April 2017 – Excursions in Jewish Military History and Jewish Genealogy

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in The New York Times, in World War Two

Throughout the Second World War, The New York Times, like other American newspapers, published official Casualty Lists issued by the War (Army) and Navy Departments. These documents followed the same format for both military branches, presenting a serviceman’s surname, first name and middle initial, military rank, and the name and address (whether residential, or place of employment) of the person – usually his next-of-kin – designated to be contacted if he were to become a casualty.

The names which appeared in these lists were only supplied to the news media after notifications had already been sent to their next of kin. Generally, roughly through the summer of 1944, the name of a casualty would appear in a Casualty List approximately one month after the actual date on which he was wounded, declared missing, or known to have been killed in action. In many cases,a serviceman’s name might appear on multiple Casualty Lists. For example, a soldier might be reported missing in action, then confirmed as a POW, and finally – at the war’s end – liberated from a POW camp. In such a case, his name could appear on three Casualty Lists, each pertaining to verification of these successive changes in his status.

A notable difference between Army and Navy Casualty Lists was the Army’s policy of listing casualties by the theater of military operations. Such designations included Africa, Asia, the Central Pacific, Europe, the Mediterranean, North America (during the Aleutian campaign), and the Southwest Pacific, the theater varying with the progression of the war. However, Navy Casualty Lists did not present mens’ names by combat theater.

As issued to the press, Casualty Lists encompassed military casualties from all (then 48) states, as well as the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii. Accordingly, very early in the war, the War and Navy Departments instituted a policy such that newspapers should only publish lists of casualties pertaining to the geographic area of their established news coverage. For example, a newspaper in Saint Louis would not publish names of casualties from Denver or New Orleans; a newspaper in Phoenix would not publish names of servicemen from Nashville or Beaumont; a paper in Denver would not publish names from Lexington or Duluth.

Like other newspapers, such too was the case for The New York Times. In a general – and very reliable – sense, casualty lists in the Times encompassed the five Boroughs of New York (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx), Nassau and Suffolk Counties; the metropolitan areas of northern New Jersey; and, southwestern Connecticut.

The lengthiest list, which occupied most of two successive pages, was published on March 29, 1945, based on a nationwide Casualty List that listed the names of 14,443 soldiers and 221 sailors. This list is shown below.

The last Second World War Casualty List carried by the Times, published on June 9, 1946 and illustrated below, was issued by the Navy, and comprised the names of five sailors from New York and two from Connecticut.

Though – at the moment of creating this blog post – the pertinent reference is not immediately at hand, Casualty Lists covering the above-mentioned areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut probably encompass an unusually large proportion of the 407,316 American military casualties incurred during the war, due to the density and distribution of the American population in the 1940s.

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There is much more that can be said about this topic, which may be discussed in a future blog post. Or, posts.

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And so we arrive at an accidental intersection: Between The New York Times, Jewish military history, and Jewish genealogy.

Related to its publication of Casualty Lists and its reporting of New York Metropolitan area news, the Times published – with a frequency that sadly; inevitably increased as the war progressed – full and often detailed obituaries of military personnel who lost their lives in combat, or, in non-combat related military service. Though obituaries of servicemen would on occasion be published as “stand alone” items in the main section of the paper, they were much more often published within Casualty Lists.

Such obituaries typically included a serviceman’s photographic portrait, whether as a professional studio image, or, a snapshot taken in a more casual setting. Depending on the media and format in which you view back issues of the Times – 35mm microfilm, or PDFs – these images vary greatly in quality. This is due to the quality of the original photograph supplied to the Times, and, the technical limitations then inherent to printing photographs in newspapers. Digital images and 35mm microfilm have unique advantages and disadvantages, depending on the physical nature of these formats themselves, the equipment used to view them, and, equipment and material used to copy and reproduce digital or print (physical) images from them.

