ABOUT CHARLES

Dr. Charles Brudo, a Los Angeles psychologist whose World War II adventures exemplified the "Greatest Generation," died on May 5, 2021 in Pacific Palisades, California. He was 96.

Born in Turkey and raised in France, he fled Paris in 1940 ahead of the invading Wehrmacht, and took a long, danger-filled trek south with thousands of other refugees, sleeping in fields along the way. Thanks to a sister who had married an American and lived in Seattle, he eventually obtained a visa to the United States where he learned English, and then volunteered for the American military.

Being Jewish, he knew he might be at heightened risk if taken prisoner, but unlike some other Jews in the military, he insisted on wearing dog tags identifying his religious affiliation. As he later explained, he wanted the Nazis to know Jews were fighting them.

In the US military, he served as ball turret gunner on a B-17. On a bombing mission over Germany in August 1944, the plane took heavy enemy fire at 25,000 feet and he was ejected into the air, parachuting to German soil where he was met by a group of armed and angry men. After more than half a year as a prisoner of war, he escaped from his captors using a clever ruse--a story he told with relish. (For more, see the "World War II" page.)

He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat as well as the Air Medal and POW Medal.

Once back in the United States, he decided with great enthusiasm on a career in psychology. With the help of the GI Bill, he enrolled in George Washington University, and after graduating went to Northwestern University in Illinois for his Ph.D.

Dr. Brudo first started practicing in Elkhart, Indiana and moved to Santa Monica, California in 1969, where he maintained an office for four decades. He developed an innovative therapeutic approach based on deep commitment and involvement with his clients, using his exceptional capacity for warmly connecting with others, a trait that was also cherished by friends and relatives. In his personal and professional life he was guided by strong ethical principles.

His beloved wife Esther Brudo survived him but died three and a half months later. Their respect and affection for each other was the basis of their daily life together. (Please click here for a link to Esther's memorial website.)

Also surviving are daughters Rebecca Kosowski of Seattle and Evann Grey of Santa Monica; nieces Myrna Cordova of Seattle and Victoria Cordova of Washington, D.C.: nephew Georges de Lucenay of Charolles, France; stepson Paul Blustein of Kamakura, Japan; stepdaughters Jan Blustein of New York and Laura Blustein of Watertown, Mass.; and nephew David Snyder of Brooklyn, NY. He was a beloved grandfather and uncle to his family's younger generation, whose own recently-born children brought him great joy. He wholeheartedly loved and encouraged everyone in his family.