Forgotten Heroes

Forgotten Her es

Famous and Fighting

By Avi Heiligman

JFK, center, in training at the US Navy PT training facility Moshe Dayan with his trademark black eye patch Future president George HW Bush, center, with his radioman and turret gunner Princess Elizabeth in her ATS uniform

Media coverage of the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II of England had brought forth memories of her service during World War II. Although she was discouraged by her father from entering the service, she nevertheless joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945. Queen Elizabeth was just one of many famous celebrities to have served with the Allies. Presidents, politicians, and other famous people served in the armed forces, and some have incredible stories of courage of their service.

When Great Britain entered World War II in September 1939, then-Princess Elizabeth and her mother refused to be evacuated to Canada for their safety. Elizabeth was just 14 years old in 1940 when she made a speech on the BBC, addressing the children that had been evacuated. Her message was filled with hope and courage. In 1942, she was appointed as honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and in 1945, she entered the service with the ATS. There, she trained as a mechanic and truck driver and was not given a special rank despite being the king’s daughter. Hundreds of thousands of British women joined the ATS, filling roles such as cooks, telephone operators, drivers, postal workers, searchlight operators and ammunition inspectors. Elizabeth was soon dubbed “Princess Auto Mechanic.”

Queen Elizabeth became the British monarch in 1952 and by the time of her death was the colonel-in-chief of 16 British regiments and corps. Never before had a female of the royal family been an active member of the military. She was last surviving head of state to have served during World War II.

Other British royals served during the war as well. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was the fourth son of King George V and uncle of Elizabeth. Prince Henry had joined the army and spent a lot of the early war months in France boosting the morale of the troops and acting as a chief liaison officer for the commanding officer. He had been very close to the action and several times had witnessed the Nazi bombings. In one air raid in Belgium, Henry needed medical attention after being wounded when the car he was in caught fire.

Several American presidents served during World War II, with John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush having close calls during their time in the Pacific. Kennedy was the skipper of PT-109 on the night of August 2, 1943 while patrolling near the Solomon Islands. The boat was approached by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, which apparently did not see the small PT (patrol torpedo) boat. The destroyer rammed her headon and cut her in half, which caused an explosion which killed two sailors. JFK then rallied his sailors to hang on to the remaining pieces of the boat. Then he told them to paddle towards an island, while he swam three miles to shore with the straps of the life jacket of one of his badly burned sailors in his mouth. There, they made contact with native coastwatchers and several days later were rescued by PT-157.

George H. W. Bush was a pilot of a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber on the light carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). On September 2, 1944, Bush’s plane was hit, and the engine caught fire, filling the cockpit with smoke. The future president managed to parachute out of the stricken plane and was later rescued by the submarine USS Finback.

Before Israel became a country in 1948, it was under British rule, and as such, many Jews from Mandate Palestine served and fought with the British Army during World War II. Future Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan suffered an injury that cost him his left eye while fighting with the British Army. Dayan was born in 1915 on a kibbutz when Eretz Yisrael was still under the Ottoman Empire. In his teens, he had joined the Haganah and then served under British General Orde Wingate’s Special Night Squads. In 1941, Dayan was part of a unit that was attached to the Australian 7th Division, which was part of the British Army. The division was fighting in Syria against the Vichy French (part of France that collaborated with the Nazis), and Dayan was appointed as the commander of Company B of Palmach soldiers that went to assist the British Army. A French sniper hit Dayan’s binoculars as he was holding them up to look for the enemy. The glass on the binoculars shattered, and he lost his eyesight in his left eye. Dayan covered his eye with a black eye patch that he became famous for wearing while he was the defense minister during the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War.

Politicians and heads of state have to make critical military decisions while in office. Being in charge of military decisions meant a great deal to those who knew what it meant to serve in the military. While they may be known for their later careers, their military background often goes unnoticed by the public and is history that is to be remembered.

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.