Such obituaries were published well into 1946, the “last” such item, for Second Lieutenant Burton H. Roth – a navigator in the 600th Bomb Squadron of 8th Air Force’s 398th Bomb Group, whose B-17 bomber was shot down over Germany on April 10, 1945 – appearing on April 25, 1946.

The criterion – or criteria – the Times used in selecting soldiers who were so covered is unknown. Perhaps some soldiers were chosen at random. Perhaps others had connections – professional; academic; familial – with the Times; perhaps some were members of established and prominent New York area families. (Well, not all seem to have been…)

In any event, what becomes readily apparent upon surveying the Times is at first startling, and then – after a moment’s contemplation – entirely unsurprising: Given the population distribution of American Jewry in the 1940s, many, many of these obituaries pertain to Jewish servicemen in the Army ground forces, Army Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. As such, these news items provide a moving and illuminating sociological “window” upon Jews of the New York metropolitan area in particular, and Jewish military service in general, in the 1940s.

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There are ironies in the lives of nations; there are many ironies in the lives of peoples; ironies abound in the lives of men.

An irony about the appearance of so many obituaries for Jewish servicemen in the Times’ during the Second Wold War is that these news items were published – through a confluence of genealogy, geography, and history – in a periodical whose publisher adhered to a system of belief – classical Reform Judaism – that negated the concept of Jewish peoplehood, and which in terms of the historical legacy of the Times, animated the nature of his newspaper’s reporting of the Shoah.

A vast amount of research and insight – much ink and innumerable pixels – has been generated about this topic. Probably the most outstanding such work is Laurel Leff’s Buried By The Times (prefigured by her American Jewish History article “A Tragic “Fight in the Family”: The New York Times, Reform Judaism and the Holocaust in 2000″). However, the attitude of the Times was obvious to some even as the Second World War was occurring, for it merited scathing coverage in the Labor League for Palestine / Jewish Frontier Association’s publication The Jewish Frontier, through William Cohen’s February, 1942 article “The Strange Case of the New York Times”.

In light of this mindset, the abundance of Jewish military casualties whose obituaries appeared in the pages of the Times may have been perceived by the newspaper’s staff as a simple coincidence, at best. In all likelihood, however, it probably was not perceived – intellectually or emotionally – at all.

Then again… Then again…

Why did the Times, between 1942 and 1951, accord at least 36 news items – including on occasion front-page coverage – to the life, death, and legacy of one specific Jewish serviceman – Army Air Force Sergeant Meyer Levin?

Could this have been because the life and example of Sgt. Levin – at a time when much of American Jewry, even and especially among the most assimilated Jews, perhaps uncertain of the viability of their status as Americans – was viewed as validation of their own patriotism, and a harbinger of their eventual – postwar – acceptance?

Could this have been because the Sergeant’s military service, though he lost his life in the Pacific Theater of War, was perceived as an indirect symbol of Jewish resistance against Germany?

Perhaps both reasons; perhaps more.

Perhaps this, as suggested by Gulie Ne’eman Arad in America, Its Jews, and The Rise of Nazism: “The Americanization experience played a more powerful role in determining American Jewry’s response to the atrocities in Europe than the events themselves, and it is to their American context that American Jews resonated and responded most readily. Their need and desire to conform to their environment were more powerful than other factors, and, once established, the patterns of the behavior that resulted could not be breached until after the apocalypse.”

Much more could be written about this topic; perhaps I’ll do so in the future.

But for now, I hope to bring you posts about Jewish military casualties who were reported upon in The New York Times.

References

Books

Arad, Gulie Ne’eman, America, Its Jews, and The Rise of Nazism, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, In., 2000.

Leff, Laurel, Buried by the Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper, Cambridge University Press, New York, N.Y., 2005

Journal Articles

Leff, Laurel, A Tragic “Fight in the Family”: The New York Times, Reform Judaism and the Holocaust, American Jewish History, V 88, N 1, March, 2000, pp. 3-51.

