Robert Rosenthal, 89; WW II bomber pilot prosecuted Nazis

Robert Rosenthal, 89, a World War II bomber pilot who twice survived being shot down in raids over Europe and later served on the U.S. legal team that prosecuted Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg, died April 20 of multiple myeloma in White Plains, N.Y.

As a pilot, Rosenthal was awarded 16 decorations including the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for heroism.

Rosenthal’s 52 missions included one, on Oct. 10, 1943, in which his aircraft was the only one of 13 to return from a raid on Muenster, the rest having been downed by anti-aircraft fire and Luftwaffe fighters.

His plane was disabled by flak over France in September 1944 and he suffered a broken arm and other injuries in a forced landing, but was helped to safety by French Resistance fighters. Five months later, he was shot down again during a raid over Berlin, and got home with the aid of Russian troops.

Born in Brooklyn on June 11, 1917, Rosenthal was a summa cum laude graduate of Brooklyn Law School and was working at a Manhattan law firm when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He enlisted the next day and insisted on combat training.