Forgotten Heroes

Forgotten Her es Silver Star Recipients

By Avi Heiligman

Many ordinary soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen became heroes in the fight against the Nazis and Japan during World War II. One of the most prestigious awards given to these heroes was the Silver Star, and many of these recipients were Jewish. Research into these Jewish servicemen and even identifying them can prove to a tedious task beyond the few that have been profiled in the past. Old books and publications are a great source of information, and together with the help of online research, here are some of the heroes that received the Silver Star.

Captain Hyman Shapiro was a medical officer with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was the assistant regimental surgeon of the medical detachment with the 3rd battalion during the invasion in Italy in January 1944. Their target was Red Beach, but his landing craft was hit by an aerial bomb and he was thrown into the water. Despite losing his gear, he wasn’t severely injured but refused medical evacuation. Instead, he insisted that the landing craft be towed to shore with the injured soldiers and personally took charge of caring for the wounded. This prompt medical treatment saved the lives of many men as he dressed their wounds and evacuated them to safety.

Captain Shapiro was one of thousands of Jewish medical personnel that served in the American Armed Forces during the war. Lieutenant

Commander Ben Herbert Keyserling became a doctor in South Carolina after his time in the service. During the war, he served in the Navy Medical Corps and the 1st Medical Battalion of the 1st Marine Division. He was present during the bloody Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in 1942. Keyserling received the Silver Star for crawling to aid many wounded soldiers and marines, ignoring the danger of bullets, grenades and artillery shells exploding in his vicinity.

Many new pilots were needed for the tens of thousands of planes rolling off the production lines in record numbers. Among these newly minted airmen was Lieutenant Morris Friedman of Grand Forks North

Dakota. He piloted a B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific Theater of Operations and saw action over the Philippines, Dutch East Indies and the Coral Sea. His plane, named the Seattle Chief, made several hit and run raids during the Battle of Java and probably sank a large cargo ship (their altitude was too high to see it actually sinking). For bravery in action, he was awarded the Silver Star as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross.

One of the crewmen who sometimes flew with Friedman was bombardier Meyer Levin of Brooklyn. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, Levin, who was Jewish, enrolled in a government aeronautical school, where he graduated second highest in his class. For three years, when he applied for jobs after graduation, he was denied positions because of his religion. Finally, he decided to enlist in the military.

Levin received the Silver Star for heroic actions against Japanese warships. On a mission just a few days after the Pearl Harbor attack, Levin was at the controls and bombed a Japanese light cruiser. The enemy ship was severely damaged but American pilot Captain Colin Kelly was killed after being attacked by enemy fighter planes (Morris Friedman was also on this flight). Levin received the Silver Star for sinking a 15,000-ton Japanese transport ship but was later killed when his plane crashed in a storm.

First Lieutenant Jacob Beser was the only person to have flown

Bullets ripped through his canteen and took his helmet off his head but he kept on firing.

on both strike planes during the atomic bomb missions. He was sent to work on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and was with the 509th through its training period as the officer in charge of the radar maintenance sections. During the atom bomb missions, he was the radar counter-measure observer, and his job was to make sure that the bombs didn’t explode too early. Additionally, Beser was there to ensure that the Japanese “did not jam the bomb’s fuse frequencies and prematurely detonate the Fat Man (the name given to the bomb that was sent on the Nagasaki mission)”. He was awarded the Silver Star for actions while on board for the atomic missions.

Sometimes under intense fire one soldier will go above and beyond to fight the enemy and rescue his fellow soldiers. This is what happened to Captain Sanford Weinstein of the 1st Battalion, 136th Regiment, 33rd Division on the Philippine island of Luzon. In May 1945, his unit received their orders: Weinstein was to lead two rifle platoons against strong Japanese positions in an area called Skyline Ridge. Several soldiers were killed and wounded as the Americans approached the summit. Despite wounds to his hand and knees, Weinstein did not scramble down the hill with the other men of his platoon. Instead he picked up an automatic rifle and fired from the hip as he ran towards the enemy positions. Bullets ripped through his canteen and took his helmet off his head but he kept on firing. During the exchange, he killed ten Japanese soldiers and destroyed a machine gun position. Then, he singlehandedly dragged six wounded Americans to safety while directing other unwounded Americans to evacuate the rest of the wounded. He received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for gallantry on the battlefield.

These men are just a few of the many who were decorated for bravery while in the service. Their Silver Stars are a testament to their heroics on the battlefield.

Jacob Beser in front of the Enola Gay before her historic run Meyer Levin

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.