Wing Commander William Weiser’s Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross, as seen in the Forward (Forverts), in December of 1944

The recent posts about Royal Canadian Air Force Wing Commander William Weiser elicited moving and interesting comments from Dr. Patricia Easteal, Caroline Mitchell, and Libby Weiser. From them, I learned that – alas – sadly; ironically – W/C Weiser passed away on March 26.

Only four days earlier, the article about him from The American Hebrew of May, 1944, was posted on this blog, under the title “Words of the Wing Commander”.

Given his accomplishments, it’s unsurprising that news items about W/C Weiser appeared in other publications during WW II, specifically the well-known Yiddish-language newspaper, the Forward (or, “Forverts“). Dr. Easteal kindly contributed an article – published in that newspaper on December 21, 1944 – which shows her late father receiving the British DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) award from King George VI.

The article appears below…

(As an aside, note that the Forward presents the Wing Commander’s surname as “Weyser“. (!))

According to Wikipedia, “The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC),” established on June 3, 1918, “is the third-level military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, instituted for “an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy”.

Here’s an image of the DFC…

The date of publication of this article prompted further curiosity. Namely: What other pictures did the Forward publish in its issue of December 21, 1944?

The answer was (and is!) readily at hand, at the National Library of Israel’s website of the Historical Jewish Press. The NLI allows visitors access to the content – as images – of over 120 historical Jewish periodicals – among them the Forward – published in a variety of languages. A search of their well-designed website yields an image of the entirety of the page where the photograph of W/C Weiser was published, and this is presented below. (The picture of W/C Weiser and King George VI appears in the upper-left corner of the page.)

As for the other pictures?

Clockwise, from left to right, the illustrations depict: Edward von Steiger, the newly elected President of Switzerland for 1945; Privates First Class (and brothers) Abe and Sid Schneider of the Bronx; Major General Harry L. Twaddle of the American 95th Infantry Division, with soldiers Pvt. Alfred Page of Chattanooga and PFC Max Frankel of Denver; the late Mexican-born film star Lupe Velez (sad story about her…); Lupe’s pet dogs “Chips” and “Chops” at the entrance to her Beverly Hills home; and at bottom, delegates to the 8th National Convention of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Montreal.

Reference

Distinguished Flying Cross (British), at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom)

Soldiers of The Great War: Jewish Military Service in WW I, as Reported in The Jewish Chronicle – “A Soldier’s Thoughts of Passover”, May 7, 1915

The festival of Pesach, commencing this year on the evening of April 10th (the 14th of Nisan, 5777), is the inspiration for the following post: A remarkable account, from The Jewish Chronicle, of a makeshift, “one-man Seder” held by a British Jewish soldier in the trenches of Flanders, on the evening of March 29, 1915 (the 14th of Nisan, 5675).

Published amidst a variety of war news items – lists of casualties, and, military awards – the anonymous author of this piece composed it in the form of a letter which was sent to a Jewish Chronicle correspondent, who in turn sent that document (perhaps a transcript of it?) to the Chronicle, which published it on May 7, 1915.

Particularly noticeable is author’s sensitivity, and the clarity and descriptiveness of his writing. He sets forth thoughts of home against the reality of life in the front lines; the awareness of his solitary and improvised Seder amidst genuine comradeship with his fellow soldiers; and quite remarkably, an openly expressed and idealistic sense of at least some form of Jewish solidarity, even at war.

Frustratingly; tantalizingly, it has been – and probably will forever be – impossible to identify the author of this letter. The man’s name and military unit are neither listed nor hinted upon. He is entirely anonymous. But, in that anonymity there is the ironic possibility that the account could have been written by most any of the Jewish soldiers serving in the British front lines in 1915.

Whoever he was, one would hope; it would be nice to think, that he survived the war.

And if he did not, at least we have his words and thoughts.

A PDF version of the letter is available here.

