My prior posts, Measures of Valor: American Jewish Military Service in World War One – Part One, and Measures of Valor: American Jewish Military Service in World War One – Part Two, focus on efforts by the American Jewish Committee to create a historical record of the military service of American Jews during the First World War, efforts which resulted in the 1919 publication of the 50-page pamphlet The War Record of American Jews.
This post focuses on the same topic, but its focus shifts to the late 1930s through the mid-40s.
By this time, a second variation on a theme of The War Record of American Jews had emerged. This appeared within the two editions of The Jewish Legion of Valor, which were authored and privately published by Sydney G. Gumpertz, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 26, 1918, while a First Sergeant in E Company, 132nd Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division.
The first edition of his book was published in 1936 and reissued in 1941. The book was evidently republished in 1944 (albeit the year does not appear in the title page), for my copy includes a large section about Jewish soldiers in the American military in the Second World War. The 1946 “second” edition has the same cover as the first, albeit the content naturally differs from the initial edition.
Here’s the cover (1946 edition)…
…and, the title page (1941 edition).
And, here’s a portrait of Sydney Gumpertz. I don’t know if his rank of Captain reflects service in the Reserves, or a symbolic, honorary rank. In any event, Sydney’s Medal of Honor is readily visible around his collar.
Here’s the book’s table of contents…
If one can sometimes learn more about a thing from its absence than its presence., then this is solidly so for both editions of The Jewish Legion of Valor. If you examine the above two images, you’ll notice something most revealing:
In the first edition (498 pages), there’s absolutely no mention of the military service of Jews in the armed forces of Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary, while information about the service of Jews in the armed forces of America’s WW I Allies is limited to France, England, and Australia, to a total of five pages.
As for the service of Jews in the armies of Canada, Italy, Imperial Russia, New Zealand, and South Africa? That, remains entirely unmentioned.
In terms of the first book’s contents, it commences with sections about Jewish military service in the American military, leading up to the Great War. This is followed, within pages 153 through 360, by an account of the military service of Jews in the United States’ armed forces during that conflict. Then, after a general overview of the military, sociological, and psychological aspects of combat in WW I, the reader is presented with statistics from the The War Record of American Jews about Jewish service in the American military. These data are interspersed with accounts of and citations for the actions of Medal of Honor Winners Sergeant William Sawelson (killed in action on October 26, 1918), author Gumpertz, and First Sergeant Benjamin Kaufman, who, like Gumpertz, survived the war. This is followed by a brief section about recipients of the Navy Cross.
Material on the military service of individual Jewish soldiers – citations – is found on pages 248 through 328. Here the reader finds an alphabetized list of soldiers who were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, and Soldier’s Medal, each name being accompanied by the soldier’s rank, military unit date of incident(s), and in some cases, the name of the soldier’s next of kin and residential address.
Within this section, one of challenges of Jewish genealogical reseach (or any genealogical research, for that matter) arises: The inclusion of some names in this section seems to be based on the “sound” or ethnic characterization of the soldier’s surname, a criterion that – taken in isolation – can be quite unreliable. (Like that for Captain Carl Frederick Falkenberg in the British Jewry Book of Honour.) So, not all of the men listed therein (like Corporal Henry Emil Zax) are Jews.
The latter portion of both editions of The Jewish Legion of Honor is devoted to American Jews in the (then) current war: The Second World War. This section is comprised of very brief citations about the military service of Jews in all branches of the United States’ military – Army ground forces, Army Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy – albeit the actual source of the citations is not listed.
This section is invaluable through the inclusion photographic portraits for a few of these men, images which I’ve not seen elsewhere.
The names of all the men so “pictured” are listed below, with biographical information for each man whose portrait appears in the book(s).
As far as the actual images go, I’ve included some from each edition. These show (first edition) Sol Bauer, David Senft, and Sidney Slotoroff, and (second edition) J. Gene Hochfelder and David Spatz. The pictures are accompanied by a few of my “own” illustrations, obtained from other sources.
