Notes about Stephen Weiss.
Jane McHan
August 2020

Stephen Weiss, age 94, died at London March 2020.  He was born in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from Lafayette High School and immediately joined the U.S. Army in 1942.  He spent his war years in Europe, and worked as a photographer for the DOD in Paris after the war travelling all over Europe.

In the late 40’s he took radio and television courses at California, and worked in that industry for over 30 years. In the late 80’s, he earned an MA in psychology at  Goddard College, VT,  an MA in war studies  and a PhD at King’s College, London. 

He was honored by the French government with Legion d’honneur(Chevalier, 1999, Officier, 2007, Commandeur, 2013),  the U.S. Bronze Star, and the French Medal of the Resistance and two Croixs de Guerre.

He taught at King’s College, London, and he taught at UMUC Europe in the 1990s.  I remember him well.  We had wonderful discussions about various  psychological issues, talked about our love for fine Swiss watches, and some of his war memories.  He never talked about his medals or honors.  We stayed in touch for some years after he moved back to London.  

In February of this year, a friend of mine in France organized a group of Americans to have a large banner at the Paris Gare de l’est to welcome Stephen to Paris .  It was so typical of Stephen to ask my friend who was arriving to be welcomed and then was surprised that it was for him. He was at Paris to participate in the 75th anniversary of the office of Strategic Services and lay a wreath on the grave of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe.

Stephen leaves three children and eight grandchildren.  See the below sites for more information about this extraordinary person.

 See:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/stephen-weiss-obituary

https://www.stripes.com/news/american-honored-this-month-by-france-for-wwii-exploits-and-work-on-ptsd-dies-at-94-1.620204
 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/stephen-weiss-obituary