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A SOLDIER’S THOUGHTS OF PASSOVER
The Jewish Chronicle
May 7, 1915

A correspondent sends us a letter he received from the Front from a Jewish soldier, in the course of which he writes: –

So to-day is “Erev Pesach”. Somehow to me it seems impossible as I am here on an empty ammunition box, the boys all around me busy in preparation for our journey back to the trenches to-night…. Way back in old England I can just picture many another scene of preparation. Strange, indeed, for just as the folks at home will be leaving for school and the celebration of Passover’s first two days, I shall be leaving for the trenches also for two days. Now I am waiting for the mail expected this afternoon, for it should contain my Passover parcel, and somehow I must manage some sort of celebration. Last mail brought me the first Jewish Chronicle I’ve seen since we landed, and very welcome it was. Specially interesting is the account of the Rev. Michael Adler’s tour in France, but he has not been anywhere in our neighbourhood. I’m taking it up to the trenches, not having had time to read it through. Midnight, Monday. No mail arrived, more to my disappointment. Now I shall get no mail until Thursday morning. At 5:30 p.m. we left our quarters for the trenches, a few miles away, and trudged along the scarred roads, with a glorious full moon and starlit sky overhead. Our thoughts were far away from Flanders. I could clearly see the smartly dressed crowd making for school, the lights and chanting of the service seemed quite close, and then – boom! As a big gun spoke, the star shells shoot up and the rattle of rifle fire grows clearer as we get nearer the firing line, so I came back to earth again. Never until to-night have I felt really homesick, but then as I thought of the scene at home, the lights and the musical clink of glasses and tableware, then I felt as though I would do anything to be sitting in the seat that I know will be left for me, and to drive away the sorrow of the dear folks that I know my absence will cause them. But that ‘fit of the blues’ must be shaken off. About 10 o’clock we reached our destination, fortunately without a single casualty, though we had been under fire part of the way up, and my platoon has been in the dug-outs as reserve to the firing line, and about 100 yards to the rear of it. This pleased me greatly; it seems more fitting on the night of nights to be here at rest than to be up there firing perhaps at someone who is thinking much as I am – who knows? As soon as we got settled in this dug-out I managed to get a fire going, and made some cocoa, this, with a biscuit, making my “Seder Night,” and I said the Blessing for Wine over it, and drank a toast to those at home in response to the toast they will certainly drink to me to-night. So I finished my little Seder and then read some of the Psalms from my soldier’s prayer-book. We are eleven in this dug-out, and afterwards I talked to the boys of the Passover, seeing in it all wonders I’ve never seen before, and the deeper significance of it came home to me. They are fine boys, these, gentlemen all, who would share their last crumb with me if I wanted it, and they just sat in silence listening carefully to all I said, and when I had finished dear old Dick said: “It’s alright old man, we understand.” Just that and no more. Now they are all asleep, and I write this by candle light to the accompaniment of the “crack, crack” as the bullets hit the bank overhead… Good night and good Yomtov all, my dear ones, my thoughts are with you all.

References

http://www.chabad.org/calendar/

http://www.hebcal.com/

http://www.themeter.net/pasqua_e.htm

Soldiers from New York: Jewish Soldiers in the Long Island Star Journal – I: Jacques W. Bloch

Though my blog posts have thus far covered Jewish soldiers who served in “The Great War” (World War One), this post covers a soldier in another war: Sergeant (T/4) Jacques W. Bloch, who served in the United States Army during the Second World War.

His picture is presented below:

This image of Sgt. Bloch (serial number 32805985) was published in the Long Island Star Journal on April 11, 1945.

The article accompanying the image appears below:

Born in Germany in 1921, he was the son of Maurice Bloch, and resided at 37-53 62nd St., Woodside, Queens, New York. Sgt. Bloch served in the 422nd Infantry Regiment of the 106th (“Golden Lion”) Infantry Division, and was captured in the Ardennes during what is popularly known as “The Battle of the Bulge”, on December 16, 1944.

