Just call him Sol

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Many Sealth High School graduates remember Solomon "Sol" Birulin's familiar presence. He carried out his duties as half-time teacher of English, French and Russian while serving half time as curriculum coordinator. Sol was urged to prepare to become assistant principal, but he declined the title.

Sol was born in 1921 of Russian Jewish parents who had escaped from Russia to the city of Tientsin in China where he attended an English school. Early on he showed his striving for excellence by becoming the school's tennis champion and at age 17, junior chess champion. He became very valuable to a Chinese textile company after the Japanese had surrounded the city. No Chinese were allowed to leave the city except with a Caucasian. So Sol would lead the way when his employer had to cross the border to reach the wholesale house. One time a Japanese guard became belligerent and lunged at Sol ripping his coat with bayonet fixed, barely missing Sol's stomach.

When this situation threatened to escalate into a takeover of the city, the family had to escape by ship going to the United States with only $100 and what they could carry with them. They eventually settled on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

Since Sol was fluent in several languages the army wanted him to enlist and he was put through a crash course to become a US citizen. Soon he was finding his way through London fog to Eisenhower's headquarters where he was to begin his 13 months overseas. He remembers the troops being entertained by Mickey Rooney and Bobbie Breen, singer, at the USO. Sol could do a bit of entertaining himself as he once sang with an Italian singing group. He made friends easily and once struck up an acquaintance with a fellow who blurted out, after drinking a little too much, that he was a double agent. Luckily, no secrets were revealed.

Even though German bombs were falling all around, his only close call was falling into a hole and ending up in a hospital psychiatric ward because there was no room in the medical ward. The night nurse waked him up to ask his name and he only remembers opening his eyes and saying sleepily, "You are beautiful." Her only response was to ask again, "What is your name?" His roommate called out, "Peter Thompson." And indeed it was Peter Thompson who had been in that bed earlier. And so he was Peter Thompson until the nurse finally learned his real name and appropriate medical status.

After President Roosevelt died and the war was at an end, he was sent to Germany to assist a colonel in screening German citizens who wanted passports. His colonel urged him to sign up for officer rank as he was already doing the work of an officer. At that same time orders came which precluded all elevation to officer rank so he remained a sergeant until he was discharged from the service.

His fluency in languages drew him to enroll at the University of Washington to become a teacher. Soon after, he met his future wife Anna Neiss, a refugee from Poland who lost her family in the Holocaust. They have two grown children Gloria and Mark.

Before he retired from teaching he made several trips to Israel as well as to seven other countries. Even after quadruple bypass surgery in 1998 and a recent brief health downturn he remains active, exercising in the water several times a week. Is that enough? Not for Sol Birulin. He plans to write a book about the contributions that the Jewish people have made in China, which once was home to him.

Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer who has completed her second book co-authored with her husband Norman C. Kunkel. It is WWII Liberator's Life: AFS Ambulance Driver Chooses Peace. Contact information at gnkunkel@comcast.net

or 935-8663.