Howard David Abramowitz (June 18, 1930 – April 9, 1990) was notable for his legal battles, along with co-defendant John Henry Harmon III, contesting an undesirable discharge from the Enlisted Reserve in '' Harmon v. Brucker''. In 1951 he was drafted and sent to service in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. After serving two years he was given a certificate of honorable separation and, as required by U.S. law, entered the Enlisted Reserve. Two years later, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

concluded that he was a security risk due to activity in

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and to his membership in the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

. In 1958 the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

ruled that soldiers' discharges must be based solely on their military service records. Afterwards the Army upgraded Abramowitz's discharge to honorable. The ruling also led to reviewing the discharges of 720 other former soldiers. Abramowitz earned a master's degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the

New School of Social Research The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and completed his Ph.D. at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He worked for a brief time as a researcher for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and at New York University's Institute of Industrial Relations. In 1964, he began teaching

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

(Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), where he remained until his death.

References

1930 births 1990 deaths Members of the Communist Party USA United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army reservists New York University alumni {{US-Army-bio-stub