He was interned at Stalag 11B (Fallingbostel).

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The names of other Jewish POWs interned at Fallingbostel – derived from a variety of sources – are presented below, with information in the entries appearing in the following format:

Name, rank, and serial number;
Military organization to which the soldier was assigned when he was captured;
Date captured;
Name and residential address of next of kin, and, date and place of birth;
Date when the soldier’s name appeared in casualty lists published in local or regional newspapers;
Did the soldier’s name appear in the 1947 publication American Jews in World War Two (“AJWW2”)? If so? – The abbreviation “AJWW2” appears, followed by a number representing the page where the soldier’s name is listed. If not? – The abbreviation “NL” (meaning “not listed”) appears instead.

Artin, Philip Pvt. 42138150
45th Infantry Division, 157th Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
Mrs. Rose Artin (?), 2114 Mapes Ave., Bronx, N.Y.; N.Y.; 2/16/19
AJWW2 – NL

Barlas, Benjamin Pvt. 42138568
45th Infantry Division, 157th Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
1817 Tenth Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
4/20/45
AJWW2 – NL

Bayarsky, Joseph                            S/Sgt.                   32248209; PH
28th Infantry Division, 110th Infantry Regiment
12/20/44
Mr. and Mrs. Morris and Rebecca (Krepp) Bayarsky (parents), 654 Hinsdale St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; N.Y.; 10/30/10
3/29/45, 5/31/45
AJWW2 – 271

Benjamin, Stanley                           PFC                       15308294
3/26/45
Mr. and Mrs. Aron and _____ (Peters) Benjamin (parents), 418 13th St. SE, Canton, Oh.; Oh., Canton; 8/5/24
AJWW2 – NL

Bernstein, Paul                 Pvt.                       42063032; PH
106th Infantry Division, 423rd Infantry Regiment
12/21/44
Mrs. Rebecca B. Bernstein, 236 Milford St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
4/14/45, 5/19/45
AJWW2 – 276

Cohn, Albert D.                                Pvt.                       13126322
94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel and _____ (Shander) Cohn (parents), 5443 Wyndale Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.; Pa.; 12/14/22
AJWW2 – NL

Deitch, Daniel J.                               Pvt.                       12110534
79th Infantry Division, 314th Infantry Regiment
1/20/45
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Deitch and Sophie (Hoffman) Cohen (parents), 1487 College Ave., New York, N.Y.; N.Y., New York; 3/26/22
5/2/45, 6/20/45
AJWW2 – 296

Fineblum, Solomon S.                    PFC                       33731236
94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment (Scout)
1/21/45
Mr. and Mrs. Morris and _____ (Rochlin) Fineblum (parents), 2501 Manhattan Ave., Baltimore, Md.; Pvt. Jerome Fineblum (brother); Md.
4/21/25
BJT 5/4/45
AJWW2 – NL

Gang, Sol                           Pvt.                       32544465
79th Infantry Division, 314th Infantry Regiment
1/20/45
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander and Ann Gang (parents); Sister at 44 Bowery, New York, N.Y.; N.Y.; 6/12/18
4/20/45
AJWW2 – NL

Goldman, Harold                            PFC                       32809834
99th Infantry Division, 394th Infantry Regiment
12/18/44
Mr. Maurice Goldman (father), c/o Mrs. Marian Schare, 975 Walton Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
4/12/45, 4/26/45, 5/17/45
AJWW2 – NL

Goldsmith, Wilburt D.                    Sgt.                       12087440; PH, 2 OLC
9th Infantry Division, 39th Infantry Regiment
12/22/44 (wounded previously on ~ 2/17/43 and ~ 6/26/44)
Mr. and Mrs. Aaron and Sadie (Sanders) Goldsmith (parents), c/o Donnelly, 95 Brandt Place, Bronx, N.Y.; 12/7/21
6/5/43, 8/26/44, 4/21/45, 4/24/45, 6/1/45
AJWW2 – 327

