever-present.<\/p>\n

After the Philippines, Kaner\u2019s division was sent to Panama to train recruits in jungle warfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hot and humid, again nothing like New York. We had to patrol carefully, everything buttoned up,\u201d he said. He recalled the rigorous training, cutting through dense foliage and avoiding venomous snakes, preparing soldiers for future combat. \u201cWe were teaching jungle fighting to new guys,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Returning home, Kaner took advantage of the G.I. Bill, attending Brooklyn College<\/a> and later Queens College<\/a> while working nights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I knew at that point in my life was combat and war, how to kill. Everything else after that was babyish; it was difficult for me to sit in a college classroom immediately back from the war,\u201d he said. His post-military career spanned more than 40 years with the International Ladies\u2019 Garment Workers Union<\/a>, where he eventually became business manager of the trucking division, representing warehouse and transportation workers across New York.<\/p>\n

In 1949, Kaner married his girlfriend, Shirley, whom he met on a blind date before leaving for the war. The couple raised two sons and moved from Brooklyn to Great Neck in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed room. We had a three-room apartment in Brooklyn, so we moved out to the country,\u201d he said. After decades in Great Neck, Kaner relocated to The Sinclair in Port Washington in 2021.<\/p>\n

Nearly a centenarian, Kaner maintains a disciplined lifestyle. He reads the newspaper front to back every morning, stays active with daily physical therapy and enjoys simple pleasures, including Chinese food and pepperoni pizza.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read the newspaper front to back every morning,\u201d he said. \u201cI stay active and I like to keep my mind sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaner remembers small details of wartime life vividly, from combat equipment to meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe carried an eight-pound M1 rifle,\u201d he said. \u201cThe K rations were waterproof wax boxes with pork and beans and two cigarettes. I never smoked, so I traded them for chocolate bars.\u201d He also recalls moments of camaraderie among soldiers. \u201cWe were in it together. Everybody was from all over the country, all financial backgrounds and religions. That\u2019s what got us through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite decades of civilian life, Kaner\u2019s military experience shaped his approach to work and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got along well with my squad; I wasn\u2019t crazy with power,\u201d he said. Lessons learned on the battlefield helped him navigate union leadership and advocate for workers.<\/p>\n

Kaner says his sons also remember his military discipline in everyday life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to say \u2018off and on\u2019 when it was time to do something, short for \u2018off your ass, on your feet,\u2019\u201d he said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his life, Kaner remains humble and focused on resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still feel that way,\u201d he said of coming back from combat. His story, from Brooklyn to Baguio, Panama and back to New York, offers a rare, first-hand perspective on the experiences of the generation that fought World War II and quietly rebuilt America. At The Sinclair, Kaner continues to inspire residents and visitors alike with his courage, discipline and unwavering dedication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As many continue to celebrate Veteran\u2019s Day this week, residents of The Sinclair in Port Washington are celebrating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[5336,21638,98,100,99,21639,9,24,63,21640,21641],"class_list":["post-37129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-army","tag-bagiuo","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-murray-kaner","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-philippines","tag-wwii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}