Bellush was born in the
Bronx,
New York City on November 15, 1917. He graduated from
CCNY in 1941. He entered
Columbia University in 1941 for graduate training in history. He completed a master's degree with a thesis on
Eugene V. Debs, and two days after submission in November 1942 he was inducted into the United States Army. During the war he served with the 616th Ordnance Ammunition Company, and as part of the 5th
Engineer Special Brigade he landed on
Omaha Beach on
D-Day, June 6, 1944. Returning to the United States and demobilized after the war, he attended Columbia University's doctoral program in history and received his Ph.D. in 1951 under the direction of
Allan Nevins. He subsequently taught at his alma mater, the City College of New York, for the remainder of his academic career. ==Scholarly impact==