Goodkin, Jerome                            PFC                       19119583
84th Infantry Division, 333rd Infantry Regiment
11/22/44
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence and _____ (Dan) Goodkin (parents), 211 S. (Hammond?) Drive, Beverly Hills, Ca.; Il.; 2/6/22
AJWW2 – NL

Hinden, Philip                    PFC                       32022244; PH
2nd Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Regiment
12/17/44 (wounded previously; see ~ 9/8/44)
(wife), 622 Stone Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. (or) 498 Stone Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
11/8/44, 5/14/45
AJWW2 – 345

Hirsch, David H. Pvt. 39049852
84th Infantry Division, 333rd Infantry Regiment
11/25/44
Mrs. Kathryn Hirsch (wife), 876 North Orange Grove, Pasadena, Ca.
6/18/45
AJWW2 – NL

Kaplan, Milton                  PFC                       32598178
94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
Mrs. Sarah Kaplan (mother), 126 Ridgewood, Newark, N.J.; 507 Belmont Ave., Newark, N.J.; N.J.; 9/8/20
6/25/45
AJWW2 – NL

Kraus, Jerome S.                              Pvt.                       36536695
84th Infantry Division, 334th Infantry Regiment
11/19/44
Mr. and Mrs. Morris and Hanna Kraus (parents), 9307 Broad St., Detroit, Mi.; Mi., Detroit; 5/22/21
6/13/45
AJWW2 – NL

Lempert, Moe                   PFC                       32969933; PH
35th Infantry Division, 320th Infantry Regiment
9/28/44
Mr. Joseph W. Lempert (father), 1700 Crotona Park East, New York, N.Y. (or) Apt. 5-1, 1055 Jerome Ave., Bronx, N.Y.; N.Y.; 12/13/24
12/28/44, 3/20/45, 5/14/45
AJWW2 – 375

Mandel, Sidney D.                           Cpl.                       12147427
1/6/45
Mr. Benjamin Mandel (father), 342 2nd Ave., Jersey City, N.J.; N.J., Jersey City; 9/18/23
6/19/45
AJWW2 – NL

Narodick, Norman                          PFC                       36958612; PH
106th Infantry Division, 423rd Infantry Regiment
12/21/44
Mr. and Mrs. Harry and Rebecca (Levine) Narodick (parents), 1504 South Kildare St., Chicago, Il.; Pvt. Gilbert Narodick (brother); Il., Chicago; 1/13/23
5/24/45
AJWW2 – 111

Novick, Alvin                     PFC                       42037918; PH
94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
Mr. and Mrs. Irving (“Isadore”?) and Lena (Janowitz) Novick (parents); Miss Rosalind Novick (sister), 145-11 33rd Ave., Flushing, N.Y.; 6/27/25
5/23/45, Long Island Star Journal 5/22/45
AJWW2 – 400
(Studying physics at Columbia University)

Resnick, Alleck A.                            PFC                       13156499; BSM, 1 OLC, PH
84th Infantry Division, 333rd Infantry Regiment
11/25/44
Mr. and Mrs. Max and Ida (Bass) Resnick (parents), 3714 Belle Ave., Baltimore, Md.; R.I., Providence; 10/28/22
AJWW2 – 143

Roossin, Arnold                               Pvt.                       32802179; PH
101st Airborne Division, 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion
9/19/44
Mrs. Sylvia Roossin (mother), 2201 Caton Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
4/3/45, 6/25/45
AJWW2 – 415

Rothenberg, Irving T/5 20301306; PH
8th Infantry Division, 28th Infantry Regiment
12/22/44
Mr. Max Rothenberg (father), 858 Fox St., New York, N.Y.
4/26/45, 6/12/45
AJWW2 – 421