And, so…
1 Lt. Sol Bauer, 0-1169857, United States Army, Artillery Observer
90th Infantry Division, 344th Field Artillery Battalion
Killed in action March 16, 1945, while flying as observer in L-4H piloted by 1 Lt. Jack Hester – also killed (shot down by Luftwaffe aircraft over Halsenbach, Germany)
Born in New Jersey, 1/31/19
Mr. Ben Bauer (father), 525 Elizabeth Ave., Newark, N.J.
Casualty List 4/10/45
Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Iselin, N.J.
American Jews in World War II – p 226
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T/Sgt. Martin J. Caine, 32422574, United States Army Air Force, Aerial Gunner, 15th Air Force, 485th Bomb Group, 831st Bomb Squadron
Wounded in action June 28, 1944
Pilot: Lt. Volney Wiggins
Born 1920
Mrs. R. Shirley Laufer (mother), 158-18 Riverside Drive (also 50 Riverside Drive), New York, N.Y.
Casualty Lists 8/9/44, 2/20/45
American Jews in World War II – p 287
This Is How It Was: 485th Bomb Group (Heavy) Unit History, by Sam Schneider – p 313
1 Lt. Morton A. Dubelier, United States Army Air Force, Co-Pilot
9th Air Force, 322nd Bomb Group, 451st Bomb Squadron
Severely injured when aircraft crash-landed at base during training mission on evening of 5/25/44 (B-26C 42-107586, “The Nude Prune IV”, (or, “The Nude Prude IV”?) “SS* N”, Piloted by Colonel Frederick E. Fair)
Born 1920
Mr. Morris Dubelier (father), 137-60 71st Ave., Kew Gardens, Flushing, L.I., N.Y.
Long Island Star Journal 9/2/42, 9/5/42, 7/20/44
American Jews in World War II – p 299
Lt. JG Jacques Rodney Eisner, 0-98230, United States Navy
Killed in sinking of USS San Francisco on November 13, 1942
Born Red Bank, New Jersey, 7/25/18
Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund and Bertha (Weis) Eisner (parents), Gerald and J. Lester (brothers), 84 West Front St., Red Bank, N.J.
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
The American Hebrew – December 25, 1942
American Jews in World War II – p 231
Sgt. Jerome Goshin, 32861279, United States Army Air Force
8th Air Force, 100th Bomb Group, 349th Bomb Squadron
Born 1924
From New York, N.Y.
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed
1 Lt. Maxwell H. Levy, 0-694388, United States Army Air Force, Navigator
15th Air Force, 301st Bomb Group, 32nd Bomb Squadron
Name in Missing Air Crew Report 6175 as witness to loss of B-17F 42-30106, piloted by 2 Lt. Hugh H. McGee, Jr. (9 crew members – 2 survivors), on 6/27/44
From New York, N.Y.
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed
S/Sgt. Myron R. Mendel, 12154701, United States Army Air Force, Radio Operator
8th Air Force, 303rd Bomb Group, 359th Bomb Squadron
65 E. 96th St., New York, N.Y.
American Jews in World War II – p 391
__________
Lt. David V. Senft, 0-104694, United States Navy, F4F Wildcat Fighter Pilot
Naval Fighter Squadron VF-71
Survived sinking of USS WASP on 9/15/42
Born 1920
Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. and Annette Senft (parents), 23 West End Ave., New York, N.Y.
The Knickerbocker News – 10/28/42 “Wasp Blew Up Like Keg of Dynamite, Naval Pilot Reveals in Graphic Account” (as told to Gerald Frank, INS)
American Jews in World War II – Not Listed
__________
1 Lt. Sidney Slotoroff, 0-659194, United States Army Air Force
12th Air Force, 60th Troop Carrier Group, 12th Troop Carrier Squadron
Killed in action 7/13/43, while piloting C-47 41-18418 “61 / M” (4 crew – no survivors)
Born New York, N.Y., 9/8/14
Mrs. Sidney Slotoroff (wife), 425 East 72nd St., New York, N.Y.
Mr. Irving J. Slotoroff (father?)
