Cousin Bob

Robert Morris Warren was a first-generation Jewish American from Detroit. A member of a prominent Detroit-Flint manufacturing family, he chose to become a lawyer. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1940, worked for the Office of Price Administration, but left his position to enlist in the United States Army in 1943 as a private. He was eventually assigned to the 143rd Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 36th Infantry Division, and participated in several campaigns in Italy, France, and southern Germany. In command of a mortar squad, Warren was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest award for bravery. During his time in service, he exchanged multiple letters with Herman and Celia Chapin, friends from Central High School in Detroit. Those letters are the focus of this book. Discharged in late 1945, he resumed the practice of law in Detroit. He died on December 30, 1978.