Rubin, Jack PFC 34543743
84th Infantry Division, 334th Infantry Regiment
11/21/44
Mr. Isadore Rubin (father), 215 23rd St., Miami Beach, Fl.
6/10/45
AJWW2 – NL

Rubin, Morris R. Pvt. 42060778; PH
106th Infantry Division, 423rd Infantry Regiment
12/21/44
Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Mollie (Fahn) Rubin (parents), 2918 West 24th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; N.Y., Brooklyn; 10/2/25
4/5/45, 5/25/45
AJWW2 – 423

Satz, Leo S/Sgt. 32787957; PH
1st Infantry Division, 18th Infantry Regiment
12/17/44
Mrs. Edythe Satz (wife), 1325 Nelson Ave., Bronx, N.Y.
4/12/45, 6/20/45
AJWW2 – 427

Schreier, Nathan PFC 32867570
84th Infantry Division, 334th Infantry Regiment
11/9/44
Mr. Charles Schreier (father), 23 East 3rd St., Mount Vernon, N.Y.
4/17/45, 6/11/45
AJWW2 – NL

Shapiro, Seymour                           Pvt.                       32649328; PH
45th Infantry Division, 157th Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel and Millie (Deskin) Shapiro (parents), 665 Riverdale Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.; N.Y.; 4/4/22
1/1/45
AJWW2 – 062

Siegel, Hyman                   PFC                       32517708
2nd Armored Division, 66th Armored Regiment
1/16/45; POW at S 11B Fallingbostel, and, S 5A Malsbach / Ludwigsburg
Mr. and Mrs. Ike and _____ (_____) Siegel (parents), 482 Grand St., New York, N.Y.; N.Y., New York; 12/7/07
AJWW2 – NL

Solomon, Isaac                               PFC                       42055485; PH
45th Infantry Division, 157th Infantry Regiment (Medical Corps)
1/21/45
Mr. and Mrs. Max and S. (Sidransky) Solomon (parents), 190 E. 52nd St., Brooklyn, 3, N.Y.; N.Y.; 4/26/45
AJWW2 – 419

Weiner, Morris                                PFC                       36752698
1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment
1/5/45
Mrs. Ada Weiner (wife), 4652 North St. Louis Ave., Chicago, Il.
6/15/45
AJWW2 – NL

Weingarten, Sol PFC 42034540
94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment
1/21/45
1496 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
4/20/45
AJWW2 – NL

Ziring, Sidney M. PFC 12129473; PH
106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment
12/16/44
Mr. Sigmund Ziring (father), 2987 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
5/29/45
AJWW2 – 478

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Sgt. Bloch’s name appeared in the War Department Casualty List published on April 7, 1945, while notice of his liberation appeared in the Casualty List of May 15, 1945.

The “title” of the latter – as published in The New York Times – is shown below.

Sgt. Bloch’s name appears first in the list of Liberated POWs:

For the purpose of this post, I’ve only shown the “title” of the Casualty List, and, the list of liberated POWs. Though the summary paragraph denotes the report of 3,172 and 356 Army and Navy casualties, it’s important to realize that the Times only published the names of soldiers hailing from the New York Metropolitan area, northeastern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut, not the Casualty List as covering the United States in its entirety.

This was based on and consistent with a policy established earlier in the war by the War Department (or, Office of War Information?) instructing news outlets – newspapers and radio stations (remember, this was before the ‘Net!) – never to release a “full”, nationwide Casualty List, thus limiting news releases about casualties only to names of soldiers who resided in the geographic area of a newspaper’s established coverage.

Like many (many) American Jewish soldiers who were casualties during the Second World War (wounded, injured, or killed) or who received military decorations, Sgt. Bloch’s name does not appear in the aptly titled 1947 book American Jews in World War Two, the central and primary work (precisely because it is the only such work!) listing the names of American Jewish servicemen who served in that conflict.