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy – Plot J, Row 8, Grave 44
Casualty List 10/5/43
American Jews in World War II – p 447
The above picture of Lieutenant Slotoroff, as an Aviation Cadet at Kelly Field, is from the United States National Archives collection “Photographic Prints of Air Cadets and Officers, Air Crew, and Notables in the History of Aviation (NARA RG 18-PU)”. You can read more about this collection at my brother blog, The Past Presented, in the post Five Pilots in December – Photographic Portraits of American Fighter Pilots Who Lost Their Lives at Pearl Harbor.
The below picture is from The Jewish Legion of Valor.
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The Zuckerman brothers:
Major Seymour Zuckerman, USMC
Capt. Jeremiah W. Zuckerman, United States Army Air Force
PFC Aaron L. Zuckerman, US Army
Finally, in the table of contents, a section headed “Registry” (on page xiii) presents the names of soldiers and an associated page number. However (!) – examining this section reveals that several of the given page numbers are incorrect, while information about Jewish WW II military service is absent. (Where’s an editor when you need one?!)
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Moving ahead five years, here’s the title page of the 1946 edition, which is accompanied by Sydney’s dedicatory signature of December, 1947, to Jewish War Veterans Post #72 of Brooklyn (does it exist seventy-three years later? – I doubt it) on the opposing page. Note that the layout of the title page is identical to that of the first edition.
Here’s the second edition’s table of contents. It’s only two pages long.
In this edition, the section about Jewish military service in World War One is repeated from the first edition, but while the names of WW I citation awardees listed in the first edition are present, the text accompanying their names is missing. Thus, this part of the book is much shorter.
This is reflective of the book’s publication a year after the Second World War’s end, for over half of this edition’s contents are “now” devoted to Jewish military service in that just-ended war. Akin to the first volume, this section is comprised of citations of varying length about soldiers from all branches of the military, and includes high-quality photographic portraits (again, that I’ve not seen elsewhere) of some of these servicemen.
And, as in the first edition, the names of these men (so photographed) are listed below. Also (as I did above), I’ve included biographical information for them, as well as some photographs, from my own records.
T/Sgt. Martin L. Caine, United States Army Air Force (once again)
Lt. Jacques Rodney Eisner (once again)
1 Lt. Hirschel L. Gutman, 0-743238, United States Army Air Force, Bomber Pilot
8th Air Force, 93rd Bomb Group, 328th Bomb Squadron
Killed 4/20/44 while piloting B-24D 42-63972 (“The Flying Cock II”, “GO &* E”)
No Missing Air Crew Report
Born Bristol, Tn., 5/1/15
Mrs. Herman Hecht (mother), 708 Euclid Ave., Bristol, Va.
Temple Israel Cemetery, Wakefield, Ma.
War Department News Release 5/27/44
The Jewish Advocate 7/20/44
American Jews in World War II – p 163
Sgt. Abram R. Gennet, United States Army
30th Infantry Division, 120th Infantry Regiment
__________
1 Lt. J. Gene Hochfelder, 0-24259, United States Marine Corps
5th Marine Division
Silver Star for action on Iwo Jima on 2/22/45
Mr. Jack Hochfelder (father), 29 Woodmere Boulevard, Woodmere, N.Y.
The Wave – Rockaway Beach, N.Y. 8/19/43
The Nassau Daily Review-Star 6/9/43, 8/13/45
American Jews in World War II – p 346
__________
1 Lt. Lee Jaffe, United States Army
67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
Capt. Mortimer K. Karten, 0-1283441, United States Army
Wounded on Okinawa 5/11/45
Born New York, N.Y., 12/18/15
Mr. Samuel A. Karten (father), 400 West End Ave., New York, N.Y.
