Born in Brooklyn, New York, Wexler served in the United States Army during World War II from 1943 to 1945, landing in France in August 1944.

He served with an anti tank unit and was wounded by shrapnel a few days prior to the Battle of the Bulge.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 22, 1983, and received his commission the same day.

[3] In an interview conducted in 2014 and published online on a federal courts website,[4] Wexler described his wartime injury as follows: "I was in a foxhole and bombs were bursting around, but that was usual.

When asked why he considered himself lucky to have been wounded, Wexler responded: "Because we were right in the middle of the area of the German breakthrough, the Battle of the Bulge.

Imagine being entrenched in an unmovable position with German tanks coming at you and nowhere to get the hell out.

When I got home and I would take the train, a Brooklyn kid, I had a cane, everybody would stand up to give me a seat.