By Shaun Wang
At nearly 100 years old, Saul Popick reflects on a life shaped by war, hardship, and quiet perseverance. Born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Saul grew up in a poor family as the youngest of six children. He didn’t focus much on high school — his eyes were already on the war. “I was waiting to get into the military,” he said.
At 18, Saul joined the Navy during World War II. After four weeks of training, he was unexpectedly assigned to the Bethesda Medical Hospital. “I took a lot of kidding about that,” he said, referring to the teasing from peers who were sent to the front lines. In their eyes, he had gotten lucky and received an easy job. His next station brought him to Treasure Island, California. “That was nice out there. I wasn’t far from Alcatraz. Every time I woke up in the morning, all I saw was Alcatraz.” Though not in combat during WWII, the work was intense. “Lots of casualties were happening,” he recalls. His workload increased due to the manpower shortage.
After his discharge in 1946, returning to civilian life was difficult. There were many more like him: “A lot of us got discharged from the service,” he explained, “You couldn’t get a job doing anything.” He took on temporary jobs, but nothing stuck. After some time, a friend persuaded him to join the Navy Reserve. “That was my downfall, but I didn’t know it at the time,” Saul remarks, looking back on his decision. And so it was — less than a year later, he was recalled for the Korean War.
This time, he served as a medic in a combat zone. “It wasn’t easy. There were many times I was in bed, they woke me up, I had to help them carry dead sailors, soldiers, anything. ... You had to put up with it.”
After leaving the Reserve, he met his future wife, but they couldn’t marry right away. “I didn’t have a job.” Eventually, he found work as a medical technician at a federal penitentiary in Indiana—a job he accepted just to gain experience. “Hard being married without a job. We lived in a log cabin.” Over time, things began to improve. In his job he found joy from speaking with the inmates. One inmate, he discovered, even had experience as a medic, and so Saul occasionally sought his help.
Still, job security was elusive. “Back in the early ’50s, the job situation was really bad, especially for young personnel. I just had to put up with it.” Saul decided he needed a more stable future: “I gotta get a job that doesn’t involve the government.” Someone advised him to stay in the medical field until things improved, and then return to federal work if the opportunity arose.
Saul also shared difficult memories of growing up in an environment where he faced discrimination for his religion. “Being Jewish wasn’t easy. I was picked on. ... Oh, I could tell you some stories.” As a child, he often had to physically defend himself. “If they called me names, I fought. ... I would get it out of my system.” He remembered coming home in tears, unable to understand why he was targeted. “Why? I never got an answer why.”
Even as an adult, some relationships proved painful. “I had one fellow, he was always nice to me. I found out later that he’d tear me apart as far as religion goes. It’s a shame that I found out like I did.” Finding true friends wasn’t easy. “No, it isn’t,” he said.
When asked if he had any interesting adventures or stories in his youth, he reflects, “Long ago I had stories, but they disappeared. It’s too far gone for me. In another year I’m going to be 100 years old.”
As for how he stayed healthy through it all, Saul was candid: “Mentally? I was worried a lot of times. Really. I had some rough duties.” But in the end, he attributes his survival to something simple and powerful: “How did I survive? I was lucky.”
Thanks to volunteer editor Holly Lam who assisted with this story.