Reference

Long Island Star Journal, at http://www.astorialic.org/starjournal/starjournal_p.php

Biography of Wing Commander William Weiser – From “Canadian Jews in World War II”

The prior post about RCAF Wing Commander William Weiser presented him in an informal – yet highly informative, very expressive! – literary context, in the format of excerpts from letters he’d sent to his wife, Sophie Weiser, between May of 1942 and February of 1944. These letters were published in The American Hebrew in 1944.

However, another view of Wing Commander Weiser’s WW II military career appeared only three years later – in 1947 – in an entirely different setting. That year, the Canadian Jewish Congress published a two-volume set of books covering the military service of Canada’s Jews in the recent war, aptly and simply titled Canadian Jews in World War Two. The “first” of the two books, “Decorations” (Part I), comprises biographies of all Canadian Jewish servicemen who received awards for their military service. The “second” volume, “Casualties” (Part II), covers Canadian Jewish servicemen who were killed, wounded, or captured.

Viewed within a larger context, both during, and especially since the Second World War, numerous works have been published describing – in widely varied formats and styles – Jewish military service in WW II. Among these works, Canadian Jews in World War II easily stands out as – far and away – the very best. Though varying in length and content, the biographical profiles are typically extremely detailed, almost always including nominal genealogical information, photographic portraits of excellent quality, and – for those men who were casualties – the circumstances under and dates when such events occurred, sometimes even with mention of the military unit to which they were assigned. Some profiles include lengthy extracts and quotes from official correspondence, or, letters from friends and comrades.

In sum, these two books are both very nicely produced “as” books, and, they are superb stand-alone historical reference works.

A biography of Wing Commander Weiser can be found on page 6 of Part I. Like the majority of profiles in both books, his entry includes a formal photographic portrait, which happens to be identical to (and better than!) the image presented in the prior post, the latter of which is actually a digital image from 35mm microfilm.

His picture is presented below, along with a verbatim transcript of his biographical entry.

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WING COMMANDER WILLIAM WEISER, J-10822, R.C.A.F., of New York City, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on Oct. 4th, 1943, the Bar to his D.F.C. in May, 1944, and named a member of the Order of the British Empire on Jan. 25th, 1946.

The citation with his D.F.C. states:

“Flying Officer Weiser has flown on operations against some of the enemy’s most important targets and has always displayed great determination to complete his mission successfully. By his courage and devotion to duty he has set an excellent example to his crew.”

The citation accompanying the Bar read:

“This officer has completed two tours of operational duties. Most of the sorties completed by him have been accomplished in the face of heavy enemy action over such targets as Berlin, Hamburg, and Essen. As a Flight Commander, S/Ldr. Weiser has displayed skill, courage, and devotion to duty of a high order. His enthusiasm and organizational ability have been valuable assets to his squadron.”

Wing-Cmdr. Weiser learned to fly at Floyd Bennett Field, New York, and came to Canada to enlist in the R.C.A.F. eight months before the United States entered the war. He won his wings and commission and was posted overseas in May, 1942. There he was attached to a Pathfinder Squadron with which he completed two tours of operations. While he continued to command a bomber on raids over Germany, he was also in charge of the training of new pilots assigned to his squadron. Later he was posted to the staff of a Canadian bomber group.

Returning after a heavy raid on Germany in May, 1943, Wing-Cmdr. Weiser’s bomber crashed. Wing Cmdr. Weiser was severely injured and was confined to the hospital for more than a month. The other members of the crew escaped with slight wounds.

Born in Newark, N.J., in 1919, William Weiser is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Weiser of 971 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. Shortly before going overseas in 1942 Wing-Cmdr. Weiser married the former Miss Sophie Goldberg who lives at 1475 Grand Concourse, Bronx, N.Y.

Reference

Canadian Jews in World War II – Part I: Decorations, Canadian Jewish Congress, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1947, p. 6.