Casualty List 6/25/45
American Jews in World War II – p 357
Major Clarence Levin, 0-247523, United States Army
1st Infantry Division, 7th Field Artillery Battalion
Killed in action 1/31/43
Born Lewiston, Me., 11/30/06
447 Beacon St., Boston, Ma.
North African American Cemetery, Carthage, Tunisia – Plot D, Row 15, Grave 5
Chicago Jewish Chronicle 5/21/43
American Jews in World War II – p 169
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2 Lt. Stanley S. Spatz, 0-2058031, United States Army Air Force, Navigator
20th Air Force, 498th Bomb Group, 875th Bomb Squadron
Died 5/5/45 during loss of B-29 42-63416 (“T square 46”) piloted by 1 Lt. Stephen E. Davis (11 crew – 4 survivors). Survived ditching, but not rescued. Incident covered in Missing Air Crew Report 14366.
Mr. Samuel Spatz (father), 1416 Granada Place, Far Rockaway, N.Y.
Mr. David L. Sverdlik (uncle)
Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
Casualty List 6/23/45
The Wave – Rockaway Beach, N.Y. 10/1/42
Long Island Daily Press 6/23/45
New York Times – Obituary Page Memorial Section – 5/5/46
American Jews in World War II – p 451
The below picture is from The Jewish Legion of Valor.
The document below is a “Record of Casualty” sheet pertaining to Lt. Spatz’s Killed in Action status, one of 78 such records for Jewish casualties in the 20th Air Force compiled by Major David I. Cedarbaum.
Throughout and especially after (decades after, in some cases…*) the Second World War, the “In Memoriam” section of the New York Times obituary page included messages in honor of fallen soldiers. This brief note, by Lt. Spatz’s uncle David L. Sverdlik, comprising six lines from Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 poem Recessional, appeared in the Times on May 5, 1946, one year after his nephew’s death.
__________
PFC David Leigh Spector, 31309002, United States Army
75th Infantry Division, 289th Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company (?)
Killed in action 4/25/45, at Arnsburg, Germany
Born in Jamaica Plains, N.Y., 5/2/24
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. – Section 13, Grave 516
American Jews in World War II – p 181
2 Lt. Raymond Zussman, 0-1014997, United States Army, Recipient of Medal of Honor
756th Tank Battalion
Killed in action 9/21/44
Born in Hamtramack, Michigan, 7/23/17
Mr. Nathan Zussman (father), 2913 Sturtevant Ave., Detroit, Mi.
Abraham, Betty, and David (brothers and sister), Donald Shea (friend)
Machpelah Cemetery, Ferndale, Mi. – Section 6, Lot 17, Grave 298D; Buried 6/6/48
The Jewish News (Detroit) 6/15/45
Aufbau 7/27/45
The Jewish Veteran November-December, 1983
American Jews in World War II – p 198
*For Second Lieutenant Stanley Alan Hecker – a co-pilot killed in the crash of a B-26 Marauder bomber in Tampa Bay on September 2, 1942, his parents – Benjamin and Ruth (Berek) Hecker of 62 West 174th Street in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan – would place a notice in the Times’ “In Memoriam” section on every anniversary of that date, for the thirty-two years from 1943 through 1975.
Readings, References, Writings and What-Not
Books
Adler, Michael, and Freeman, Max R.G., British Jewry Book of Honour, Caxton Publishing Company, London, England, 1922 (Republished in 2006 by Naval & Military Press, Uckfield, East Sussex)
Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947
Gumpertz, Sydney G., Capt., The Jewish Legion of Valor – The Story of Jewish Heroes in the Wars of the Republic – And a General History of the Military Exploits of the Jews Through the Ages, Sydney G. Gumpertz, New York, N.Y., 1934, 1941
Gumpertz, Sydney G., Capt., The Jewish Legion of Valor – The Story of Americans of the Jewish Faith Who Distinguished Themselves in the Armed Forces in All the Wars of the Republic – And a General History of the Military Exploits of the Jews Through the Ages, Sydney G. Gumpertz, New York, N.Y., 1934, 1946
The War Record of American Jews – First Report of The Office of War Records, American Jewish Committee, January 1, 1919, The American Jewish Committee, New York, N.Y., 1919
Other Publications
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, N.Y., 1942
Websites
Guide to the Records of the American Jewish Committee – Office of Jewish War Records, undated, 1918-1921, 1962, processed by David Solomon, at Center for Jewish History
Sydney G. Gumpertz, at Wikipedia